MILWAUKEE — The long-delayed and talked-about Couture project on Milwaukee’s lakefront is expected to finally break ground.
Earlier this week, the final piece of financing for the $188-million project was secured. Developers were expected to begin work on the underground component as early as next week.
The 44-story building will be made up of luxury apartments above and some retail below. It will also house the easternmost stop for the Milwaukee streetcar.
City Commissioner of Development Lafayette Crump says the building will “change the skyline of Milwaukee, we're talking the tallest residential building in city history.”
The city will be responsible for $19.5 million in tax incremental financing for the project. Part of the deal requires 40% of the estimated 4,400 construction workers employed to be residents of the City of Milwaukee.
“The transit elements that are going to be involved in this, not to mention all of the construction jobs and the spending with local and diverse businesses… [it’s] really a catalytic project from that standpoint,” said Crump.
The transit hub at the base of the building which would hold The Hop station could be done by June of 2022, and the rest of the building in the fall of 2023.
The building is being developed by Milwaukee-based Barrett Lo Visionary, J.H. Findorff & Son is the lead contractor and Rinka, also Milwaukee based is the architecture firm.
