Milwaukee-based Mandel Group Inc. plans to build a 6-story, mixed-use development with 84 apartments and a Walgreens store on a vacant lot southwest of East Kenmore Place and North Oakland Avenue in Shorewood.
The Walgreen’s store at 4081 N. Oakland Ave., about a block north, will move south into the Mandel project.
The current Walgreen’s building, which also has a vacant space formerly occupied by a Schwartz’s book store, is owned by Roundy’s Inc., which has a Pick ‘n Save store just to the north. Roundy’s has considered plans for years to demolish its store there and replace it with a new store.
Roundy’s is considering plans to demolish the Walgreen’s/former Schwartz’s building and the existing Pick ‘n Save store and build a new two-story Pick ‘n Save store there with structured parking, according to a source.
“We are always looking to reinvest in the communities we serve,” said Roundy’s spokeswoman Vivian King. “Our practice is to not comment on potential projects until we have a signed lease. It is too early for me to comment on any potential plans for Shorewood.”
For the apartments in the Mandel project, 80 percent will be luxury market-rate units and the other 20 percent will be affordable units available to residents with household incomes of less than 60 percent of the area median income. Mandel is seeking Midwest disaster area relief bonds for the project, which is why some of the units must be reserved for lower income families at lower rents.
The apartments will have 1-3 bedrooms. Rents for the market rate units will be about $1,200 to $2,000 a month and rents for the affordable units will be $750 to $1,000 a month, said Mandel Group senior vice president Richard Lincoln. All of the apartments will have the same level of finishes, he said.
The project will also include 94 public parking ground level spaces for customers of the adjacent Sendik’s grocery store and other area businesses, underground parking for residents, and a separate lot to the west of the Sendik’s store that will have three levels of parking for residents and nearby commercial tenants.
Mandel Group believes there is a pent up demand for new, quality apartments on Oakland Avenue in Shorewood.
“With the exception of The Cornerstone, there has not been any new apartment development between North Avenue and Bayshore in 20 years,” Lincoln said. “We think (Shorewood) is a great community and (the site) a great location.”
