Madison-based developer Neutral secured $133 million in financing for The Edison, a 31-story mass-timber building slated for Milwaukee. Construction is expected to start mid-2025
　

• Neutral secured $133.3 million in financing for The Edison from Bank OZK and Pearlmark for The Edison, a mass timber building planned in Milwaukee
• The 31-story mass timber tower will feature 378 apartments and retail space
• Construction will begin in the first quarter of 2025, with completion expected by the second quarter of 2027.

Financing is secured for construction of a 31-story, mass timber tower in downtown Milwaukee.

Madison-based Neutral is the developer behind The Edison, a high-rise apartment building with 378 units and 7,200 square feet of ground floor retail space at 1005 N. Edison St.

The developer on Monday announced it closed $133.3 million in construction financing from Little Rock, Arkansas-based OZK Bank and Chicago-based Pearlmark Real Estate. JLL Capital Markets worked for Neutral to facilitate the transaction, officials added.

“We’re grateful to partner with Bank OZK and Pearlmark and for JLL Capital Markets’ leadership in facilitating this milestone financing. Successfully securing funding in today’s challenging financial market environment underscores the strength of the project’s fundamentals and our exceptional project team,” said Nate Helbach, founder and CEO of Neutral, in a statement.

“With The Edison, we’re demonstrating that innovation in sustainable high-rise construction is both technologically and financially feasible,” said Daniel Glaessl, chief planning officer of Neutral, in a statement. “The Edison will pursue some of the strictest sustainability standards, like passive house certification, by PHIUS 2021,” he added, referring to a standard for buildings with comfortable indoor environments with low operating energy.

Project construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2025 and is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2027, Neutral officials said.

Fond du Lac-based C.D. Smith Construction is the general contractor and Chicago-based Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture is the architect. After construction, the Edison will be Milwaukee’s second mass timber building.

In July 2024, Neutral won the Department of City Development’s request for proposals to redevelop the Marcus Performing Arts Center parking garage at 1001 N. Water St.

Neutral wants the project to include three mixed-use, mass-timber skyscrapers with more than 700 housing units designed by architect Michael Green of MGA, officials said. The $700 million investment shared last summer included more than 300 hotel rooms and 190,000 square feet of office space. Officials said the project could also include the tallest mass timber building in the world and in Wisconsin.

The item has yet to be reviewed by the Common Council. However, at least one Milwaukee alderman and another developer have shared skepticism about Neutral’s plans.

Source: dailyreporter.com