Plan to redevelop downtown church wins approval
It would involve tearing down its parish hall
A plan to redevelop a downtown Milwaukee historic church, which includes demolishing most of its parish hall addition, has won support from the city Historic Preservation Commission.
Developer Joshua Jeffers plans to convert the recently closed St. James Episcopal Church, 833 W. Wisconsin Ave., into a commercial venue for weddings and other events.
His proposal also calls for demolishing most of the church’s parish hall and replacing it with a new seven-story building.
The portion of the parish hall facade that faces W. Wisconsin Ave., and faces north, would be preserved and used as an entry into the redeveloped property, under a proposal approved Monday by the commission.
The new building’s first two floors would have gathering space, a banquet hall and a kitchen for the events venue. It would align with the church, making the event space more accessible than the current split-level configuration.
Its five upper floors would have 42 apartments. That would help generate cash to pay for the new development and to maintain the main church building.
The preservation commission in
December declined to approve the initial plans to demolish the entire parish hall.
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 and was sold to an investment group led by Jeffers.
The parish hall, built in 1899, would be too costly to renovate, Jeffers said in December.
But the city’s historic preservation planners said the addition, which features substantial brick work and heavy timber framing, is an integral part of the overall property.
Jeffers then revised the proposal to preserve a small portion of the parish house at its north end.
“We have a plan that works,” he told commission members at the Monday hearing.
Preserving a building facade for a new development has been done before. In downtown Milwaukee, there are two high-profile examples: the Marriott Hotel, which opened in 2013 at 323 E. Wisconsin Ave.; and the Brewery Lofts apartments, under development at 1009 W. Juneau Ave.
Still, such a high level of partial demolition “has not come before the commission in the past,” said Tim Askin, a city historic preservation planner.
The commission voted unanimously to allow the demolition. It also voted unanimously to approve the design of the seven-story addition.
Jeffers said he would provide parking for apartment residents through a parking structure at a nearby office building, at 633 W. Wisconsin Ave.
A group led by Jeffers bought that 20-story building in December.