A 2.3-acre site along the Kinnickinnic River in Milwaukee’s Harbor District has been put under contract by Wauwatosa-based real estate development firm Wangard Partners Inc.
The property, at 1958-1970 S. First St., is the current home of Commercial Heat Treating Inc.
Commercial Heat Treating has been in the process of relocating to 1530 S. Barclay St. since being purchased by Complete Heat Treating, which is located there, said David Croysdale, an attorney with Michael Best who represents Complete Heat Treating.
Wangard has had Commercial Heat Treating’s property under contract for a few weeks, Croysdale said.
Stewart Wangard, chairman and CEO of Wangard Partners, could not be reached for comment.
Commercial Heat Treating has a 30,000-square-foot industrial building on the property that includes 1,500 square feet of office space. The property has more than 570 feet of riverfront frontage.
The property was listed for sale by Dickman Companies Inc. for $1.7 million. It is assessed by the city of Milwaukee for $772,600.
An investment group led by San Diego investor John Jung purchased the 1958-1970 S. First St. property in June for $1.1 million from Lloyd Stepien LLC, according to state records.
The site is across the river and northeast of where Michels Corp. is planning a $100 million mixed-use development. Michels announced in August it is planning an eight-story regional office building at the former Horny Goat Hideaway property, which is located northwest of Becher and South First streets. The development will also include two more office buildings, apartments and a hotel.
Last month, Komatsu Mining Corp. announced it would build a $285 million headquarters and manufacturing facility at the former Solvay Coke site, which is just northeast of the Commercial Heat Treating site.
Transwestern is also marketing a 6.8-acre waterfront property at 1933 S. First St., directly across the Kinnickinnic River to the north from the Horny Goat property next to the parcel Wangard has under contract.
Wangard is familiar with the Harbor District. He developed Freshwater Plaza at Greenfield Avenue and South 1st Street. The four-phase, 180,000-square-foot development includes a Cermak grocery store and a three-story apartment with building with ground-level retail.
