West Allis Plan Commission gives thumbs up to Mandel Group’s 51-unit apartment proposal

Listen to this article

West Allis officials on Wednesday approved Milwaukee-based Mandel Group‘s plans for a 51-unit, four-story apartment building at South 66th and West Mitchell Streets.

Mandel is proposing a total of 27 studio units, 24 one-bedroom units and three three-bedroom units at market rate. The developer wants to start construction in the fourth quarter and 2023 or the first quarter of 2024, and then open in the first or second quarter of 2025, according to a report from West Allis city planners.

The West Allis Plan Commission recommended a conditional use permit for the development. The West Allis Common COuncil will consider the permit on Nov. 14, according to city staff.

The new building features three townhomes with private entries on the first floor. According to a staff report, the entrances are surrounded by red, geometric forms that ring the east side of the building. The development would share amenities with the existing SoNa Lofts to the north, another Mandel development, with a bioretention pond, pedestrian pathways and natural landscaping, city officials added. SoNa stands for “south of National.”

The development will include a total of 63 parking stalls; 28 stalls enclosed on the first floor, 30 surface parking spaces and five private street spots. Updated plans showed 26 indoor and two outdoor bicycle parking spaces.

The existing site is serviced by a private drive that connects SoNa Lofts and Maker’s Row. A reciprocal easement agreement on the SoNa development site contributes to the cost of maintaining publicly accessible drives and parking, a Mandel representative said at the meeting.

This development proposal comes amid several other Mandel Group projects such as SoNa Lofts and The West. The city of West Allis has seen momentum for apartment building despite national builders sharing pessimism over multifamily housing construction.

Three Leaf Partners, Milwaukee Bucks player Pat Connaughton’s firm, plans to build 247 multi-family units near West National Avenue and South 84th Street.

In August, Chicago-based Baum Revision proposed a $16 million redevelopment plan to transform the former Kearney and Trecker building into an events space at 6771 National Avenue. Other recent nearby redevelopments include Ope! Brewing and the Six Points Apartments.