Coakley warehouse to become storage
Chicago investor plans to convert to 1,000 units
A well-known historic building on Milwaukee’s west side will be converted into a self-storage facility by its new Chicago-area owner.
The eight-story, 102,600-square-foot warehouse, 3742 W. Wisconsin Ave., was sold by an affiliate of C.H. Coakley & Co., a moving and storage company, to Platform II-Wisconsin, for $1.8 million, according to state real estate records posted Tuesday.
The buyer is led by Scott Krone, who operates Coda Design Build, a contractor based in Northbrook, Illinois.
Krone plans to convert the building into 1,000 self-storage units. He’s seeking state and federal historic preservation tax credits to help finance that project, which he hopes to complete by the end of 2018.
Krone said this is his first Milwaukee-area development. His firm has developed four self-storage facilities in the Chicago area.
The sale was brokered by Jennifer Green of Commercial Realty Advisors LLC, who represented the seller, Coakley Wisconsin Avenue LLC.
The historic building is near the east end of the Wisconsin Avenue viaduct, and overlooks both Miller Valley and Miller Park. It was constructed in 1928 and is known for its clock tower.
The warehouse’s Mediterranean Revival architectural style was designed by Eschweiler & Eschweiler, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.
That firm also designed such notable Milwaukee buildings as the former Wisconsin Gas Co. headquarters, 626 E. Wisconsin Ave., and a mansion that now houses the Charles Allis Art Museum, 1801 N. Prospect Ave.
The West Wisconsin Avenue building is among a series of warehouses built by Coakley Brothers Co. during the 1920s, according to the historical society.
In 1978, a split among Coakley family members led to the formation of C.H. Coakley & Co., which is based at another historic building: the former flagship of the Schuster’s department store chain, 2153 N. King Drive.
Michael Coakley, president of C.H. Coakley, is pursuing a $40 million plan to convert that building, now used for storage, into apartments and retail space.
The original Coakley Brothers Co. is based in Walker’s Point, at 400 S. Fifth St. Coakley Brothers is renovating that historic building, with that project including a new decorative tower. That company is led by Peggy Coakley.
Another family member, Christopher Coakley, operates C. Coakley Relocation Systems Inc. Christoper Coakley in August sold another Walker’s Point historic warehouse, at 507 S. Second St., to an affiliate of Wangard Partners Inc., which plans to redevelop it into offices and retail space.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com, and followed on Twitter and Facebook.