Jeffers creating educational ecosystem at Journal Square project

The redevelopment of the former Journal Sentinel complex in downtown Milwaukee now has a clear educational focus.Milwaukee charter school system Seeds of Health Inc. announced recently it would expand its Tenor High School at the southern building addition, located at 918-922 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.It is the second education-related component happening at J. Jeffers & Co.'s Journal Square project.Seeds of Health purchased the building from Jeffers and anticipates completing renovations to the four-story space in time for the 2021-2022 school year."We are thrilled to announce the expansion of Tenor High School and the opportunity to serve more children in Milwaukee," Jane Trenchard, Seeds of Health executive board member, said in a statement.BizTimes reported details of the school's renovation plans last week.Students in Tenor High School spend their fourth year at Milwaukee Area Technical College, free of charge.This makes for a good pairing with the 195-bed affordable housing project for MATC students that's also happening at Journal Square. Construction commenced on the $29.1 million project last fall.Plus, the new school will only be a couple blocks from the MATC campus.“It’s really going to be a nice ecosystem that we’re putting together on that redevelopment block,” Josh Jeffers, president and chief executive officer of Jeffers & Co., said in a recent interview with BizTimes.Tenor High school is the only program of its kind in the state, according to Marcia Spector, executive director of Seeds of Health. More than 500 students have attended since its inception 15 years ago.The new space puts the school in a desirable location and will allow it to potentially accommodate 500-plus students over the next four years.Seeds of Health worked with Brian Parrish, president and CEO of PARADIGM Real Estate, in locating a new home for Tenor High School.The search lasted five years. The new location needed to be close to partner school MATC. It also needed to be in a visible downtown location, near a bus line and with enough space to meet the school's needs.Affiliates of Jeffers & Co. bought the three Journal Sentinel buildings in fall 2019. The newspaper has since moved out of the largely vacant buildings to a different downtown office space.Read the March 8 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee here: