Another downtown Milwaukee office building is set to be converted from office space to apartments.
Milwaukee-based commercial real estate firm
J. Jeffers & Co. revealed plans on Tuesday to convert in the historic
Mitchell Building, located at 207 E. Michigan St., into 60 apartment units.
Plans submitted to the City of Milwaukee show commercial space in the building's garden level, with apartments on the upper seven floors including a three-level penthouse.
“We’ll preserve and incorporate the many distinctive features of this beautiful building into the apartment units,” said Josh Jeffers, owner and founder of J. Jeffers & Co., in a press release. “Many units will showcase walk-in bank vaults, as well as 16-to-18-foot-high ceilings, enormous 10-by-4-foot windows and original hardwood floors.”
Built in 1876, the Mitchell Building has been used as an office building for nearly 150 years, but had struggled with high vacancy in recent years, previous listings for the office space show.
The conversion project, which will utilize state and federal historic tax credits, will first focus on the building’s interior, with exterior restoration planned to begin in spring 2026.
Jeffers has already conducted structural repairs to the foundation of the Mitchell Building, which shares a skywalk with the Mackie Building, 225 E. Michigan St., another J. Jeffers & Co. historic renovation.
"
This infusion of investment and much-needed housing is a win for downtown Milwaukee,” said City of Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development Lafayette Crump. “We believe every neighborhood should have a mix of uses and opportunities, so including more residential downtown, as this project from J. Jeffers & Co. accomplishes, is quite welcome.”
Jeffers is also planning to convert the upper floors of the Clark Building, 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., into more than 200 apartments as that building has also struggled to attract new office tenants.
More articles about J. Jeffers & Co.:
