A long-vacant West Allis factory that's been stuck in redevelopment limbo since 2019 may finally have a path forward, with a climbing gym among the uses under consideration. City staff say the former Kearney & Trecker manufacturing building at 6771 W. National Ave. is now under active marketing and has drawn interest from a bouldering operator, among several other prospective tenants.
Multiple Prospects Circling the Historic Factory
According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, the roughly 40,000-square-foot building has been in redevelopment talks since an RFP was first issued in 2019. City staff told officials that the site has attracted a range of prospective tenants beyond the climbing operator, including a large restaurant group, a national gym, an audio-visual company and an experiential sauna operator, per citizenportal.ai. In the meantime, temporary pickleball courts have already popped up in the building's parking lot, the same report notes.
The building's path hasn't been smooth. West Allis officials approved an agreement to sell the former industrial building on Feb. 13, 2024, for a proposed event venue. Yahoo News reported a possible May 2025 opening, while a report from BizTimes said construction completion was expected in late 2025. A report from bizjournals.com said the venue was expected to draw 50,000 annual visitors. But BizTimes said developer Baum Revision ended up pursuing construction plans without a tenant in place after an earlier prospective tenant backed out, putting those plans on hold. That same report pegged the renovation's estimated cost at $17 million.
A Factory With a Long and Complicated History
The building dates to 1918 and was used by Kearney & Trecker until 1975, sitting vacant ever since, per BizTimes. Baum Revision's involvement itself has a winding backstory: the firm first floated a market hall concept for the site in 2019, pulled out during the COVID-19 pandemic, then renewed its interest in 2022, according to a report from Yahoo News. Other concepts floated over the years have included food and entertainment uses, an event hall and even a brewery, per earlier reporting from bizjournals.com.
Exactly how big the building is depends on which report you read. BizTimes has described it as 42,000 square feet, while onmilwaukee.com has put the figure at 45,620 square feet, and an earlier proposal cited by Yahoo News described roughly 41,000 square feet split between 20,000 square feet of event space and 21,000 square feet for offices, shared space and storage.
City and development officials previously floated the parking lot's future use too: BizTimes reported the city planned to spend $1.2 million to build a parking lot for the event venue on an adjacent property, with First-Ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise approving a $2 million loan to cover half the building's operating costs for its first 18 months. Officials also said the venue, if it moved forward, could host a winter market, vintage markets, nonprofit events and weddings.
Why a Climbing Gym Could Make Sense
Adventure Rock, which opened its first Wisconsin location in Brookfield in 1998 at a little over 10,000 square feet, now draws about half its sales from memberships, up from roughly 18% to 20% in its early years, according to Climbing Business Journal. The company's remaining owners, Eric Olson and Craig Burzynski, expanded into Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood in 2020 with a bouldering-focused facility that now contributes more than 6,500 square feet of bouldering terrain to the area.
Earlier proposals to convert the building included event space and food uses.
In May 2025, city staff reported multiple prospective tenants for the site, including a bouldering operator. Whether a bouldering wall ultimately rises inside the century-old factory floor, or one of the other interested businesses wins out, West Allis officials appear intent on finally giving the long-dormant building new life.
