Two former Milwaukee Public School buildings could be converted to affordable apartments.
Milwaukee-based Royal Capital Group is planning to purchase the former Phillis Wheatley Public School, at 2442 N. 20th St.
Heartland Alliance Housing is planning to purchase the former 37th Street Elementary School at 1715 N. 37th St., according to documents submitted to the city.
Royal Capital Group plans to invest $19.9 million to purchase and renovate the former Phillis Wheatley Public School property into a 44-unit apartment building with 38 new townhomes at the site.
Royal Capital Group owner Kevin Newell could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
Heartland Alliance Housing is planning to redevelop the former 37th Street Elementary School into 49 affordable units for seniors.
The Milwaukee Common Council will consider both plans.
Both schools were declared surplus by the MPS school board in 2015. Under state statute, both properties were listed for sale to education operators only for a two-year period that ended in July 2017.
These proposals are the latest former MPS schools that are being eyed for redevelopment. Earlier this month, Oregon, Wisconsin-based Gorman & Co. opened the Fifth Street School Apartments 2770 N. 5th St. The $9.7 million adaptive reuse project includes 48 affordable units with a mix of studios, one and two-bedroom apartments in the historic building that was constructed in 1888.
Gorman & Co. also Gorman transformed the former Jackie Robinson Middle School at 3245 N. 37th St. into the Sherman Park Senior Living Community.
Rick Wiegand, the owner of the Ambassador Hotel in Milwaukee, is currently redeveloping the former Wisconsin Avenue School on Milwaukee’s west side into a 23-room extend stay hotel, operated in conjunction with the Ambassador Hotel. The $15 million project, at 2708 W. Wisconsin Ave., will also include meeting and banquet space, a restaurant, and an outdoor beer garden.
