A four-story, 54,000-square-foot apartment building is headed for the stretch of South Kinnickinnic Avenue once home to an appliance repair shop, with plans calling for 41 one- and two-bedroom units, retail space and covered parking at 2363-2373 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. The project would replace the long-vacant storefronts that once housed 100,000 Parts, a Bay View fixture that closed its doors in 2021.
According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, the site is proposed for redevelopment. The filing submitted to the city shows the project would be clad in brick masonry and fiber-cement panels. Renderings depict the proposed project.
A 70-Year Neighborhood Fixture Gives Way to New Construction
The site carries real history for Bay View. It previously housed 100,000 Parts, originally known as Power Equipment Co., an appliance repair business that closed in 2021 following the death of its 92-year-old owner, Dan Wiken, according to Urban Milwaukee. The Wiken family's inventory was auctioned off in May 2022 after the shop shut down.
Urban Milwaukee has reported that the site includes an 8,605-square-foot main building constructed in 1892 and another structure dating to 1927. The parcels were listed for sale as a commercial assembly in 2022 after the appliance store's closure.
Developer and Architect Have a Track Record on the Corridor
Olson is no stranger to turning commercial buildings on South Kinnickinnic Avenue into housing. He previously acquired the former Niemann/Suminski funeral home at 2480-2486 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in 2021 and converted the historic Mediterranean Revival building into 14 apartments known as the 2486 Apartments, Urban Milwaukee has reported.
Striegel-Agacki Studio has designed multiple multi-family projects in the neighborhood, including Vue Apartments at 2202 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and the 17-unit BV+ apartments at 2557-2565 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., according to Urban Milwaukee.
New Housing Along the Corridor
The proposal would add housing along South Kinnickinnic Avenue.
Residential density along Kinnickinnic Avenue could help support streetfront businesses.
Commercial tenant movement along the corridor has already been playing out this year. Bay View barbershop, T-shirt shop buy historic 1890 Polonia building, Hoodline reported, after owner Enrique H. Murguia announced plans to relocate Boomin' Barbershop and Milwaukee OATS Screen Printing out of their leased South Kinnickinnic Avenue storefronts to a historic city-owned building in nearby Polonia.
No timeline for public hearings on the zoning requests has been disclosed. What shape the final retail tenant mix and parking plan will take remains to be seen as the proposal moves through the city's review process.
