Affordable apartments in Milwaukee’s Harbor District gain financial foothold

By TOM DAYKIN

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A delayed affordable apartment building planned for Milwaukee‘s Harbor District is proceeding, despite not securing a financing source its developers were seeking.

Construction of the five-story, 140-unit Kin at Freshwater, 200 E. Greenfield Ave., could begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 after the developers complete their financing package.

That’s according to Brandon Rule, who operates Rule Enterprises LLC. His firm is joining Emem Group LLC on developing Kin at Freshwater.

The financing package is to include federal affordable housing tax credits and a $2 million grant from the state Housing Trust Fund, Rule told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Other cash sources include a tax incremental financing district which the Common Council and Mayor Cavalier Johnson approved in 2024.

That financing district would use property tax revenue created by Kin at Freshwater to make annual payments over 17 years to the developers totaling $2 million.

Plans for the project were unveiled in 2022.

It’s planned for a vacant city-owned parcel located next to the Freshwater Plaza mixed-use development, which includes apartments, a Cermark Fresh Market supermarket, and other commercial buildings. The 2-acre lot would sell for $1.2 million, according to an agreement approved by city officials in 2024.

Kin at Freshwater in 2023 received state and federal affordable housing tax credits through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.

Developers receiving those credits must provide most of the apartments at below-market rents to people generally earning no more than 60% of the area median income.

The credits are sold to raise equity financing. A developer then typically obtains a private loan, and perhaps other public cash sources, to complete the financing.

The state tax credits were revoked in 2025 because of a delayed construction start, with Kin at Freshwater facing inflated construction costs and higher interest rates.

The developers reapplied for tax credits in 2026 with the proposed building reduced to 93 units.

Kin at Freshwater didn’t obtain a high enough score to secure state tax credits through that annual competition, according to the authority.

However, the developers will use the non-competitive federal tax credits, and the other financing sources, to proceed with the original 140-unit project, Rule said.

“Ultimately, we’re committed to getting it built,” he said.

The 2024 cost estimate for the development was $44.4 million. Rule said that estimate is being revised.

Plans for Kin at Freshwater’s comes as the Common Council considers a high-end apartment development proposed in the Harbor District at 234 S. Water St.

The 12-story building, known as The Everett, would feature 200 apartments on what’s now a boat storage site overlooking the Milwaukee River. The Plan Commission recommended approval on June 8.

Meanwhile, another Harbor District affordable apartment building, the 140-unit East National Flats, 100 E. National Ave., opens this summer.