News Article
//4/01/2005
PARK EAST PROPOSAL INCLUDES SWOOPING BUILDING
A 53,000-square-foot, mixed-use building that would "swoop" from eight stories on one side to three stories on the other is one of six proposals submitted to the City of Milwaukee for a key parcel of land in the Park East Freeway corridor. The city's request for proposals for its 10,201-square-foot parcel closed this week, and six bids were submitted. The city-owned lot is located at the corner of Pleasant, Jefferson and Water streets. The mixed-use building is being proposed by Milwaukee-based Katz Project Development. The building would incorporate a swooping design, said Katz Project Development principal Phillip Katz. The building would have restaurant and retail space on the first two floors and an environmentally friendly "green" roof, Katz told SBT this morning. Katz has provided two options to the city for the rest of the building: an office space option and a residential space option. Two businesses, one of which already is located downtown and another located in another part of the city, have expressed interest in occupying the office space, Katz said. He declined to name the prospective tenants. For the residential option, the building would have 16 condominiums, all with balconies facing to the south and priced between the "high $200,000's to $1.2 million for the penthouse," Katz said. The project also could combine office and residential space if requested by city officials, although that would be harder to design, Katz said. The other development proposals for the Park East site were submitted to the city by: Pleasant Prairie-based Legacy Real Estate Partners Milwaukee-based Stack Development Inc.; Milwaukee-based Central Investment Co.; Chicago-based RSC & Associates; and Mequon-based Milestone Development Group. Information about those proposals was not available this morning. City staff will select a recommended bid and will probably present it to the city's Redevelopment Authority on May 19, said Andrea Rowe, spokeswoman for the Department of City Development. Information about the recommended proposal will be unveiled to the public during that meeting. Information about the other proposals will not be made public until after city officials have approved a winning bid, she said.