King Drive building to become cafe, wellness center
A historic King Drive building will be remodeled to accommodate a restaurant and wellness center — next to another historic Milwaukee building that was redeveloped into offices.
The two-story building, 3338-3346 N. King Drive, will be extensively renovated, with a small addition to be constructed, according to newly issued city building permits. The expanded building will have 10,000 square feet.
A cafe will operate on the first floor. Also, an “integrative holistic wellness center,” combining Eastern medicine and wellness, will use the second floor, according to Bader Philanthropies Inc.
The vacant building was sold in 2017 to MLK LLC, a Bader Philanthropies affiliate. The foundation also bought a two-story vacant building just across North Fifth Street, at 3300 N. King Drive. Bader Philanthropies remodeled and expanded the building, and moved its offices there in 2018 from the Historic Third Ward.
The cafe and wellness center at the other building will have different operators — whom Bader Philanthropies isn’t yet naming publicly.
A starting date for the construction work hasn’t yet been determined, according to a foundation spokeswoman.
Another adjacent one-story building that the Bader affiliate owned, at 3356 N. King Drive, was recently demolished as part of the project. The foundation is redeveloping the building in response to listening sessions it conducted with neighborhood residents.
“Among other issues, the neighbors voiced support for a cafe that would bring people together over coffee and food,” Bader Philanthropies said in a statement.
“The neighbors also expressed interest in additional options to help them stay healthy,” according to the statement. “Both the integrative holistic wellness health center and the cafe are direct outcomes from the neighborhood listening sessions.”
The building was constructed in 1910 to house Merchant & Farmers State Bank, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Other nearby new developments include 5 Points Artist Gallery and Studios, which opened last year.