Apartments, retail proposed for Oakland Ave.

5-story building eyed for Locust St. corner

An apartment building with up to five stories, including street-level retail space, would be developed on a popular Milwaukee east side corner under a new proposal.

Klein Development Inc. is seeking Common Council permission to rezone two properties at the northeast corner of N. Oakland Ave. and E. Locust St. to accommodate the proposed building.

The $12.5 million building would have 55 market-rate apartments on the upper floors, 6,500 square feet of retail space and 65 parking spaces, according to information Klein Development has submitted to the Department of City Development.

Mike Klein, of Klein Development, couldn’t be immediately reached for more information.

The building would be up to five stories, said Ald. Nik Kovac, whose district includes the site.

Kovac said a meeting would be scheduled for Klein to present his plans to neighborhood residents before the proposal undergoes Plan Commission and Common Council review.

The proposed development site includes a two-story building, at 2900 N. Oakland Ave., which houses a Cousins Subs, and a parking lot at 2914 N. Oakland Ave. The building housing the Cousins shop would be razed. The two parcels would create a lot with just over 14,500 square feet, according to city assessment records.

Klein Development’s other projects include a proposed five-story, 96-unit apartment building that would be developed on a 1-acre lot at 1632-1648 N. Franklin Place.

Klein Development initially proposed a 140-unit building that included a 10-story portion.

The firm revised that proposal after a substantial number of nearby residents objected to those plans, with concerns about whether the building’s scale would be too large for the neighborhood. The revised proposal is to undergo Plan Commission review in April.