Once slated for demolition, the historic
Catherine Foley Tavern building in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward is now planned to become the new home of the
Milwaukee Preservation Alliance (MPA) office, with the rest being put on the market as retail or restaurant space.
The MPA is a nonprofit and Milwaukee’s leading preservation advocacy organization. It received the building, located at 266 E. Erie St., as a donation in early 2024 with plans to fully restore it.
So far, MPA has boarded up the building's windows, patched its roof to prevent water from further leaking in and removed interior walls that were moldy and decaying.
"We found a couple of dead squirrels, dead raccoons," said
Emma Rudd, executive director of MPA.
The building's design team is hoping to finish design and construction documents this June, with bids for structural and foundation work going out this summer. Following more construction work on the building's shell and interior, the goal is to have the building open in late 2026, according to documents presented at a Wednesday meeting of the Third Ward Architectural Review Board (ARB).
That's all pending what could be a lengthy approval process with input needed from entities that award historic tax credits, the Third Ward ARB, Milwaukee's Historic Preservation Commission and maybe the Common Council. MPA also needs to secure $3 million in fundraising for the project.
MPA is ramping up its fundraising efforts with a design contest in May. The contest will give architects, planners and others an opportunity to promote their vision of a revitalized building with a scale model.
Winners will be recognized in the categories of Most Sustainable, Most Detailed, Most Unique and People’s Choice with voters paying to vote. The fee to enter the design contest is $500 and includes two tickets to the fundraiser. The winners will be recognized on the donor wall at the renovated building.
While plans are still being finalized for the renovated building, MPA envisions its offices occupying most of the second floor, as well as a small area on the first floor of the building's eastern end. If there is space leftover on the second floor, MPA said another small office or coworking space could also be included on the second floor.
The western portion, or "pointy end," of the building's first floor will be marketed for lease. Rudd said there has not been a tenant lined up.
Built in 1884 with an addition in 1912, the building is among the few buildings to survive the Third Ward’s 1892 fire. It’s also one of the few buildings to represent the Third Ward’s history of Irish immigrants − as well as being tied to a 19th century woman entrepreneur and Milwaukee’s LGBTQ history.
Most recently, the building served as the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design’s (MIAD) student union. A fire struck in January 2013, shuttering the building.
A development team comprised of Fox Point-based
General Capital Group and Milwaukee-based
Joseph Property Development purchased the building in 2014 with plans to tear it down to redevelop the site with a new office building. After a heated preservation debate, the development team
donated the building to MPA.
"There are a lot of historic organizations in the city, but we are the only ones who actually do active advocacy," Rudd said. "So that is why this project is so near and dear to us. Because we're really putting our money where our mouth is."
