Mixed use building planned for Shorewood

Milwaukee-based Wired Properties plans to build a mixed use building with 25 apartments and 11,000 square feet of first floor retail space at the northeast corner of Kensington Boulevard and Oakland Avenue. Part of the building will be 4 stories tall and part will be 3 stories tall. The $8 million development will also include 46 underground parking spaces and 33 surface parking spaces behind the building.

The 0.7-acre site for the building was formerly occupied by a Mobil gas station, which closed last year. The gas station structures have been demolished.

"(The site) is a key corner in the heart of the north shore," said Blair Williams, owner of Wired Properties.

The state Department of Commerce announced that it will provide a $100,000 brownfield grant to remove contamination from the property.

"The grant should cover the remediation costs," said Williams.

“We are extremely pleased to receive this grant as it allows us to redevelop this property in a way that is both environmentally sound and consistent with our comprehensive plan,” said Shorewood Village Manager Chris Swarta.

Wired will also seek tax incremental financing (TIF) funds for the project from Shorewood, Williams said. The project would not be feasible without TIF assistance because of the costs for the land, to demolish and clean up the property and to build the new building, he said.

"There is a substantial gap in this deal," Williams said. "If it wasn't for the TIF there isn't a chance in the world this deal would happen."

Williams said he is working on a financing package for the project with a potential funding source.

"We are well positioned," he said. "We believe we have a variety of options."

The project has three retail tenants that have signed a letter of intent and is talking to a four potential tenant, Williams said.

The project is especially complicated because half of the lot lies in Whitefish Bay and the other half lies in Shorewood. Wired has asked Whitefish Bay to detach its half of the property and for Shorewood to annex that portion. The Shorewood and Whitefish Bay school districts also need to adjust their boundaries.

The site is located across Oakland Avenue from another vacant lot where Wired Properties eventually plans to build a four-story building with 7,500 square feet of retail space, 22 condominiums and underground parking spaces. However that project, called Ravenna, remains on hold until the condo market and the financial markets improve, Williams said.