By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Apr 30, 2018 at 3:41 PM

J. Jeffers and Co.  which owns notable buildings like the Mackie and Marshall buildings  today closed on the purchase of the former Matthew Keenan Residence, 777 N. Jefferson St., according to the company’s Marnie Noel.

Noel added that there are, "no immediate plans to share but we should have some soon."

The sale price was not disclosed. Real estate web site Loopnet has a listing for the building, but without an asking price, assessment or appraisal listed. 

In the most recent assessment on the City of Milwaukee data portal, the building is listed as being owned by Selzer-Ornst Company and valued at $1.491 million.

According to a restaurant industry source, one of the building’s tenants, the night club Dino’s Taverna  owned by Dino Zarkos  closed and moved out yesterday. 

It's unclear if the sale was a factor in the club's closing. A message to Zarkos was not immediately returned.

The Italianate cream city brick building was designed by influential Milwaukee architect Edward Townsend Mix for politician and Northwestern Mutual veep Matthew Keenan and dates to 1860.

The row suffered a massive fire in 1984 that led to a complete remodeling of the interior.

Recently, Jeffers signed on to redevelop the Milwaukee Athletic Club building and bought the former BBC complex on North Avenue.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.