15-story downtown apartment project to break ground soon
A downtown Milwaukee apartment project that will use an unusual construction method is planning a spring groundbreaking after the developers completed their site purchase.
The Edison, a 15-story building with around 200 units coming to 1005 N. Edison St., will take about 16 months to complete, with a goal to be open by late summer 2023.
That’s according to Nate Helbach, a managing partner at Madison-based development firm The Neutral Project LLC.
A Neutral Project affiliate, North Edison LLC, bought the project site for $4.1 million, according to newly posted online state real estate records.
The seller was Rojahn & Malaney Co., which has long operated a wholesale floral business at the riverfront site. The sale was brokered by Barry Co.
Rojahn & Malaney’s warehouse will be demolished by around April or May, followed by construction of The Edison, Helbach told the Journal Sentinel on Tuesday.
The Edison, which received city approvals in August and September, features an indoor parking structure, a second-floor outdoor patio deck for residents, and 15,600 square feet of commercial space on two levels.
The Edison also will use an unusual construction technique known as mass timber, or cross-laminated timber. That process uses layers of wood pressed together to create columns, beams and other building frame components.
Apartments, offices and other buildings made from timber provide a lower carbon footprint than conventional construction. They also can create a more attractive atmosphere, featuring exposed wood interiors. It would be Milwaukee’s third mass timber structure.
The 25-story, 259-unit Ascent apartment tower, is under construction at 700 E. Kilbourn Ave.
At 284 feet, Ascent is the tallest mass timber structure in the world, according to developer New Land Enterprises LLP. Completion is set for summer.
Also, the 60-unit Timber Lofts apartments opened in summer 2020 at 300 W. Florida St. in Walker’s Point.