 At
its height, Pabst Brewing Co. employed nearly 4,000 people. The
neighborhood teemed with life as workers produced beer for shipment
around the country, and tourists walked through the complex and sipped
samples in a beer garden where a statue of Captain Frederick Pabst
kept watch.
Today, the 20-plus acre Pabst property
stands ready for rebirth under the guidance of real estate investor
Joseph J. Zilber as a residential, office and retail center known as
The Brewery.
"We’re talking to someone on
almost every piece of property, and on some we have two or three
interested parties," says Michael P. Mervis, assistant to Zilber.
"This has the possibility to spread west of the freeway and drive
economic development in the inner city. There is a lot riding on this
project."
The redevelopment is expected to take
five years. Restoration of sewer, gas and electrical service, and
limited demolition was jump-started in December when $29 million in
city financial assistance was approved. Work to clean and gut the
remaining buildings will take about a year.
And work it is. Since being shuttered
in 1996, the brewery has fallen into disrepair. Weeds poke through the
brick streets and along the sides of buildings. Fences keep passers-by
safely away from areas where brick could fall. Vandals have broken
dozens of windows.
 And
those are only the problems on the outside. Some buildings have hidden
structural problems, house below-grade petroleum tanks or contain
asbestos. Leaks in the roof have led to piles of fallen plaster in the
massive meeting hall adjacent to the former board room; like many
parts of the brewery, the hall had been repeatedly spruced up with
lead-based paint.
"The people who are looking at
buildings are looking at them with their dream, their vision,"
says Mervis. "We are providing to them a building that is clean
and with all the internal walls demolished. The new owner walks in
with a fresh palette."
So what will The Brewery eventually
look like? For starters, buildings and structures with no historical
value are destined to be torn down, providing green space or
additional building sites. Among the first to go will be the white
tank with the Pabst logo, visible from I-43. The Pabst smokestack also
will come down, due to structural problems.
Already, TMB Development Co. and
Dermond Associates, two Milwaukee property developers, have announced
a joint venture to buy the 1890 former engineering and maintenance
building on 10th Street and McKinley Avenue. Office space should be
ready for lease by June 2008.
"There could be any number of
office users who appreciate it as a new neighborhood," says TMB
partner Charles Trainer. "It has windows on all four sides, and
wonderful timbers, columns and wood floors."
Also, a tentative agreement has been
reached to create 90 apartments in the 1911 three-story former keg
house and garage, which overlooks Winnebago Street. Johnson Controls
is said to be interested in the former bottling building on 10th
Street, which was built in stages from 1889 to 1911, as a training
center.
The grain elevator, another landmark to
I-43 commuters, could be the site of an artificial waterfall or an
indoor climbing wall. There’s talk of a restaurant atop the soaring
structure — from there, on a clear day, you can see Holy Hill.
Another investor owns Pabst’s former
Blue Ribbon Hall, offices and gift shop, and Mervis expects him to
work closely with Zilber Ltd., possibly creating a brew pub, inn and
beer museum in those historic buildings.
Remaining buildings could house
restaurants, offices, condos, perhaps a hotel and maybe even a house
of worship — the 1858 German Methodist church hugs the western edge
of the property. Tenth Street and Juneau Avenue are expected to become
the major retail streets.
"We’ll try to save the original
street paver bricks, which had come over as ballast in ships of hops
from Europe," adds Mervis.
Throughout the property, there are
old-world architectural features such as leaded glass windows,
extensive woodwork including massive doors, pressed-tin and vaulted
ceilings, and winding staircases.
The Pabst sign that currently stretches
four stories above Juneau Avenue could stay, although it may be moved
within the complex if the buildings supporting it prove to be
problematic. Another unique feature Mervis hopes can be showcased is a
three-story stained glass window in one building depicting the
"Goddess of Brewing;" it’s currently sheathed in plywood
and bulletproof glass.
"I’m hoping they can save
roughly two-thirds of the historic buildings, and when it’s
finished, it will fit in with the rest of the city, not be an
enclave," says 3rd District Alderman Michael D’Amato.
Mervis anticipates 300 to 400 housing
units; 200,000 to 300,000 square feet of office space; 150,000 to
200,000 square feet of retail space and more. Parking will be ample
throughout the development, including a possible ramp retrofitted into
an 1870 structure.
In addition, The Brewery will be as
"green" as possible, for instance capturing all storm water
to relieve pressure on the sewer system.
Trainer says he’d like his building
to successfully combine historic rehabilitation requirements and
"green" technology. "It’s a delicate task," he
adds.
In the end, The Brewery’s value will
be $205 million, according to city estimates. Property taxes on the
improved parcels will pay back the city’s loan plus $12.5 million in
interest in 21 years.
Officials say the project is an
important bookend to the Park East corridor redevelopment.
"If you could walk west from Brady
Street to the freeway without a single interruption in the streetscape
— no vacant lots or parking lots — then we will have quality
development," says D’Amato.
Zilber Ltd. purchased the property last
summer for $7.6 million from developers whose PabstCity plan —
centered around a House of Blues restaurant/nightclub and a cineplex
— ran into opposition from operators of several downtown
entertainment venues. This time, the city’s tax incremental
financing (TIF) sailed through committees and was approved unanimously
by the Milwaukee Common Council.
Zilber, 89, has said he considers The
Brewery project as his legacy to the city, where he began a
home-building and commercial real estate company just after World War
II.
"I view this as a significant
contribution by an individual who is giving something back, and that
needs to be recognized and applauded," says Alderman Robert J.
Bauman, whose 4th District includes the Pabst site. "He says, ‘Damn
the risk, I’m going to do this because I owe it to the community.’"
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