A local development team is planning to replace a string of vacant buildings and an underutilized public park in West Allis with townhomes, apartments, retail space and a new public courtyard.
Proposed by Milwaukee-based commercial real estate firm JJH3group and Wauwatosa-based Galbraith Carnahan Architects, the project will bring a total of 19 housing units to 6400 W. Greenfield Ave.
Included in the plans are eight townhouses for rent in a two-story building and a three-story apartment building with another 11 units, which would include one- and two-bedroom units.
“The goal of the development is to replace a collection of blighted buildings and an underutilized public space with an active new residential development and community gathering hub,” said Jeffrey Hook, principal at JJH3group, in a statement.
The project leaders are taking a different approach than the larger-scale new apartment buildings that have been built along many of West Allis’s commercial corridors recently.
“This new missing middle housing development will also provide a transition between the single family homes to the north and the taller, higher-density multifamily buildings to the south and east,” Hook said.
Founded in 2021, JJH3group is a real estate development, design and construction consulting firm, according to the company’s website.
The project team has agreements with the City of West Allis to purchase the project site and is negotiating terms for a tax incremental financing district to support the project, according to city documents. The developers are anticipating TIF to cover 20% of the project costs, with 60% covered through a construction loan and the remaining 20% paid for with equity.
The city in the past two years acquired the Greenfield Avenue properties with the intent of redeveloping them, according to city documents. The sites include a public green space, a former adult entertainment bar and the former site of Crawdaddy’s on Greenfield restaurant.
The planned three-story apartment building includes a ground-floor space for a café, which would have outdoor seating opening onto a new park space of similar size to the current one.
Contingent on zoning approvals and closing on financing, the project could break ground in October.
The City of West Allis Plan Commission is scheduled to vote on a number of items related to the project this week, including zoning, site plans and sale of the project site.
