St. James Church conversion to events venue OK’d
The planned conversion of a historic downtown Milwaukee church into a venue for weddings and other events has been approved by city officials, with renovations to begin soon.
Developer Joshua Jeffers is redeveloping the former St. James Episcopal Church, 833 W. Wisconsin Ave., into St. James Center. The renovated church and its parish hall will provide two separate venues. Jeffers also will add a two-story deck and pergola in the church’s rear parking lot.
The Historic Preservation Commission on Monday approved that
proposal. Jeffers plans to open St. James Center by next spring.
The commission in March approved Jeffers’ initial plans to demolish the parish hall addition, which was built in 1899.
He said it wasn’t feasible to keep the parish hall. Instead, Jeffers wanted to build a seven-story addition with 42 apartments that would generate revenue to convert the church into an events venue.
However, Jeffers later concluded he could preserve the parish hall because of a change in state law for the use of historic preservation tax credits.
Jeffers is using both federal and state preservation tax credits to help finance the project.
The Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker in September approved a state budget that included a tax credits cap of $500,000 per project.
After lobbying by developers, preservationists and officials from Milwaukee and other cities, the Legislature and Walker this year revised that cap to $3.5 million.
With the additional tax credits, Jeffers said he no longer needs to create apartments to generate revenue for the project.
St. James Church, which opened in 1868, is one of Milwaukee’s oldest churches, known for its limestone construction, Gothic stained glass windows and striking tower. It closed in November after decades of declining membership.
The parish hall addition, which features substantial brickwork and heavy timber framing, is an integral part of the overall property, according to the city’s historic preservation planners.