The developers behind The Edison, a 15-story mass timber apartment building project planned along the Milwaukee River northeast of State and Edison streets, want to create "a new destination point in downtown Milwaukee."
That's according to project plans filed with the city.
Madison-based developer
The Neutral Project plans to build a 232,000-square-foot mass timber building at 1005 N. Edison St. The riverfront site is currently the location of the Rojahn & Malaney Co. wholesale florist warehouse building.
BizTimes first reported on The Edison project
in April. The project team has now applied for a certificate of appropriateness with the city's Historic Preservation Commission to modify a portion of the downtown RiverWalk.
The alterations would better connect the RiverWalk to the development site, according to application records. The team wants to raise the RiverWalk about 32 inches to match the height of The Edison's first floor.
"The project aims to create a respectful addition to the cityline as well as a new destination point in downtown Milwaukee," the application states. "By adding commercial program to three sides of the building, we'll create a valuable public amenity space that is seen as a destination and offers the general public an exciting and lively block to experience and explore while strolling down the river."
The Edison would include a 15-story tower that steps down to 12 stories. It would contain around 220 residential units, 110 parking stalls and 15,000 square feet of retail space.
Nate Helbach, managing partner of Neutral, said the site will need to be rezoned, which requires approval by the City Plan Commission and Common Council. He said the project is on track to secure all approvals by September.
Assuming approvals are met, the project would then break ground in November, he said.
Canada-based
Michael Green Architecture is the design architect. Janesville-based
Angus-Young Associates is the architect and engineer of record.
It is only
the latest mass timber project proposed in the city. It would followÂ
Ascent, which is under construction downtown, andÂ
Timber Lofts, which was built recently in Walker’s Point.
First invented in the 1920s, and re-imagined as a building material in the 1970s and ’80s, mass timber has been used for high rises across Europe, Australia and Canada. Changes to U.S. building codes recently opened the door for domestic mass timber high-rise construction.
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