A vacant building on the near northwest side of Milwaukee could be redeveloped into a business and community hub under a new plan from a local real estate attorney turned developer.
Milwaukee-based
ZDH Holdings owns the property at 2126 W. Fond du Lac Ave., which is about 2 miles northwest of downtown Milwaukee, and is planning to rehab the 6,440-square-foot building to bring in a variety of new uses.
The building, which will be known as
Eban, could include a coffee shop, professional offices, a daycare with a "youth development center," and salon suites. The building will also include community classroom space and cold food storage, a press release from ZDH says.
"Each of the businesses speak to a community care approach that offers opportunities for professionals and residents of the area to build community, as well as opportunities to attract a broader customer and client base city-wide, creating both an energy of revitalization and innovation for the area," the release says.
ZDH was founded by
Adella Deacon, a Milwaukee native and attorney with a focus on real estate, estate planning, and business. Deacon owns and manages several rental units and is also a licensed real estate broker, according to the release.
“When businesses thrive, residents prosper, and the overall quality of life for everyone improves," Deacon said of the project, in the release. "Our goal is to create and sustain reciprocal success for everyone invested and involved.”
The Fond du Lac Avenue building, built in 1934, was most recently occupied by Interstate Blood Bank. The building is next to the Fondy Farmers Market and across the street from the former Sears building, which has long been planned to be
redeveloped by local developer Kalan Haywood.
Plans for the Sears redevelopment were stagnant for a few years until last year, when Haywood teamed up with Milwaukee-based
F Street Group to draft new plans to redevelop the mall into a mixed-use building with retail, office space and housing. Progress on that project has not been publicly shared since August, when Haywood received an extension on a city loan.
ZDH Holdings did not respond to requests for additional comment on its project.