Women’s fashion boutique Francesca’s is coming to the Broadway Market Lofts building in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.
The store will be leasing 1,933-square-feet of space at 327 N. Broadway. Construction is currently underway and Francesca’s is expected to open by the end of the year, according to a retail real estate broker familiar with the deal.
Francesca’s has more than 670 stores in 48 states, including stores at Bayshore Town Center in Glendale, Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa and Southridge Mall in Greendale.
The Broadway Market Lofts, 325-331 N. Broadway, feature eight two bedroom units on the second floor and two penthouse apartments along with first floor retail.
Lindsey Bovinet purchased the buildings at 325-327 N. Broadway in 2013 from The Jennaro Bros.
For decades, fruit and vegetable wholesales, like the Jennaro Bros., were located in the Third Ward. The Jennaro Bros. moved to 4050 N. Port Washington Road on Milwaukee’s north side in 2005.
In April 2015, Bovinet, chairman of Third Ward-based design firm Interior Systems Inc., bought a third Jennaro Bros. building at 331 N. Broadway, and began construction of Broadway Market Lofts.
Francesca’s will join national retailers Lululemon Athletica, Pendleton, Anthropologie, West Elm and Milworks in the Third Ward. Fashion eyeglass retailer Warby Parker and high-end salon Drybar are also planning stores at 315 N. Broadway and 241 N. Broadway, respectively.
