New Third Ward condo project may include Calderone Club restaurant
By Steve Jagler, of SBT
A new $5 million condominium construction project, which will include a high-end Italian restaurant on the ground floor, has begun in the former Lo Duca Building on the north end of Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.
The Calderone Club, which operates three other restaurants in the Milwaukee area, intends to purchase and renovate about 5,000 square feet of the building’s ground floor space for the new restaurant.
Kendall Breunig, owner of Sunset Investors, Franklin, purchased the building at 400 N. Broadway last June from Lo Duca Bros. Inc.
Lo Duca Bros. moved its business, which sells consumer electronic accessories, musical instruments, imported and domestic premium wines and cooking and seasoning oils, to 5665 S. Westridge Dr. in New Berlin last August.
Breunig said he has renamed the Lo Duca Building the Commission House Condominiums.
Members of the Fazzari family, which owns the Calderone Club restaurants, could not be reached for comment on their plans.
Breunig said he and the Fazzaris are still waiting for final approvals from the Historic Third Ward Association and the City of Milwaukee to proceed with the project.
"We hope to start marketing in March or April. We’re about 90% there, as far as the approvals go," Breunig said. "The restaurant space will be done nicely. It will be a nice addition to the Third Ward. They (condo residents) will be able to call for room service."
The restaurant also will include an outdoor dining area protected by canopies, he said.
The 10-story building to be anchored by the Calderone Club will include indoor parking in the basement and on the second-floor levels for the condo residents.
Breunig plans to begin renovation to construct 23 condos in the building soon. Some of the units on the third and fourth floors also will include office space, he said.
The condos will range in size from 880 to 2012 square feet, and in price from $203,000 to $604,000. They will feature 11-foot ceilings, wood floors, whirlpool tubs and 1-1/2 spaces of indoor parking.
Several of the older buildings that are being rehabilitated in the Third Ward feature retail on the ground floors.
"I think mixed-use is a good thing for that area," Breunig said. "I totally believe you have to have parking to sell condos. Without parking, you might sell them or you might not."
The rooftop of the building will include a common patio area for residents of the Commission House.
"From the rooftop area, it’s a spectacular view of Summerfest and the fireworks," Breunig said. "We’re trying to make use of as much of the rooftop as possible."
The condominiums and office space will be designed by CityScape Architecture/Interiors of Elm Grove.
March 7, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
