Luxury apartment tower proposed in Wauwatosa
Site would include 350 units, parking, amenities
A $50 million luxury apartment tower is being proposed for Wauwatosa’s west side — less than 1 mile from another high-rise that’s under development despite neighborhood opposition.
The 350-unit building, with preliminary plans for 19 to 24 stories, would be developed at 10845 W. Blue Mound Road.
The 1.5-acre site, which includes a former Edwardo’s restaurant and other commercial space, is at the southwest corner of West Blue Mound and North Mayfair roads.
The building is being proposed by an investors group which includes restaurateur John ‘Johnny V’ Vassallo and former professional basketball player Steve Novak.
Their group bought the property in 2016. It is just across Blue Mound Road from Mo’s Irish Pub, one of Vassallo’s businesses.
The site is already zoned for a highrise, Vassallo said. But the development would need a density variance from the Wauwatosa Common Council.
With city approval, construction could begin in spring 2021, with the tower completed by 2023, Vassallo said.
The apartments, ranging from one to
three bedrooms, would have monthly rents starting at around $1,400, he said.
The building’s first six floors would have a parking structure. The ground floor would include commercial space for a bakery and cafe.
The shared amenities, on the seventh floor, would include an outdoor swimming pool, grilling area and dog run, as well as a fitness studio, lounge, movie theater, golf simulator and club room.
There also would be a conference room.
“It’s really a place where you can live and work,” Vassallo said.
Financing for the project is being assembled, he said.
“The financial markets are very open to financing multi-family right now,” Vassallo said.
He said demand remains strong for higher-end apartments despite the recession tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, the economic downturn has led to lower construction costs and reduced interest rates, Vassallo said.
The high-rise would be around seven blocks west of where a higher-end apartment tower is under construction at St. Camillus Health System Inc.’s senior living campus.
That 15-story building, with 168 units for older people who can live independently, is to be completed in 2021.
The Common Council approved that project over opposition from neighborhood residents. Ald. Tim Hanson and Ald. Nancy Welch, whose district includes the site of Vassallo’s proposed high-rise, voted against the St Camillus project.
Neighbors said they were concerned about the St. Camillus tower’s visual impact, as well as its effects on traffic.
St. Camillus won approval in 2018 after the project was reduced from the initial proposal of 21 stories.
A meeting to present Vassallo’s proposed tower to neighborhood residents is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Mo’s Irish Pub, 10842 W. Blue Mound Road.
The proposal hasn’t yet been filed with the city, which would then schedule hearings before the Plan Commission and Common Council.
Vassallo’s other businesses include two downtown Milwaukee restaurants: Mo’s Irish Pub, 142 W. Wisconsin Ave., and Mo’s A Place for Steaks, 720 N. Plankinton Ave.
Novak, a Brown Deer native and former Marquette University star, played for the Milwaukee Bucks and other National Basketball Association teams during his 11-year professional career. He is now an analyst for Bucks game broadcasts on Fox Sports Wisconsin.