Feb. 15, 2020 10:55a
(WGTD)---A new 63-unit apartment building is planned for downtown Kenosha, furthering the goal of greatly increasing the area's residential base, a pre-requisite for maximizing the downtown's potential as a vibrant business and recreation district.
The five-story structure would be built on a vacant city-owned lot in the southeast quadrant of 5th Ave. and 59th St., south of the 5th Ave. Lofts and east of the former Kenosha Theater building. The package deal includes a 2nd vacant lot west of the proposed development which would be used for surface parking, supplementing 75 indoor spaces within the apartment building.
Monday night, the Kenosha City Council is expected to sell the land for $100,000 to Lake Terrace LLC, a group led by Mark Ebacher, a partner in an Illinois-based development firm called Interstate Partners. Ebacher's track record includes some industrial development in the Kenosha area, and a nearly 300-unit residential development in Elgin, Illinois, for which he won high-marks for follow through from Elgin city officials, according to Zohrab Khaligian, a community development specialist for Kenosha.
Before the Kenosha project becomes a reality, a lot of work remains to be done, including nailing down Plan Commission approval and financing, says Khaligian.
Khaligian says no tax dollars would be used for the development, and proposed rents could be considered "above market." According to documents on file with the city, rents would range from $1,300 for a one-bedroom to as much as $2,400 for a three-bedroom.
The proposal comes on the heels of a planned twin-tower residential development with nearly 160 units for vacant land just north of the Municipal Building.
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