Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele purchased another condominium in The Moderne in downtown Milwaukee, to expand the condo he bought there earlier this year.
Earlier this year, Abele purchased a 4,313-square-foot condominium on the 29th floor of the 30-story building at 1141 N. Old World Third St. for $2.1 million, according to state records. That condo, unit 2901 in the building, has three bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and has an assessed value of $1,683,500, according to city records.
Recently Abele purchased another condo on the 29th floor of The Moderne, this time unit 2903. He paid $700,000 for the 3,819-square-foot unit, according to state records. That condo also has three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and has an assessed value of $1,264,800, according to city records.
By combining the two units, Abele will have a condo with 8,132 square feet of space in The Moderne. Between the two deals he paid a total of $2.8 million. The two units have a total assessed value of $2.95 million, according to city records.
The Moderne was completed in 2012. The building has 16 condominiums (5 on the 30th floor, 3 on the 29th floor and 8 on the 28th floor), 203 apartments and the Carson’s Prime Steaks and Famous BBQ restaurant on the first floor. A total of 13 condos in the building have been sold. Two are still available on the 30th floor and one is available on the 29th floor. The 28th floor condos are sold out. When Abele combines his condos on the 29th floor the number of condo units in the building will drop to 15 total.
The Moderne was built by developer Rick Barrett. His firm, Barrett Lo Visionary Development, is also the development firm for The Couture, a proposed 44-story luxury apartment tower that would be built at the site of the Milwaukee County Downtown Transit Center, located southwest of Lincoln Memorial Drive and Michigan Street at the lakefront.
Last year the County Board approved plans to sell the Downtown Transit Center site to Barrett for $500,000. Earlier this year the county won a legal battle to establish private development rights for the site. Barrett and the county still need to complete the sale of the property, which includes federal government approval because the county received federal funds to build the Downtown Transit Center.
The county’s legal counsel said Abele’s purchase of a condo in The Moderne would not be a conflict of interest.
