A $100 million proposal would bring up to 400 condominiums, townhomes and new retail space to the former Allis-Chalmers manufacturing campus in West Allis, marking the second phase of the Allis Yards redevelopment. The project is slated to begin construction in the second quarter of 2027, with a review date set for Wednesday.
The plan comes from Cobalt Partners LLC, the Milwaukee-based development firm behind the first phase of Allis Yards, as reported by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tom Daykin. Cobalt Partners was founded in 2005 by President and CEO Scott Yauck and now manages a commercial real estate portfolio exceeding $750 million across southeastern Wisconsin, according to Marquette University. The firm has also led other suburban mixed-use projects in the region, including 84South in Greenfield and Whitestone Station in Menomonee Falls.
The site sits on land once occupied by Allis-Chalmers, the heavy-machinery manufacturer that operated more than 650,000 square feet of facilities there and was historically West Allis’s largest industrial employer, per background compiled by RINKA. The first phase of Allis Yards already reshaped the area around S. 70th Street and W. Washington Street, anchored by a 128-room Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel and The Apiary, a 248-unit market-rate apartment complex, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.
Cleaning Up Decades of Industrial Legacy
Turning a former heavy-manufacturing site into housing required extensive environmental remediation. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources awarded a $2 million Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund grant to LxL Allis Yards LLC in 2024 to support cleanup work on the former Allis-Chalmers property…