Madison developer Neutral has unloaded Bakers Place, its mass-timber apartment tower on South Paterson Street, for roughly $37.2 million, a fraction of what it cost to build. The deal, which closed at the end of March, shifts ownership to an LLC tied to a Chicago investment group and comes as Neutral starts using the cash to chip away at a stack of liens tied to its Madison and Milwaukee projects.
Sale details and buyer
As reported by the Milwaukee Business Journal, Neutral sold Bakers Place for about $37.2 million, a price the outlet notes is roughly half the amount the developer borrowed to finance the tower. The Business Journal framed the sale as a bid to stabilize the company’s balance sheet after months of publicized unpaid bills and contractor liens.
State conveyance records show Bakers Place SPE LLC, an affiliate of Neutral, transferred the property to Bakers Place Acquisition LLC at the end of March, according to The Daily Reporter. That buyer entity lists an address tied to Chicago-based asset manager Altitude Capital Partners, the outlet reported.
How it was financed
The project was originally financed with roughly $73.83 million in construction loans arranged in January 2023, according to a JLL Capital Markets news release. That package, which included a senior loan through Bank OZK and mezzanine financing via Pearlmark, means the sale price recouped only part of the original capital stack. JLL's announcement also described Bakers Place as a 206-unit mass-timber development when the financing closed.
After the sale, Neutral began making payments to several subcontractors and vendors, including a $54,000 check to muralist Janson Rapisarda, one of the local artists who painted the building, according to reporting by Isthmus. Court records and filings show multiple liens have been released or reduced, though a handful of claims are still in place.
Legal fallout
Contractor C.D. Smith has filed multimillion-dollar liens tied to Neutral’s projects, including a more than $10.15 million claim on the developer’s stalled Edison Street tower in Milwaukee and a $4.1 million lien connected to Bakers Place that was later satisfied, The Daily Reporter reported. The contractor’s March lawsuit seeking a potential foreclosure sale of the Milwaukee site remains active, leaving open questions about Neutral’s exposure on its larger developments.
Local impact
Bakers Place opened for leasing in spring 2025 but still has dozens of open apartments. Reporting indicates roughly 90 units remain unfilled as the new owner takes over, a vacancy level that could shape how the building is marketed or priced going forward. An affiliate of the property also recently signed a lease with the city for up to 50 parking spaces at a nearby garage, a move city officials told Isthmus they approved even as residents raised concerns about Neutral’s unpaid debts.
Neutral’s founder, Nathan Helbach, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the Milwaukee Business Journal noted, and the buyer has not publicly shared plans for repositioning or operating the asset. Lenders and contractors are expected to watch the outcome closely as they look for clarity on what happens next across Neutral’s broader portfolio.
