Residential tower proposed in Bayside
The high-rise tower would be built east of I-43 and north of Brown Deer Road.
Milwaukee’s wealthy North Shore area would get its first residential highrise tower as part of a $200 million mixed-use development proposed for a Bayside site next to I-43.
Cobalt Partners LLC wants to develop the 30-story tower, with more than 250 luxury apartments, as part of its OneNorth project, the firm announced Wednesday.
OneNorth would cover nearly 28 acres east of I-43 and north of Brown Deer Road.
It would include offices, restaurants, stores and additional apartments arranged around an outdoor plaza — with possible village financing help.
Cobalt, which has developed other large mixed-use projects in the Milwaukee area, would demolish older offices and other commercial buildings at the site to make way for the tower and other new construction.
The businesses at the site could be shifted to the new buildings.
Under Cobalt’s initial plans, the apartment tower would have 260 to 280 units.
Additional housing would include 10 townhouses, as well as 50 to 90 apartments in a three- to four-story building. That building would include street-level retail space.
OneNorth’s stores, restaurants and other retail would total around 72,000
square feet. The offices would total around 60,000 to 100,000 square feet.
Also, the development would include new public roads.
Cobalt has been in talks with Bayside officials about possible village financing help for OneNorth.
That would occur through a tax incremental financing district, with OneNorth’s new property taxes providing funds to help develop the site.
Any such tax financing district would need Village Board approval.
Discussions about possible village financing have been productive, Bayside Village Manager Andy Pederson said in a statement.
He said Bayside officials want OneNorth to provide housing options for both seniors and families; additional commercial buildings, including boutique retail; and a public gathering place.
Neither Cobalt owner Scott Yauck nor Pederson disclosed what amount of village financing might be proposed for OneNorth.
Yauck said a tax financing district is needed because of the costs tied to buying the development site, and the substantial public improvements — including new roads and the outdoor plaza.
OneNorth’s private financing has been tentatively assembled, he said.
Cobalt expects to begin construction on OneNorth next spring, with the buildings to be completed in phases throughout 2020 and 2021. The tower would be developed in the first phase, Yauck said.
Yauck said OneNorth would offer something the North Shore doesn’t have: a luxury housing high-rise that would compete with similar buildings in downtown Milwaukee.
Bayside and other North Shore communities are largely known for having mostly single-family homes.
Cobalt’s other projects include Whitestone Station, which features stores, restaurants and midrise apartment buildings in Menomonee Falls, and 84 South, a similar project that’s under construction in Greenfield.
OneNorth would feature Cobalt’s first high-rise.
Such projects are often more difficult to finance because of the higher costs, and the need to develop a large number of housing units in one phase.
In Milwaukee, Mandel Group Inc. has downsized and delayed its plans for the Portfolio apartment high-rise, at 1350 N. Prospect Ave.
Also, Madison developer Chris Houden has yet to begin construction on his planned Goll House apartment tower, at 1550 N. Prospect Ave.
Meanwhile, Barrett Lo Visionary Development LLC is still waiting for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development loan guarantee before it can begin construction on its proposed Couture tower, at 909 E. Michigan St.
A presentation to gather public input on the OneNorth proposal is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sept. 27 at Bayside Village Hall, 9075 N. Regent Road.