Franklin’s Common Council has given the thumbs-up to a roughly $51 million build-to-rent neighborhood planned just west of Northwestern Mutual’s Franklin campus and alongside the site of the city’s upcoming Costco. Miami-based developer Advenir Azora is planning 166 cottage-style rental homes, a mix of duplexes and miniature townhomes pitched as “missing middle” housing for the area. City officials and planners say construction is expected to begin this fall, with the first residents targeted to move in by late 2027 and full buildout expected in 2028.
Project details
Advenir Azora is proposing 166 units spread across about 23 acres, including one-, two- and three-bedroom cottage duplexes and miniature townhomes, according to the Daily Reporter. The developer’s filing lists several South 31st Street parcels for the community and pegs the finished project at roughly $51.6 million.
Council sign-off and schedule
The Franklin Common Council voted this week to approve the plan, clearing the way for site work and infrastructure to move ahead. Construction is expected to start in fall 2026, with the first occupants moving in by late 2027 and overall completion eyed for 2028, as reported by the Milwaukee Business Journal. City materials cited by that coverage put the project’s valuation at about $51 million.
Neighboring Costco and site context
The new neighborhood will sit just west of Northwestern Mutual’s Franklin campus and a short drive from the 164,000-square-foot Costco planned at West Drexel Avenue and South 27th Street, described as Milwaukee County’s first Costco. Local coverage noted that crews were preparing to break ground on the warehouse store; CBS58 reported on the store’s impending construction.
Permits, hearings and neighborhood reaction
The project moved through public review over the summer. The city’s online agenda lists a Plan Commission packet and a July public hearing on the Advenir Azora application, and the developer will still need a conditional use permit and a planned-development overlay before it can pull final building permits. See the City of Franklin for meeting materials, public comments and staff notes from the review.
The approval folds Franklin into a broader push by national build-to-rent platforms into Midwest suburbs. Advenir Azora, the U.S. rental platform formed when Advenir joined with Spain-based Azora, has announced multiple American projects under a multi-billion-dollar investment platform and says the Franklin community fits into that national pipeline. Azora has posted details about its U.S. rollout.
