A developer is working on plans to build seven townhouses off North Arlington Place, facing Pulaski Park in Milwaukee’s East Village neighborhood.
The plans call for demolishing the existing structure at 1819-21 N. Arlington Place and combining that parcel with a vacant lot next door at 1813-15 N. Arlington Place. On the combined lot, two buildings that contain a total of seven townhouses would be built.
Jason Pietsch, the project developer, said he has owned the vacant lot and has weighed a number of possibilities of what to do with it. The market seemed to support the idea of building condos given the activity going on in the area, he said. The location of the townhouses makes sense as well, he added, given its proximity to Brady Street.
“We think there’s some infill demand,” Pietsch said.
The townhouse closest to North Arlington Place would be tilted at an angle to face more toward the street, but the rest of the townhouses would be directly facing the park, he said.
The existing fence separating the property from Pulaski Park would also be replaced. Pietsch said he has a written letter of understanding with Milwaukee Public Schools about replacing the chain-link fence with something more visually appealing.
Pietsch said his thinking is to have a decorative six-foot wrought iron fence with fine black netting above that. The netting material would be similar to what is at Miller Park, and would further protect the townhouses from any balls hit their way from the nearby baseball diamond.
Before building the townhouses, Pietsch will need approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals to allow for two buildings on the single combined lot. All other criteria, such as setbacks, height and parking, conform to existing zoning requirements, according to a notice from Alderman Nik Kovac’s office.
Kovac, whose district includes the site of the proposed townhouses, is holding a community meeting next week for residents to give their thoughts on the proposal. He said he wanted to hear from neighbors before deciding whether to get behind the project, but added that he thinks it has potential.
“It would embrace the park in a way that it currently doesn’t,” Kovac said, adding that the proposed height and density of the project is “not overwhelming” for the area.
