Blue Ribbon Management LLC plans to transform the former bottling facility building at the former Pabst brewery complex in downtown Milwaukee into a 250,000-square-foot multi-purpose educational facility, according to plans submitted Tuesday to the City of Milwaukee.
The building, located at 1128 N. 10th St., would include student housing space; hotel space for visiting guests, students and professors; classrooms; amenities that will include a large exercise facility; and a publicly accessible food court.
Subject to city approval, construction could begin this year and be complete in the fall of 2016.
“We anticipate that students from throughout the world attending Milwaukee area colleges and universities will utilize this facility as their home away from home, while attending classes in our community,” said Michael Kelly, vice president of Blue Ribbon Management. “We have been working on this project for over three years and have received great cooperation from the universities and colleges in our area. We have created one of the most dynamic multi-use educational facilities in the United States. We will fully utilize the great historic bones of this building.”
Jim Shields of HGA is the architect for the project and the construction firm is KM Development Corp.
The redevelopment of the former Pabst brewery complex was started by Zilber Ltd. founder Joseph Zilber, who purchased most of the complex and formed The Brewery Project LLC to transform it into a mixed-use urban neighborhood. The Brewery Project LLC has sold several buildings in the complex to other developers to do redevelopment projects.
“We think this new, yet historic facility, will make a positive contribution to the well-being of our community and its ability to attract students and educators from throughout the world who will hopefully choose to live, work and invest in Milwaukee after they have completed their educational pursuits,” said John Kersey, president of The Brewery Project LLC.
