Work pauses at Milwaukee Neutral.Edison construction site

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Construction on a residential tower in downtown Milwaukee has ground to a halt.

Neutral, a Madison developer, on Thursday announced it paused work on Neutral.Edison, a 350-unit, 31-story mass timber tower at 1005 N. Edison St. The developer said tariffs and inflation raised key costs, which stopped construction.

It is not clear when work will pick up again. The project broke ground in June 2025 and was on track to be the tallest mass timber building in North America in 2027.

There were no construction crews on-site Thursday; crews had completed the foundation and started placement of structural steel before leaving.

“During this pause, Neutral is working with (general contractor) C.D. Smith Construction on a comprehensive cost-reduction and value engineering process,” the developer said in an email to the city. When value engineering is completed, work will start again, the developer added.

“Pausing to value engineer is a difficult but prudent step to safeguard the long-term success of 1005 N. Edison,” said Nate Helbach, CEO of Neutral, in a statement. “Our focus remains on delivering a resilient, exceptional building for Milwaukee.”

The developer will maintain the site and safeguard completed work during the pause, officials said.

Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman, who represents the 4th District covering much of downtown, said Department of Neighborhood Services inspectors confirmed the site shut down.

“We appear to have a situation where they underestimated their costs, they started construction anyway and they suddenly came to a realization the project was underfunded as designed,” Bauman said.

The project has been in planning for several years. In 2022, the tower was originally planned for 15 stories and was later doubled. In January, Neutral reported that it secured $133.3 million in construction financing. Over the years, the developer raised equity and hosted meetings with private investors.

Some parts of the project appear to be still moving. Neutral was on the agenda for the Sept. 11 Board of Zoning Appeals for a special use request. The developer also applied for plumbing permits on Sept. 4.

The alderman said he believed the value engineering aspect was an effort to “dumb down” the project.

“We could end up with a smaller building, different façade, different amenities and a different product that cuts the cost,” Bauman said. “I’m very concerned about this. We were sold a project that was going to be 31 stories tall, the tallest mass timber building in North America, and now we’re ending up with something very, very different.”

In February 2024, Neutral submitted a response to a request for proposals to redevelop the Marcus Center parking garage across the street from the Neutral.Edison site. That summer, Neutral prepared plans for a more than 50-story mass timber residential building, an office tower and hotel valued around $700 million at the time.

Madison Goldbeck, spokesperson for the Department of City Development, said there was no comment at this time.