Rehabilitation of the Matyas Building will resume soon. Todd Hutchison of ABC Development expects to begin again on what promises to be the final phase of the rehab of the tall Holton Street building on the west side of the 2500 block that had stymied two previous housing development groups. The YMCA CDC began the project but did not want to have long term ownership of rental properties. The YWCA took over but ran into financial difficulties that forced them to pull out of the project. The tax credits and funding will be taken over by the Wisconsin Preservation Fund, Inc. by the end of June. Hutchison expects to start construction immediately after that and finish the project before year’s end. The first floor will have two apartments that are ADA accessible. The upper floor will consist of seven two-story units with balconies with about 1000 square feet of space. Downtown views will be had by income-qualified renters who occupy the upper units with rents in the $300 to $550 range. The building, which was a bakery at one point and had large brick ovens in the basement, will also have a commercial space to rent on the first floor with large street-facing windows. The commercial tenant will have access to a large room with 11 foot ceilings in the basement.
Andy Busalacchi, owner of the former CMC railroad land at 1007 E. Chambers (& Weil), is constructing 90 units of indoor storage lockers, much to the dismay of residents and Alderman D’Amato. The land is zoned “industrial mixed use” and storage lockers are permitted with the proper building permits. Too bad he couldn’t make time to check in with the neighbors first. Andy has been known to do some fine work, most notably the Western Leather Lofts in the Brady Street area.
Riverwest resident John Goldstein, president of the Milwaukee County Labor Council, is being honored at Milwaukee Inner City Alliance for Hope (MICAH) 11th annual “To Do What Is Just” banquet. The banquet takes place Saturday, June 7, at the Midwest Express Center at 400 W. Wisconsin Ave. For more information, call 264-0805.
Word has it that Onopa Brewing Company will soon have a kitchen operating! Paul could not confirm who will be running the operation, but it won’t be him. We’ll just say the person in question has some good experience in the food preparation department, and it sounds like the new kitchen will be a good deal for the patrons of that establishment, including vegetarians. Riverwest Currents – Volume 2 – Issue 6 – June 2003