Plans include 24 apartments and year-round fresh market
Particpating in the ground breaking for the new Mitchell Street Market Lofts Project are from letf to right, Jesse Greenlee of WHEDA, Tina Anderson, and Sherry Terrell-Webb student collaborators and Damid Luedcke, senior underwriter for WHEDA. (Photo by Robert A. Bell)
In 2009 Associates in Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) students at Marquette University presented their class project, a twenty-four unit apartment building with a year-round farmers market, before a panel of bankers, city leaders and peers. The class project was well received and the students, Tina M Anderson and Sherry Terrell-Webb, decided to make their school project a reality.
“In two years I went from real estate novice to the developer of a six million dollar project featuring cutting edge green technology and sheltering a fresh food oasis in the central city. We made it happen because people believed in our vision and we formed a lot of partnerships along the way,” said Tina Anderson.
A collaboration of Anderson, Terrell-Webb, their instructor, Bob Lemke from Wisconsin Redevelopment and Todd Hutchison from Impact Seven, was soon formed. WHEDA tax credits were awarded in 2010, syndicated by the National Equity Fund (a subsidiary of LISC), and purchased by JP Morgan Chase. This $6 million project will utilize many sustainable including a green living roof. The site is a Brownfield that will require remediation with assistance from the State of Wisconsin. Other participants include the Federal Home Loan Bank, the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District and the Home Depot Foundation.
The farmers market will be operated year-round by Growing Power, an award winning nonprofit agency helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities. Located at the Corner of Mitchell Street and Muskego Ave (1920 W. Mitchell). The Mitchell Street Market Lofts brings high quality development to a rich community with two-bedroom apartments available for people earning up to 60 percent of the area’s median income.
The project was designed by Barrientos Architects and the general contractor will be Universal Construction Solutions.
The project construction will utilize more than 30 percent emerging businesses contractors.