The 105-unit Broadway Apartments in the Historic Third Ward will be converted into condominiums under a proposal unveiled by the apartment building’s owners.
Great American Insurance Co., Cincinnati, plans to sell the one- and two-bedroom units for $60,000 to $140,000, said Andrew Martin and Thomas Schemberger, both of Ogden & Co. Martin and Schemberger are the listing brokers for the Broadway, 220-246 N. Broadway.
Schemberger said the condo conversion would take advantage of heavy demand for condominiums in and around downtown Milwaukee.
The market includes downtown employees and “empty nesters,” couples whose children have moved out and who now want to be near downtown’s attractions and nightlife.
“The market for condominiums in Milwaukee is very hot, particularly in the downtown market, and especially in the Third Ward,” Schemberger said.
Martin said he and Peter Ogden, Ogden & Co. principal, originally approached the Broadway’s manager, Miami-based Brothers Property Management, last spring with the idea of buying the Broadway and converting it to condos.
Martin said he and Ogden along with an unnamed investor were inspired by the market response to Riverwalk Plaza, another Third Ward condo development.
Firstar Community Investment Corp. and the Wisconsin Preservation Fund unveiled plans in May for Riverwalk Plaza, which will create 79 condos in two former industrial buildings at 141 and 201 N. Water St.
The units, starting at $65,000, have been selling rapidly.
“We said, `Hey, maybe the condo market in the Third Ward has finally come around,”‘ Martin said.
The Ogden group was unable to reach an agreement on a sale price with the Broadway’s owner. However, Ogden & Co. was later contacted about listing the units for a conversion.
Broadway residents who have first dibs on buying the units were informed of the conversion plans.
Martin said 103 of the six-story Broadway’s 105 units will be offered for sale. Two units are being set aside as a sales office, and might later be sold as a commercial condo.
