A Wangard Partners, Inc. plan for a new condominium development that would bring up to 250 units to the site formerly occupied by Habhegger Wheel and Axle, 1701 N. Water St., appears to finally be taking flight.
A press release issued Monday says the project, which first emerged in a much different form a few years ago, will get underway next summer. The first phase of the three-phase plan, designed by RINKA Architects will include as many as 70 condos.
180618_BRADY AND WATER from Steve M on Vimeo.
The striking new plan calls for three towers between seven and 12 stories tall that will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as townhouses that will face the Milwaukee River.
"We’re very excited about Brady & Water because it will provide a great living experience that connects the urban lifestyle of one of the city’s most popular neighborhoods with the natural environment of the Milwaukee River," said Stewart Wangard, CEO of Wangard, in the release.
The plan also calls for boat slips and boathouses to store kayaks, boats and other recreational equipment, publicly-accessible riverfront green space and a boardwalk connected to the Riverwalk.
"Brady & Water is designed to engage residents and visitors on the property from its urban side and the river side, enhancing the street-level experience while providing better access to the river itself," said Matt Rinka, a partner at RINKA.
"RINKA has done an outstanding job with the design of Brady & Water," said Jerry Piro, executive vice president of development and construction at Wangard Companies.
"They found a way to unlock the project site’s wonderful natural attributes to maximize connections between the urban cityscape and adjoining water environment. Residents will have outstanding views of the water and the cityscape, including sunsets."
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.
