Former Mirro site will have new apartments in Manitowoc

Patti Zarling

USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

MANITOWOC – The city’s downtown likely will have a new look soon, as work on a 59-unit apartment complex on the former Mirro site is expected to begin in mid-summer.

The city’s Community Development Authority recently approved a site plan for Maritime Lofts, which will consist of 21 one-bedroom apartments, 20 two-bed apartments and 18 three-bedroom apartments at the form Mirro site on Washington Street.

“I think this will be a really nice asset to your downtown,” Ted Matkom, Wisconsin market president for developer Gorman and Company, told the CDA.

The building will face Washington Street, with surface parking in the center of the complex, so it won’t be visible from the street.

Matkom said the building will look modern but will pay respect to Mirro’s heritage, with aspects that fit the site.

Half the site will be capped and used as green space or a park area, Manitowoc Development Director Adam Tegen told the CDA.

Site preparation is expected to finish by the end of June so construction can begin. Matkom said construction likely will take 16 months to complete.

The city also needs to formally sell the site to the developer.

Apartments are described as “workforce” or affordable housing. Matkom said rents would be priced to accommodate a range of incomes, or affordable at 80% of the average Manitowoc income — basically market price — or at 30% of the average income, a lower monthly cost.

“We’ve found a mix of incomes works really well,” he said. His company usually plans six to eight months for apartment complexes to fill. “But the need here in Manitowoc is so great, I think it’ll take much less than six months.”

A great deal of cleanup at the former manufacturing site has been a long process. That included cleanup of two source areas of PCB-impacted soils. The contaminated materials were removed and hauled to landfills for disposal.

Contractors worked to remove the building slab and other concrete features on the site. Concrete was crushed and reused on the site as fill material.

The contractor has been working on removing the building slab and other concrete features on the site. Concrete is being crushed and reused on the site as fill material.

The nearly $2 million project was funded by a federal Environmental Protection Agency grant that was awarded to the city in May 2024.

Tegen said work on the project should continue on schedule, unless the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources raises concerns.