The Milwaukee Area Technical College has begun the conversion of the former home of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to a 195-bed, $29.1 million affordable student housing project.
The Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service reports that the project is aimed at combating housing insecurity for students at the college by creating a new category of property in the city: affordable student housing.
Historic preservation tax credits will help cover the cost of rehabilitating the 1962 addition to the Journal Sentinel property.
The developer will set rents at below market rate by as much as 20%. More than 10,000 students at the technical college had incomes low enough to be eligible for financial aid in the last academic year.
“Our students are telling us that access to housing is key to giving them the stability they need to graduate and connect to a career, a four-year degree or both,” College President Dr. Vicki J. Martin says. “Ninety-five percent of our associate degree graduates gain employment within six months of graduation, and they’re earning an average of $52,280 — that’s more than both the per-capita and median household income in Milwaukee County.
The building, situated two blocks from campus adjacent to Pere Marquette Park, will offer many amenities to students, including a fitness center, study lounges, community rooms, and ample underground parking.
Plans call for the first students to move in by August 2021.
The developer of the project is J. Jeffers & Co., and the contractor is Schmidt. The architect is Eppstein Uhen Architects.
