Three teams of developers pitched their dream projects for the former Northridge Mall site on Milwaukee’s far northwest side on Thursday at the annual BizTimes Media Commercial Real Estate and Development Conference. The format for the event was “Developer Fantasy Camp” and the audience was invited to vote on the best dream proposal for the site.
The 58-acre former mall site is expected to be ready for new development by next fall, and the City of Milwaukee is currently conducting community engagement and preliminary planning efforts to determine its approach to redevelopment.
Here are the projects pitched for the Northridge site by the development groups presenting at the Commercial Real Estate and Development Conference.
Team no. 1
Scott Lurie, founder of F Street, and Ariam Kesete, CEO of AK Development pitched the winning project, called Harmony Works, which was selected by the audience vote.
The team proposed what they called a “campus approach to community.”
The development team, along with both other teams, assumed control of some of the properties surrounding the city-owned mall site, which the developers said would help create a more cohesive and impactful project.
Lurie and Kesete centered their plan around a public greenspace that could be programmed with events and dedicated about a quarter of their site to health and wellness, including community greenhouses, fitness centers, a community health center with education and outreach components, and pickleball and padel (a racket sport that’s a combination of tennis and squash) courts to create a draw for people outside the Granville neighborhood area.
Other portions of the site could include a trades or STEM education center and a “construction technology hub” around the current Menards store with a modular home manufacturing facility, a modular home display court and retail associated with the homebuilding.
The project also proposed about 600 new residences with a mix of housing options.
Team no. 2
Scott Yauck, president and CEO of Cobalt Partners, and Stephanie Mercado, supplier diversity supervisor for Michels Corp., proposed a mixed-use development called AspireMKE.
The vision for the project was to build “an integrated physical, social, and economic ecosystem founded on mutual support in which all participants can realize their full potential for holistic health and well-being across all life stages.”
To accomplish that, the team proposed a new road system on the site and to build a mix of housing units at a variety of densities and affordability levels with thoughtful components that would consider the five social determinants of health, which include education, health care, neighborhood, community and economic stability.
Those components could include things like career development resources, sustainable agriculture, creative arts and other health and wellness facilities.
The development team envisioned the neighborhood having several programmed components and expectations that residents would agree to move into the neighborhood and contribute to it, perhaps through building some of their own homes, which could include a trades education element.
Team no. 3
Bob Monnat, senior partner with Mandel Group, Michael Adetoro, managing partner of FIT Investment Group, and Matt Rinka, CEO of architecture firm Rinka, proposed an “agri-hood.”
The development team proposed a greenway extending from the corner of West Brown Deer Road and North 76th Street up to Kohl Park, an underutilized park on the border with Mequon.
Around that green space, the developers proposed a new road system that would connect with existing roads in the area and, from that, create a “community within a city with a unique focus on agri-tech.”
To accomplish that, the development could bring much-needed civic services to the Granville area like a fire and police station, and attract wellness-based retailers to Brown Deer Road. Using the agri-tech industry and agricultural components of the neighborhood, the developers envision farm-to-table and farm-to-consumer businesses at the site too.
To add critical mass, the project would also include high-density and mid-density housing, plus cottage court style neighborhoods.
Milwaukee architecture firm Rinka provided support to all three teams.
