MILWAUKEE (Feb. 9, 2024) — Five Points Lofts, a highly anticipated residential development project, officially broke ground today in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood. This much-needed initiative aims to provide quality housing options to individuals and families in the area and positively impact the community.
“This is a great day for Milwaukee and the Harambee neighborhood and another step in the renaissance taking place along Dr. Martin Luther King Drive,” said Nicole Robbins, executive director of Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation (MLKEDC), a partner in the project with KG Development Group.
The project has received overwhelming support from the local community and is the result of a collaboration among MLKEDC, KG Development Group, the city of Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), and Bader Philanthropies, showcasing a united effort to address the housing crisis and improve the community’s overall well-being.
The five-story, 55-unit development will be above 7,500 square feet of street-level retail space on North Dr. Martin Luther King Drive between West Concordia and West Keefe avenues.
Forty-six of the apartments are defined as “affordable,” with rents ranging from $474 to $1,191 per month. In exchange for receiving federal affordable housing credits to help finance the project, developers must provide at least 85 percent of the building’s units at below-market rents to people earning no higher than 60 percent of the local median income. Nine of the apartments will be rented at market rates.
“This is truly a team effort resulting in quality new housing and retail at the north end of King Drive and the Harambee neighborhood,” said KG Development Group principal Anthony Kazee, noting that the group had to overcome a 20-30 percent increase in construction costs because of the pandemic. “We couldn’t have done this without all of our partners.”
In 2020, MLKEDC and KG Development Group purchased several vacant lots at 3317-3349 N. King Dr. and 456 W. Concordia Ave. from the city for $25,000. The city also approved a $737,000 grant for the project through a tax incremental district (TID). Other financing for the project came from low-income tax credits, federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds, WHEDA mortgage financing and state funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Robbins said obtaining the final piece of funding means that site work can begin in the coming weeks, with vertical construction beginning by summer and the first tenants moving in by May 2025.
The one-acre project site is across the street from Bader Philanthropies’ offices at 3300 N. King Drive.
