A limestone landmark at 790 N. Van Buren St. that has sat empty since 2018 is finally getting a new life, as Milwaukee-based F Street Group has acquired the long-vacant Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center out of foreclosure and plans to convert it into 22 luxury apartments called The Scot. The building, once a 19th-century church, has outlasted a canceled hotel project and a bankrupt apartment developer over the past decade, and this latest attempt now has construction financing and a local builder lined up to finally get it done.
According to WISN, the units at The Scot will range from roughly 855 to 4,400 square feet, with underground parking and a variety of different layout options for residents. F Street Group secured construction financing from Landmark Credit Union and hired Marenzo Construction Group to complete the conversion, according to Urban Milwaukee. The outlet reports that the property went into foreclosure after a stalled 2021 apartment proposal by a prior developer collapsed, leaving the building in limbo yet again.
No Two Units Will Look Alike
The 22-residence layout carries over from the earlier redevelopment plan, but the finishes promise to lean hard into the building's unusual bones. Per the same Urban Milwaukee report, custom units will incorporate cathedral ceilings, exposed roof trusses, circular rooms, and portions of the original Masonic stage, and no two residences in the development will share the same floor plan. Construction is set to resume this fall, with pre-leasing beginning in spring 2027 and a move-in goal of fall 2027, per WISN.
The building's layered history helps explain why its interior holds so many architectural oddities. It was originally constructed in 1889 as the Plymouth Congregational Church in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, designed by prominent Milwaukee architect and congregation member Edward Townsend Mix shortly before his death in 1890, the same Urban Milwaukee account notes. The congregation relocated to Milwaukee's East Side in 1912, and the Scottish Rite Masons later bought the property. Architect Herbert W. Tullgren guided a substantial rehabilitation in 1936 that gave the building its Art Deco limestone facade.
A Decade of Stalled Deals Before Foreclosure
The building's protected status adds another layer to its story. It received permanent local historic designation in 2017 as the city approved the hotel proposal.
In 2017, Ascendant Holdings bought the building for $3.5 million with plans for a 14-story, 215-room hotel tower, but the project was canceled after the company failed to secure financing, Urban Milwaukee reported. Illinois-based Saxony Capital then purchased the landmark for $2.57 million in 2021 to pursue a 22-unit luxury apartment conversion with multi-level duplexes and rooftop penthouses. Work started on the proposal, but the lender later foreclosed on the property.
A plan to transfer stained-glass windows to another development never came to fruition, according to Urban Milwaukee.
What's Left Behind the Facade
The building has been vacant since 2018, according to WISN.
