Development would build 212 apartments near former Northridge Mall. Some neighbors are opposed

A development that would create more than 200 apartments on Milwaukee's far northwest side is undergoing a Common Council review − two years after the Plan Commission recommended zoning approval.

Cudahy Farms Healthy Living Campus would provide badly need affordable apartments within an area "starved for investment" more than 20 years after nearby Northridge Mall's closing, said Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump.

Some neighborhood residents are opposed, saying the loss of woodlands would harm an important environmental area.

They also worry Cudahy Farms could end up like the nearby Woodlands lower-income housing community — which the Milwaukee Police Department considers a crime "hot spot."

"You don't want that crime to spill over into the new development," said Alderwoman Larresa Taylor, whose district includes the site and who opposes the project.

The Common Council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee on July 8 recommended zoning approval and city financing help for Cudahy Farms.

The full council could consider those recommendations at its July 15 meeting.

Voting to support the proposals were committee members Scott Spiker, DiAndre Jackson and Russell Stamper, with Milele Coggs and Robert Bauman voting "no."

Affordable units for seniors, families

Cudahy Farms is planned for a 50-acre former YMCA property east of North Swan Road and south of West Fairy Chasm Road. It's being proposed by Royal Capital Group Ltd.

Cudahy Farms' $56.9 million first phase calls for 212 apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms — with 100 smaller units reserved for seniors and the larger units targeting families with children. It would be on 22 acres.

Royal Capital's financing package includes affordable housing tax credits. In return, it would provide apartments at below-market rents, initially ranging from $600 to $2,300 monthly, for households earning from 30% to 80% of the local median income.

Most of the family units would be aimed at renters earning more than 60% of the local median income, said Sam Leichtling, deputy development commissioner. That would likely increase the neighborhood's socio-economic diversity, he said.

Royal Capital could seek additional council approvals for future development phases, Leichtling told committee members.

That's a change from the proposal recommended by the Plan Commission in July 2023. It allowed for phases totaling up to 1,125 housing units, including a first phase with 377 apartments.

City cash key part of financing package

Along with the tax credits, which are sold to raise cash, Royal Capital's first phase financing package includes a commercial loan, subordinated loan and deferred developer's fee, according to the city financing proposal.

A tax incremental financing district would use Cudahy Farms' property tax revenue to make annual payments to Royal Capital totaling $3.7 million. The financing district also would pay $2.1 million of interest costs.

That financing district is needed because inflated construction costs and higher interest rates on loans are making it difficult to develop affordable housing, according to the Department of City Development.

Royal Capital changed its plans in response to neighbors' concerns, said Terrell Walter, the firm's development director .

That includes providing cars access to Cudahy Farms from Fairy Chasm Road, with the Swan Road gate to be opened only for police, fire and other emergency vehicles.

Also, the site's wetlands wouldn't be disturbed by construction, Walter said, and a landscaped buffer would be added between the development and houses east of Cudahy Farms.

However, the development would still destroy 100-year-old trees and harm wetlands, said Nicole Hartley, who lives just east of the project site.

Bauman suggested Royal Capital agree to a conservation easement for the site's land beyond the first phase as a way of possibly winning council approval.

That was rejected by President and CEO Kevin Newell, who said it could preclude such possible future developments as single-family housing or a school.

Taylor also raised issues about two 2023 homicides at Royal Capital's Harmony Apartments, in Madison.

Harmony was then managed by another firm, and is now self-managed and improving, Newell said.

Cudahy Farms been in the works since 2021

Cudahy Farms has been in the works since 2021. That's when YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee Inc. sold the site to a Royal Capital affiliate for $1.5 million.

Royal Capital plans to use part of the former YMCA Northwest Early Childhood Education Center, 9050 N. Swan Road, as a community center that includes child care.

The site's existing walking trails and baseball diamond are to be part of Cudahy Farms. Other planned amenities include a fitness center, pickleball courts, putting green, golf simulators, and an outdoor plaza to host a farmers market and other events.

Royal Capital hopes to begin first phase construction in 2025, with completion by the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, the city has plans pending for development to replace Northridge − which the city is demolishing.

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: Development would build 212 apartments near former Northridge Mall