BUILDING BLOCKS: Belle City Square

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ADDRESS: The former Horlick Manufacturing site at 2100 Northwestern Ave., Racine

SIZE: 16 acres

COST: $100 million

DEVELOPER: J. Jeffers & Co., Milwaukee

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT: J. Jeffers & Co., which bought the property in 2018, is working with the city of Racine, Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan and Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development to turn the Horlick Manufacturing site into a home for apartments, townhouses, retail and recreation. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Tuesday for the first part of the project to be opened, the 60-unit Arabella apartments. The units, to be let out to low- and fixed-income tenants, range from studios to 3-bedroom apartments and feature exposed brick and high ceilings.

Also under construction is a separate, 86-unit apartment building to be completed by April 2022. And work on two still other apartment buildings, with a total of 166-units, is to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021. The city of Racine is providing money for the project through a tax-increment-financing district, as well as various loan and grant incentives. WHEDA is providing affordable-housing tax credits.