Milwaukee-based developer Spoerl Commercial is proposing a new affordable housing development in Shorewood’s Oakland Avenue commercial corridor.
The proposed project would bring a three-story, 19-unit apartment building to 4450 N. Oakland Ave., a site currently occupied by a city-owned parking lot. According to documents from the Village of Shorewood, the development is intended to provide housing for residents earning between 30% and 60% of the Milwaukee County median income.
Spoerl Commercial has already received zoning approval for the site and is now seeking tax incremental financing (TIF) from the village to help support the project. The firm also plans to apply for tax credits through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Corporation.
The village released a request for proposals (RFP) last year to redevelop three municipally owned parking lots into affordable housing. Spoerl’s Oakland Avenue proposal is the only one still under consideration, after the village declined to move forward with two proposals it received for a separate site on Frederick Avenue. A third site is located at the southwest corner of Menlo Boulevard and Oakland Avenue did not receive any proposals.
Spoerl’s Shorewood proposal is similar to a 17-unit workforce housing development the firm is currently building in nearby Whitefish Bay. That project received both state and county funding.
