St. Pius X Parish in Wauwatosa is planning to sell the eastern portion of its parking lot to a developer who wants to build 45 to 60 apartments on the site.
The church at 2506 Wauwatosa Ave., is planning to sell the equivalent of a small city block to an unnamed developer in the next 30 to 45 days for the apartments.
Dean Weyer, director of administrative services for St. Pius, said after analyzing the facility, it became clear selling a portion of the parking lot is the best choice for the church to remain financially viable.
“The parking lot itself is old and there is a retaining wall years past its life expectancy,” Weyer said. “As we look forward, we either invest a substantial amount of money or we turn our asset into a liquid asset and invest wisely.”
Sources say Pius is working with Madison and West Allis-based Cardinal Capital Management, Inc. on the project. The company developed the Pasadena Apartments on North Avenue in Wauwatosa.
Weyer would not confirm Cardinal is the developer. Cardinal Capital Management did not return emails.
Preliminary plans are a multi-family development that will include up to 60 apartments in one building with underground parking, Weyer said. The church has had informal discussions with the city of Wauwatosa, but will have to go through city approval processes before the project can move forward.
St. Pius is also trying to sell its former school building at 2520 Wauwatosa Ave. The building has been mostly vacant since 2011, when the St. Pius School merged with another to form Wauwatosa Catholic School in 2011.
The Wauwatosa common council rejected a plan to move a Milwaukee choice school into the building in June 2015.
“We have it listed (for sale), but at this point, are looking to rent it out because we are envisioning that it will be difficult to sell,” Weyer said. “We’re balancing retaining it for our own religious use with selling. Right now, everything is on the table.”
