The
Hmong American Women's Association has purchased the Gustav Pabst Mansion on Milwaukee's near west side, which will serve as the organization's new home.
HAWA purchased the 11,000-square-foot mansion, located at 3030 W. Highland Blvd., on June 3 for $435,000, according to a news release and state records.
"HAWA will continue to provide services for Southeast Asian Women, Girls, Queer and Trans people experiencing violence, and we are so happy to finally have a permanent home in Milwaukee that will allow us to continue this important work," Tammie Xiong, executive director of HAWA, said in a statement.
Later this month, HAWA will launch a $1 million fundraising campaign to support its new home and the next 100 years of the organization, Xiong revealed in a letter to the community. The campaign will be called HAWA Roots Down MKE.
The non-profit organization was founded in 1993. It is the only Southeast Asian women, Queer-fem-led grassroots social justice advocacy group in Milwaukee dedicated to the liberation of Southeast Asian women, girls, Queer and Trans people, according to its website.
Milwaukee-based The Barry Co. brokered the transaction. The mansion was on the market for less than three months, the company said.
“We’ve had the opportunity to work on five of these properties over the last two years,” David Barry, the listing broker on the sale, said in a statement. "(A)nd each one carries such a great piece of Milwaukee’s history. It’s fulfilling when our company’s path meets up with some of these landmark Milwaukee properties and to witness first-hand how they will be stewarded in the future.”
Former Pabst Brewing Co. president Gustav Pabst built the mansion as a gift for his wife, Hilda, in 1898, according to the release. It was later bought by Fritz Pritzlaff, president of the John Pritzlaff Hardware Co.
