Envy Apartment

A 27- story apartment tower planned behind the Goll Mansion on Milwaukee’s East Side received the endorsement of the city’s Plan Commission Monday , despite neighbors’ continued objections. This slideshow requires JavaScript . The controversial $55 million project by Chris Houden, the Madison-based developer and the owner of the property, to move the 118-year-old mansion at 1150 N. Prospect Ave. toward the street to make room for the residential tower has been in the works for more than a year. “We are thankful for the commission’s review and the broad support we’ve received from the community,” Houden said after the meeting. “We share their perspective that the proposed development will be a great addition to the East Side neighborhood , and the city of Milwaukee.” The Plan Commission deadlocked with a 3-3 vote on the project in 2016. However, the project was praised by the panel Monday for its design and green features. After more than an hour of testimony, plan commission member...

Fishbein's new proposal is more dense and more studio-heavy than the original plan, which called for 84 live/work apartments with a more diverse mix of apartment sizes. View Full Caption DPD AVONDALE — Controversial plans to turn the residential portion of "The Fields" development into a high- density studio project received unanimous approval from Plan Commission Thursday . The apartments are part of the massive development taking over the old Marshall Field's warehouse at 4000 W. Diversey Ave. Other components of the project, including the Cermak Fresh Market grocery store , are finished. The apartment proposal will next be considered by the full City Council . It's the second Plan Commission go-around for developer Paul Fishbein of 4K Diversey Partners . Fishbein's new proposal is more dense and more studio-heavy than the original plan, which called for 84 live/work apartments with a more diverse mix of apartment sizes. Under the new proposal, the pr...

Lancaster- based Oak Tree Development Group said it has agreed to buy the 11-acre property from Wilbur’s owner, Cargill, for an undisclosed price. “We like projects that are community-centric,” said Oak Tree President Mike O’Brien. “We’re excited to do a project that positively impacts a small town like this.” Oak Tree expects to submit plans to the borough in 60 days. The firm hopes to get them approved by year-end, start construction in early 2018 and complete the venture by March 2019. A name for the project has yet to be selected, said O’Brien. He declined to disclose the project’s cost. “We’re eager to work with Oak Tree,” said Karen Weibel, president of Lititz’s Borough Council . “It’s a local firm. They have a lot of credibility. We’re extremely thankful that the building will be utilized quickly, and not sit there for five or 10 years and invite blight.” Mayor Tim Snyder also was enthusiastic about the plan, saying the new uses “will enhance downtown Lititz . ... It’s going...

A few dozen people spent their lunch hour Aug . 22 discussing City of Carmel projects as part of the Carmel Small Business Network . Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard spoke in the city council chambers about issues such as property taxes, debt and proposed projects such as purchasing an antique carousel and constructing a luxury hotel. Brainard told the group of business owners he’s sending his 2018 budget to the Carmel City Council and that he expects the tax rate to remain flat. He defended his plan to spend approximately $5 million to acquire an antique carousel built in 1907. “It will make it a more interesting visit to Carmel,” he said. Brainard also explained how it makes financial sense for the city to become part owners of a luxury hotel in the Carmel City Center area . He said most hotel chains wants to see big returns on investment, and the city is happier with smaller profit margins from the hotel because of what it will mean for economic development. “If we’re going to g...

Is the cost of 16 new apartments too high for its Napa neighbors? City Council members found themselves divided in their answers on Tuesday, but scraped together just enough votes to keep alive a rental housing building planned for the edge of Old Town. Two months after the Planning Commission rejected the Bridgeview Apartments, a split council revived the project on a 3-2 vote despite concerns it would worsen parking and traffic on the narrow streets around Riverside Drive. The vote sets up a final decision by the council on approving the apartments, a move that will require finalizing an agreement with its developer to set aside three units for families earning less than the local median income and guarantee that other tenants can continue using federally funded Section 8 vouchers to pay their rent. Architect Stephen Cuddy , who is representing the landowner, Peter Dwares, predicted final approval could come to a vote May 2. Bridgeview would occupy the same 1.4-acre property w...

ROTTERDAM -- Plans to build a multi- faceted senior citizen community off Helderberg Avenue have been withdrawn by the developer in the face of opposition from residents and some Town Board members . Developer Lou Lecce pulled the application for the Whispering Pines senior complex at the end of a two- hour Town Board public hearing on the project Wednesday night . It was the second hearing in three weeks at which many Helderbeg Avenue neighbors spoke against the concept. "It's off the table. We're done," Lecce told the Town Board, after a series of verbal exchanges between Town Board members and the audience. Lecce said the project he proposed was a good one, but he didn't believe any new analyses he could present about traffic impacts or other issues would overcome the opposition of the crowd. "You were never going to convince this crowd of anything except what they wanted to believe," Lecce said. The developer said he still plans to buy the 96-...

In a story Aug. 21 about apartments planned in Muncie, The Associated Press misspelled the name of the city where Wisconsin- based Commonwealth Development Corp . is based. It's Fond du Lac, not Fon du Lac. A corrected version of the story is below: Apartments planned for 2 ex- auto factory sites in Muncie A developer is working on plans to construct apartments at the sites of two former auto industry plants in Muncie MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — A developer is working on plans to construct apartments at the sites of two former auto industry plants in Muncie. The proposal from Commonwealth Development Corp . would convert a two- story brick factory dating to 1912 into a 36- unit apartment building southwest of the city's downtown. The developer also plans a 35- unit townhouse apartment building on a portion of a vacant site that was once a General Motors transmission factory a few blocks away. The (Muncie) Star Press reports the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin- based developer has obtai...

The city of Tampa is on the cusp of a total makeover. With billions of dollars in investment and dozens of new apartment, condo, office and cultural buildings in the pipeline, the city's skyline and surrounding communities are poised to look a whole lot different than what it does today. But dreaming up the future of Tampa doesn't come without its challenges. For all the promises of a new urban core filled with hotels, parks, food halls and stores, there are also potential pitfalls. The Tampa Bay Times identified the five key obstacles that stand in the way of some of the biggest projects proposed in Hillsborough County . Many of these challenges are ones local politicians and business leaders have been fighting for years to find a solution. Others are fairly new territory, but still pose a real threat to the region's continued growth. [LOREN ELLIOTT | Times] A construction site is seen just north of Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa , Fla., on Monday, May 1, 2017. Curr...

County planners see the 2- acre public parking lot on the west side of Marina del Rey as underutilized and better suited for an apartment complex . But a group of citizens has a different vision for the land along Marquesas Way near Via Marina, not far from Mother's Beach. In its place, they want the county to build a park - a use envisioned for the site years ago , but that never came to fruition as marina redevelopment plans marched forward . The parking area - Parcel FF - is one of several in Marina del Rey that the county Department of Beaches and Harbors wants to redevelop, but that requires a land-use change before anything could be built on it. The Board of Supervisors in February agreed to establish new uses for FF and other parking lots - despite community opposition - and on April 26 could vote to certify an environmental report for the planned apartment development . (The land-use amendments still require California Coastal Commission approval ). With the supervisors...