A deteriorating 136-year-old building in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood could be redeveloped into a restaurant.
The two-story brick building at 106 E. Seeboth St., located northwest of South 1st Street and Seeboth, is owned by Karl Kopp, owner of the downtown restaurant Elsa’s on the Park. Kopp is working on a restaurant project for the building, according to a real estate source.
Kopp could not be reached for comment.
Ald. Jim Witkowiak said a developer is working on a $5 million project for the building that would preserve the south and west sides of the building, but the rest of the structure would be replaced with a new building. He declined to provide additional details.
In a letter to constituents, Witkowiak said, “this…proposed development will greatly enhance the appearance and character of the area while maintaining the historical architecture of the building.”
Witkowiak said he has received numerous complaints about the building from residents of The Point on the River, an adjacent condo building. Several residents in the condo building see the decay of the old brick building and want something done about it, he said.
“We’ve been getting so many complaints about that building,” Witkowiak said. “We probably get 3,4, 5 calls a week about the building. Looking at it from on top, it’s kind of disgusting. The roof is caved in and you can see the decay.”
The Point on the River, originally known as First Place on the River, went into receivership when the original developer failed to complete the project. Mandel Group was hired to complete the project. To date 140 of the 147 condos in the building have been sold, said Mandel Group chief operating officer Robert Monnat.
“We expect to be completely sold out by the middle of the year,” he said.
As more residents move into The Point on the River, more complaints are made about the crumbling old brick building next door.
“When you look down on it from the point on the river you see it has huge holes in the roof,” Monnat said. “The building is deteriorating badly and needs some help.”
During the condo boom prior to the Great Recession, Kopp planned to tear down the old brick building and replace it with a new condo building. However, plans to tear down the building were opposed by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission and that project never moved forward.
