Supermarket, Apartment Proposed for Walker's Point Project

A $47 million mixed-use development, including a supermarket and apartments, planned for Walker's Point would include $5 million in city financing help, under a proposal disclosed Thursday.Wangard Partners Inc. wants to develop the project, known as Freshwater Plaza, east of S. 1st St. and north of E. Greenfield Ave. That site is just a few blocks west of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's new School of Freshwater Sciences, on Milwaukee's inner harbor.Wangard in January said it would develop a Cermak Fresh Market supermarket on the 8-acre site, along with other buildings.Those plans have since been refined, with Wangard proposing a 42,000-square-foot Cermak store; two additional retail buildings with 3,100 square feet and 3,600 square feet; and a mixed-use building with 16,500 square feet of street-level retail space and 72 mixed-income apartments on the upper floors, according to the Department of City Development."The apartment building would total four stories and include underground parking", said Wayne Wiertzema, Wangard president. "It would have a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments", he said."Wangard's financing would include federal New Markets Tax Credits, which are provided for commercial developments in lower-income neighborhoods", Wiertzema said.View the full article as recently posted by Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel.