Construction on The Couture, a 44-story luxury apartment tower planned by Barrett Lo Visionary Development near the lakefront in downtown Milwaukee, is slated to begin Dec. 4, according to Barrett Lo owner and founder Rick Barrett.
Barrett Lo has also chosen J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. as the general contractor for the project. Findorff, which has offices in Madison and Milwaukee, led the construction for Barrett Lo’s The Moderne project in the Park East Corridor.
The Couture will take approximately 30 months to build once construction begins, Barrett told the Milwaukee Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on Tuesday.
“We’re well on our way and may go in the ground a little early,” Barrett said, adding that the ideal tenant for the 312-unit apartments will be young professionals or empty nesters looking to be “in the coolest location in the city.”
Milwaukee-based Rinka Chung Architecture is the design firm for the project and the Milwaukee office of New York-based Thornton Tomasetti is the structural engineering firm for the project. The architects and engineers are working to finalize the construction documents for the project. Those documents are expected to be completed by Aug. 1, Barrett said.
Milwaukee-based Graef is working on mechanical systems and landscaping for The Couture.
The detailed construction documents are critical to determining the final price for the project and to secure financing for the project, Barrett said. Some changes have been made to the project to reduce costs, but it will still cost “well above” $120 million, he said.
Recent changes made to the design of The Couture include a gap between the building and the neighboring 833 East office building. In addition plans to provide a connection between those two buildings have been dropped, Barrett said. Barrett Lo also eliminated plans for a third level of underground parking because it has dropped plans to provide 180 spaces for the 833 East building, which was completed last year and was developed by Milwaukee-based Irgens. Barrett Lo and Irgens have been in discussions to work out issues between the two developments.
When asked by the ZND panel about a possible future second tower on The Couture site, Barrett said, “When you start learning about real estate development, the first thing you learn is highest and best use and reserving the right to potentially do something at a later date. It will definitely be market driven. But we want to push limits. We want to push density. Our city needs more density every day. It is very important to us.”
The panel praised Barrett and Rinka Chung principal Matt Rinka for their work on the project and incorporating the new downtown streetcar into its design.
“This is a signature building for our city that is ideal for retail and rentals,” said Alderman Jim Bohl. “Thank you for waiting out patiently. It’s like being on the on-deck circle forever and now you have hit it out of the park. Congratulations.”
Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee voted to recommend approval of a zoning change for The Couture project.
