Milwaukee-based Mandel Group Inc. recently purchased six buildings and about three acres of land in the Fifth Ward at 322-44 E. Florida St., Milwaukee, from JRB IV LLC. The transaction was brokered by Rand Wolf of CB Richard Ellis, who represented JRB. Mandel Group indicated that it is working on various development alternatives for the property. The Fifth Ward is becoming a hot area for redevelopment of old industrial sites as development from the Historic Third Ward is spreading south. The property that Mandel purchased can be seen across the Milwaukee River from the Third Ward riverfront property where Mandel plans to build Domus, a $50 million, 6-story, 61-unit condominium development. The building is also just south of where developer Bob Schultz plans to build Rivianna, a proposed $100 million development that would feature three towers, each 16 stories high, with a total of 165 condos and a 60-room boutique hotel, and the Transpak Corp. facility at 235 E. Pittsburg Ave., where Lighthouse Development Co. LLC is planning a mixed-use redevelopment. Tanspak is moving to a new facility in Franklin and the grand opening for that facility was held recently.
"We have been looking for the right acquisition in the Fifth Ward, recognizing that the area has great potential given its location between Historic Walker’s Point and the Historic Third Ward," said Robert Monnat, chief operating officer for Mandel Group, which is one of the largest condominium developers in the area. "This property is a prominent piece of the area’s historic fabric and provides an intriguing opportunity for a creative adaptive reuse development." The properties comprise about 206,000 square feet of building area. The buildings had housed the distribution operations for Brass Light Gallery of Milwaukee. Brass Light Gallery has consolidated and expanded its operations at a new location in the Menomonee Valley at 1101 W. St. Paul Ave., Milwaukee. Brass Light’s new home became available as a result of Aldrich Chemical Co.’s relocation, which was forced by the Marquette Interchange construction project. Brass Light has been spread out in several historic buildings in Walker’s Point and the Fifth Ward. "We really enjoyed our stay in the Fifth Ward, however, in order for our company to operate efficiently we needed a single building with large open floorplans to properly house our operations," said Stephen Kaniewski, president of Brass Light Gallery.
Ealon LLC purchased the 69,485-square-foot office building located on seven acres of land at 1050 Walnut Ridge Dr., Hartland, from License Products Inc. for $4.2 million. The property has an assessed value of $4.5 million, according to Waukesha County records. License Products was represented by Barry Chavin and Steve Anderson of MLG Commercial and Ealon was represented by Mark Smith of Judson & Associates in brokering the deal.
