The Sheboygan Armory could be demolished to make way for a mixed-use development that would include affordable and market rate apartments.
Que El-Amin, a 2016 graduate of Milwaukee’s ACRE program, and principal with Scott Crawford Inc., is proposing the $26 million project, which also includes approximately 8,600 square feet of first floor retail, entertainment or restaurant space.
Sheboygan officials reviewed El-Amin’s proposal along with five others for the site, which were submitted following a request for proposal in fall 2017. El-Amin’s proposal was ultimately recommended for Common Council approval.
The city’s Committee of the Whole will meet tonight to decide if the project should move forward.
El-Amin is planning 122 housing units at the site, located at 516 Broughton Drive. Forty-eight units would be affordable housing and 74 units would be market rate housing including rental town homes.
The affordable units would have rents between $715 and $850 a month for 650- and 950-square-foot units, respectively. The project would be completed in one phase with construction beginning in fall 2018 and completion in spring 2020.
Sheboygan officials have been working to attract more multi-family and single family housing to the city. There were three multi-family residential development projects near downtown in 2017 representing a total of 261 units and an additional 60 slated to break ground this year.
Scott Crawford Inc. would purchase the Armory property for $500,000 and a $4 million tax incremental financing district would be created.
El-Amin did not want to comment on the project until it was approved by the city.
The young developer is also working on a $60 million plan to revitalize Milwaukee’s 30th Street Industrial Corridor by replacing vacant industrial space with 190 apartments and a business incubator.
He said Monday he just secured state historic tax credits for the Milwaukee project and is now applying for federal credits.
El-Amin is also working on 3600@Villard, a $9.6 million, four-story mixed-use building on five lots at the corner of North 37th Street and Villard Avenue.
The Sheboygan Armory building is located on 2.44 acres near Sheboygan’s downtown. It was constructed in 1941 as a Works Progress Administration project (WPA) on the site of the former Freyberg Lumber Company.
In its 76 year history it has served as an armory and auditorium, a venue for professional, semi-pro and high school basketball as well as housing an aerospace museum.
In 2014, the City of Sheboygan attempted to find a developer interested in adaptive re-use and rehabilitation of the historic structure without success.
A redevelopment project for the Sheboygan Armory was proposed to create an arena for the Milwaukee Bucks D-League (Developmental League) team, but the Bucks instead chose Oshkosh.
Two of the six respondents of the RFP proposed saving the Armory. Other proposals for the site included:
- Armory Community Project: Use existing armory as a culinary incubator, business incubator and 40 market rate apartments.
- TDK Group LLC: Incorporate the existing armory building to include concerts, wedding receptions and conferences.
- True Vine Development: 155 market rate apartments
- T Wall Enterprises: 198 market rate apartments
- Catellus Group: 125-room lakefront hotel, restaurant and conference center. This proposal was also considered.
