Non-profit to move to downtown building
Community Advocates Inc., a Milwaukee-based non-profit organization, plans to move from 4906 W. Fond du Lac Ave. to a vacant 3-story, 45,000-square-foot building 728 N. James Lovell St. in downtown Milwaukee.
The organization plans to purchase the 98-year-old building from and investment group that includes Dave Jorgensen, president of Pewaukee-based VJS Development Group, for $1.8 million. The investors owned the building for about 6 or 7 years and made some improvements to the structure, Jorgensen said.
"It has always been for sale," he said. "It was a speculative project and we finally found a buyer."
The building has an assessed value of $1.083 million, according to city records.
Community Advocates is asking the city’s Redevelopment Authority to issue $3.8 million in revenue bonds to assist it in financing a project to renovate the building and improve an adjacent parking lot at 626-38 W. Wisconsin Ave. The authority will consider the proposal at its meeting on Thursday.
Community Advocates provides advocacy and services to low-income and at-risk Milwaukee families and individuals through more than 30 programs, including health care advocacy, case management, protective payee services and energy assistance.
According to information submitted to the city, the organization has 90 employees and plans to hire an additional 60 full-time case workers.
