Irgens starts apartment construction at Milwaukee County Research Park

Milwaukee-based commercial real estate developer Irgens has started construction in its first multifamily project inside the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa. The 204-unit “Viridia Apartments” will join a larger mixed-use development plan within the research park.

The four-story apartment community will be built by Greenfire Management Services at the southwest corner of North Mayfair Road and West Wisconsin Avenue. It will be “the final component” of a 14-acre development within the larger park, a redevelopment of a former UnitedHealthcare building that will be valued at $100 million when completed.

That 14-acre development is part of the larger redevelopment of Milwaukee County Research Park, an effort by Irgens to create more uses for the 175-acre area that was used primarily for office space. The developer shared it was working with the city of Wauwatosa in late 2025. The redevelopment is also timed with the Interstate 94 East-West expansion project.

The project team includes Milwaukee-based architecture firm EUA and Milwaukee-based engineering firm The Sigma Group. Harmoniq Residential will serve as the property management company when occupancy starts in November 2027.

The site is currently a surface parking lot once used by insurance company United Healthcare. The insurance company left by 2021 and Irgens bought and redeveloped the building to the Mayfair Medical Commons. The area is also home to a fully leased retail building and an office building.

Viridia Apartments will include a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Amenities will include a pool and sun deck, underground heated parking, a club room, fitness center, yoga studio, co-working spaces, pet run and proximity to walking trails and a public park.

“Viridia Apartments represents an important next step in the continued evolution of Milwaukee County Research Park and will help meet demand for high-quality housing in Wauwatosa near the Regional Medical Center,” said Tom Irgens, executive vice president at Irgens, in a statement. “By adding thoughtfully designed residences to a district already supported by office, medical, retail and hospitality uses, we are helping create a more complete, vibrant environment for residents, employers and the broader community.”

The project will be financed with lending from Fifth Third Bank, equity from private investors and tax incremental financing approved by the city of Wauwatosa.

On July 28, the Medical College of Wisconsin broke ground on its first student housing complex. In May, Wauwatosa approved of tax incremental financing for 92 apartments at 2825 and 2835 N. Mayfair Road, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

In late 2025, Irgens shared that it will work with the city of Wauwatosa to redevelop the 175-acre Milwaukee County Research Park, home of roughly 1.4 million square feet of office and flex properties. The office park was built from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, but Irgens is revisiting the area now with a more open-ended approach for uses.

The developer’s master plan includes walking and multi-use paths, widening sidewalks on Research Drive and Innovation drive and a pathway through Moss Universal Park in the southwest corner of the park. Uses such as housing, hospitality and corporate office suites are on the table for future development.

Adam Kelnhofer, freelance writer for The Daily Reporter, contributed to this report.