Construction crews broke ground Wednesday on a $2.95 million townhome development that will bring 10 new owner-occupied homes to three long-vacant, city-owned parcels near South 21st Street and West Greenfield Avenue on Milwaukee’s near south side. The project, led by VIA Community Development Corp., targets first-time homebuyers earning at or below 80% of the area median income, with homes expected to sell for about $125,000 apiece.
The first phase will add four townhomes at South 21st Street and West Greenfield Avenue, while a second phase will bring six more townhomes at South 23rd Street and West Greenfield Avenue, according to BizTimes Milwaukee. Together the two phases will create 10 homes spread across the Clarke Square and Muskego Way neighborhoods. Each unit will measure 1,330 square feet with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an unfinished basement, and the townhome design was chosen specifically because it allows construction on smaller urban infill lots.
From Vacant Lots to Vacant Lots No More
The three parcels being redeveloped once held a mixed-use building with apartments, a pharmacy, a tavern and Mr. D’s Pizza. The city of Milwaukee acquired the land through tax foreclosure in 2010 and demolished the remaining buildings in 2019, according to city records cited in the project’s coverage. The site has sat empty since, a familiar pattern on a near south side where vacant, foreclosed parcels have long been targeted for redevelopment.
Joanna Bautch, who grew up a few blocks from the project site, spoke at Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony held at the South 21st Street location. State Rep. Jocasta Zamarripa also attended, calling the investment significant for one of the most economically challenged areas of her district and saying the project will help families move into their first homes in the neighborhood.
A Growing Nonprofit With Deep South Side Roots
VIA CDC was founded in 1995 and develops affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization projects across Milwaukee’s south side. The organization began as Layton Boulevard West Neighbors under the School Sisters of Saint Francis before rebranding in 2020, and it expanded its service area into the Clarke Square neighborhood last August by absorbing the community outreach and programming of the former Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, according to the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service…