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Tandem plans $30 million Beerline project
Source: Milwaukee
Business Journal
By Pete Millard
February 10, 2006
A Chicago developer is teaming up with Milwaukee's Brewery Works Inc. to develop one of the last
large parcels in Milwaukee's Beerline district into a $30 million condominium.
The 133-unit development, which will be called The Edge, will be built on two acres at 1890 N. Commerce
St. The site is owned by Brewery Works -- which is owned by Gary Grunau and Scott Sampson -- and located
north of the Holton Street bridge on the west side of the Milwaukee River.
Tandem Developers L.L.C., Chicago, has formed a joint venture with Brewery Works for the construction
and to handle the sales. Grunau and Sampson developed Schlitz Park and won Milwaukee Common Council
approval for a $25.5 million in tax incremental financing Feb. 7 that will allow Brewery Works to
develop a $78 million corporate headquarters for Manpower Inc. at Schlitz Park. Grunau and Sampson
could not be reached for comment.
This is Tandem's fifth single-family residential project in Milwaukee and first development along
the Beerline. The development firm's other projects are in the Brewer's Hill neighborhood west of
Commerce Street: Cobbler's Lofts, Cobbler's Townhouses, Shoeworks Lofts and the Homes of Brewers Hill
Commons.
The five-and-a-half-story building contains 16 different types of residences with price points starting
at $180,000 and unit sizes ranging from 800 square feet to 1,500 square feet.
"It is not a super-luxury development, but it fits perfectly with the eclectic architecture
in the Beerline," said Paul Dincin, a principal with Tandem Developers.
Some developers along the Beerline questioned Tandem's plan for a high-density development. City
planners justified the size of the complex because the Beerline once housed large industrial buildings
and it is near the Holton Street bridge.
"We worked with the architect to make sure the development did not dwarf townhouses nearby," said
Bob Greenstreet, Milwaukee's city planner.
High-density issue
The Edge condominiums are similar in design to the existing condo buildings in the Beerline neighborhood,
said John Vetter, a partner with Vetter Denk Architects, Milwaukee. However, the high-density building
is not consistent with other properties in the neighborhood, he said. Vetter Denk designed and owns
three condo projects in the Beerline district.
The Milwaukee Common Council created the Beerline development plan in 1999 that set the parameters
for developing the corridor. The Edge will be eighth residential project on the Beerline and the largest
development.
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