King Drive Commons III to break ground

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Thursday, Feb. 25, to celebrate the start of construction for King Drive Commons III at 2775 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Milwaukee.
King Drive Commons III will be a 24-unit affordable housing building with 2,000 square feet of first floor retail space.
Through the federal stimulus act the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) is providing $4.8 million in low income housing tax credits and $500,000 in financing for the project.
The developer for the project is Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp.
“There has been an overwhelmingly positive response to the King Drive Commons housing developments throughout this community, so we’re very excited to partner on this third phase,” said WHEDA executive director Antonio Riley. “The revitalization of this historic neighborhood over the past decade has been remarkable, and MLK Economic Development Corp and Harambee Great Neighborhood Initiative deserve high praise for their efforts to improve both housing and employment options for area residents.”
Since 2003, WHEDA’s investment in all three phases of King Drive Commons totals over $18 million in tax credits and financing.
King Drive Commons III will consist of two and three bedroom units with rent ranging from $595 to $857 per month. The low-income apartment complex will also feature 2,000 sq. feet of ground floor commercial or community space.
King Drive Commons I, completed in 2005, is a mixed-use building with 18 apartments and 6,500 square feet of commercial space. King Drive Commons II, completed in 2008, features a mixed-use building with nine apartments along with 15 scattered home sites along N. 4th Street, N. 2nd Street and W. Hadley Street. Both mixed-use buildings are located on the 2700 block of N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.