Plan Commission approves Couture's revised design
The revised detailed plans for downtown Milwaukee's Couture high-rise won unanimous approval and praise from the Plan Commission Monday.
"It has the potential to be a really spectacular project," commission member Whitney Gould said about the 44-story tower to be built overlooking Lake Michigan at 909 E. Michigan St.
"It really changes the face of Milwaukee," said commission member Patricia Torres Najera.
The plans still need Common Council approval.
The commission's endorsement includes a condition that the Couture's developer, Barrett Lo Visionary Development LLC, meet with Mark Irgens, the operator of a neighboring office building at 833 E. Michigan St., over concerns about possible impacts on that property.
The meeting is to occur before the Couture plans are reviewed by the council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee.
However, Irgens also said the Couture would be "a great thing for Milwaukee."
Barrett Lo plans to begin site work this spring and construction this fall on the high-rise, which would have just over 300 apartments as well as retail space on the first three levels. The first apartments would be available by the end of 2019, with the building completed in early 2020.
It would be built on the site of a former transit facility that Barrett Lo recently razed after buying the property from Milwaukee County.
RELATED VIDEO: Transit Center clock tower demolished
Commission members lauded the design, by Rinka Chung Architecture, which includes a street-level public plaza near the corner of E. Michigan St. and N. Lincoln Memorial Drive; a second-level public concourse; a rooftop public park on the third level next to a possible restaurant; and a transit concourse with the future streetcar service running through the site.
The design shows that a tall building can also be friendly to pedestrians at the street level, Gould said.
Barrett Lo is finalizing the $122 million project's financing package.
Owner Rick Barrett has been in talks with pension funds that are interested in financing the Couture. Those possible financing sources want the loan to be guaranteed by an insurance plan operated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
That program provides loan guarantees in return for fees from developers. It allows developers to obtain loans that are repaid over 40 years, which makes the periodic payments lower.
Barrett used a similar HUD guarantee to obtain the main construction loan that financed the Moderne, a 30-story apartment and condominium high-rise that opened in 2012 in downtown Milwaukee at 1141 N. Old World 3rd St.
The Common Council in 2015 approved plans to spend $17.5 million for the Couture's public improvements, including the transit concourse. Those city funds are coming from property tax revenue generated by new downtown developments.