An affiliate of Brookfield-based Briohn Building Corp. has acquired
Alro Steel Corp.'s former facility in Wauwatosa for $6.5 million, according to state records.
Alro, a Jackson, Michigan-based distributor of metals, industrial supplies and plastics, recently moved its operations to Milwaukee from its Wauwatosa industrial warehouse at 3000 N. 114th St.
It sold the building last week to Wauwatosa TDC LLC, which is registered to Briohn. The building has an assessed value of $3.85 million, according to city records.
Representatives of Briohn and Alro Steel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The building is located in an intriguing part of Wauwatosa, one that has seen significant real estate development in recent years. It is southeast of where Burleigh Street meets I-41. It lies south of the Mayfair Collection, a 69-acre mixed-use development at 11500 W. Burleigh St. It is also just across the street from
1st and Bowl, a football bowling bar located in a 20,500-square-foot former warehouse building at 2969 N. 114th St.
The city of Wauwatosa
mapped out the preferred redevelopment trajectory of the Burleigh Triangle and northern Mayfair Road corridor in 2015. The redevelopment plan included the area surrounding the Alro plant.
According to the redevelopment plan, the Alro property falls approximately between an area designated as an "employment center" and another area designated as a "neighborhood center."
The city views the employment center as prime for office and hotel uses that maximize freeway visibility. The area roughly falls between 114th Street and the freeway.
Meanwhile, the neighborhood center area could include apartment buildings with ground-floor retail. It could also have open green space and provide a safe pathway to the nearby Witman Middle School and Wauwatosa West High School. This area includes the site of some former auto dealerships south of Burleigh Street as well as the Meijer store to the east.
Alro
moved into its new 205,000-square-foot building on Milwaukee's south side in the fall. It is the former Central Steel & Wire Co. building, which Alro
purchased in 2019 and
expanded by more than 100,000 square feet.
