City financing to help renovate affordable apartments. It now includes cash for sprinklers
City financing to help renovate Northwoods Apartments will include cash for its sprinklers. A city financing plan to help renovate a Milwaukee affordable apartment community is getting more money to add sprinklers to the project.
The proposal calls for $1.67 million to help pay for a $15.2 million renovation of the 72-unit Northwoods Apartments, 2515-2519 N. Second St.
Those funds would come from property tax revenue generated by the improved apartments. That tax incremental financing district, which needs Common Council approval, was endorsed by the Redevelopment Authority board on July 17.
Indianapolis-based KCG Development LLC plans to renovate a pair of three-story buildings with 48 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units.
An initial city financing plan called for $1.27 million to pay for the renovations. But authority board member Kathryn West raised questions at a May meeting about the building's fire suppression system.
The city requires residential buildings 60 feet and higher that were constructed after Nov. 12, 1973, to have sprinkler systems. Northwoods was constructed in 1971.
That issue has been in the news after the May 11 fire at Milwaukee's Highland Court Apartments, which resulted in five deaths.
Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said the lack of sprinklers dramatically affected the survivability of residents at Highland Court, which was built in 1968.
The updated financing plan to help pay for sprinklers received unanimous board approval.
Other planned upgrades include new roofs, windows, siding, insulation, boilers and water heaters, according to a Department of City Development report.
Also planned are new flooring, cabinets, countertops, appliances, toilets, sinks and vanities for the individual units.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at [email protected] and followed on Instagram, Bluesky, X and Facebook.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: City cash for affordable apartment renovations now includes sprinklers
