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Building part of downtown communication hub
The main portion of the building, which includes a mid-rise addition, was constructed in 1930 for Wisconsin Telephone Co., an AT&T subsidiary later known as Wisconsin Bell Inc., according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.
It was designed in the Elizabethan revival style by noted architect Alexander Eschweiler, whose other Milwaukee works include the former Wisconsin Gas Co. headquarters, 626 E. Wisconsin Ave., and a mansion that now houses the Charles Allis Art Museum, 1801 N. Prospect Ave.
The AT&T office tower has long been part of a communications hub in downtown Milwaukee.
It is just northwest of the historic Wells Building, 324 E. Wisconsin Ave., which for decades included among its tenants the Milwaukee operations of telegram carrier Western Union.
The one-story, 5,900-square-foot building, 733-737 N. Milwaukee St., was sold for $850,000 to 733-737 N. Milwaukee St. Mke LLC, according to newly filed state real estate records.
Representatives for the building s new owner, which lists a Los Angeles address, didn t respond to requests for more information.
The Journal Sentinel in February reported that the site was being considered for a food hall.
Identical plans for the building, and a site at 107 E. Wells St., were filed with city building inspectors.
Those plans called for 14 to 18 individual restaurant operators serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The city Department of Neighborhood Services classified the proposals as presubmittal reviews for conversations about possible uses at the buildings.
That work includes creating a linear park with improved green space and other amenities along the trail s northern portion between Keefe Avenue and Capitol Drive.
The Connector would be at the linear park s southern entrance.
The Keefe Avenue property would be sold to Riverworks Development for $1, with the Common Council to review that proposal in June.
The city acquired the site in 2019 through property tax foreclosure.
The purchase agreement includes a provision requiring Riverworks Development to complete the project by the end of 2022.
Riverworks Development s other projects include the 21,000-square-foot Riverworks Commons strip retail center, at 3901 N. Richards St., and the conversion of a former pasta factory into Riverworks Lofts, a 36-unit apartment building at 3372 N. Holton St.