An affiliate of Milwaukee-based Phoenix Investors LLC, has purchased the long-vacant former Lowe’s building near Milwaukee’s Midtown Center.
Phoenix Midtown LLC, purchased the 134,000-square-foot building, which sits on a 13-acre site at 5800 West Hope St., from Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC for $1.5 million.
The property has been vacant since the Lowe’s store closed five years ago. Repeated prior attempts to find a retail tenant have been unsuccessful.
In January, the 161,022-square-foot Walmart Supercenter store at Midtown Center, 5825 W. Hope Ave., closed along with three other Walmart stores in the Milwaukee area.
David Marks, managing director of Phoenix Investors, said he hopes the purchase will be a catalyst for Midtown Center.
Dan Rosenfeld, principal/director of property representation at Mid-America Real Estate-Wisconsin, brokered the Lowe’s deal.
Phoenix intends to repurpose the former Lowe’s property for industrial use by a single tenant and has identified two manufacturing companies as prospective tenants to lease the property, according to the company. Both tenants have indicated it would use the property as a warehouse to support regional and growing manufacturing operations and would employ Milwaukee workers and management to run the facility, according to Phoenix Investors.
Over the last four years, Phoenix Investors has acquired ten buildings, exceeding 1.5 million square feet, on the north side of Milwaukee. Each of those properties was blighted.
“We are committed to creating jobs and bringing new life to a property in Milwaukee that has suffered blight, high unemployment and vacancies over the last five years,” said Frank Crivello, executive vice president of Phoenix Investors. “We will eliminate blight, create quality jobs, enhance public safety and boost economic activity.”
