Clarke Square Apartments Open

Journey House in the News: July 24, 2020
Clarke Square Apartments Open - New Buildings Bookend South Side Park, Provide Affordable Housing
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2020/07/24/friday-photos-clarke-square-apartments-open/
Mineral Street Location
North End of Milwaukee County Clarke Square Park
(South 24th & Mineral)
Vieau Street Location
South End of Milwaukee County Clarke Square Park
​(South 24th & Vieau)
Zoning Map
Clarke Square Apartments 2019 Updates
Approved at the City of Milwaukee Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on March 19, 2019
Approved at the City of Milwaukee Plan Commission on March 11, 2019
Clarke Square Apartments pass City of Milwaukee Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on March 19, 2019 with a 5-0 Approval!

Special thanks for Alderman Donovan’s sponsorship and Chair Alderman Khalif Rainey, Vice-Chair Alderman Jose Perez, Alderwoman Milele Coggs, Alderman Russell Stamper II, and Alderman Robert Bauman.

​$8M Clarke Square Apartments Approved at City Plan Commission
On Monday, March 11, 2019, the detailed plan development for Clarke Square Apartments was unanimously approved 6-0 by the City of Milwaukee Plan Commission, which are being co-developed by Journey House and Cardinal Capital Management. The 2 new apartment buildings will have a combined 40 units of apartments with underground parking on the north and south side of Clarke Square Park. The $8 million Clarke Square Apartments have been awarded WHEDA Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Affordable Housing Funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, and City of Milwaukee Home Funds. 10 of the units will be available for homeless youth aging out of the foster care system. Located a short 2-block walk from the Journey House Center, residents will have access to an array of services and family activities. Anticipated groundbreaking is in May 2019 with a July 2020 Grand Opening.

​Clarke Square Development Overview Document - Click Here

​Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago announced on November 30, 2018 that it has awarded more than $28.3 million through its Affordable Housing Program to help finance 47 affordable housing projects located primarily in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Development partners Cardinal Capital Management and Journey House were awarded $600,000 of AHP subsidy (to be provided by Associated Bank, National Association) to help finance the development of Clarke Square Apartments.

The new construction project will feature two, three-story buildings on Milwaukee’s south side, across from Clark Square Park. The development will provide an affordable housing option to the community with 10 of its 40 units set aside for youth who have turned
 18 and aged out of the foster care system.

The project will have a mix of 21 one-bedroom units, 13 two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom units. In addition, there will be surface and underground parking.

The project has also received financing from WHEDA’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and City of Milwaukee HOME Funds.  Construction will commence in Spring 2019.

​On February 7, 2017, passed the City of Milwaukee Common Council for zoning!

Project Overview
  • A total of 40 units of housing on two sites located directly north and south of Clarke Square Park
    • A 23 unit building will be located at 2331 W. Vieau Place, a currently vacant parcel owned by the City of Milwaukee
    • A 17 unit building will be located at the intersection of Mineral and South 24th Street.  The site will consist of a vacant city owned parcel and a privately owned parcel  (2330 W Mineral) will be demolished to accommodate appropriate space for the new build construction
    • In total, the housing units will be comprised of:
      • 21 one-bedroom units
      • 13 two-bedroom units
      • 6 three-bedroom units
    • 8 to 10 of the 40 units will serve motivated youth who are aging out of the foster care system (ages 18 to 24)
    • The Mineral Street site will have 16 underground parking spots and 1 surface parking spot
    • The Vieau Place site will have 23 underground parking spots and 6 surface parking spots
    • In addition, the project has an agreement with Journey House to allow for 10 vehicles of overnight parking on their lot
    • A portion of the units will serve motivated youth who are aging out of the foster care system (ages 18-24)​
  • Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative Catalytic Project
    • Over 435 residents participated in a quality of life planning process for the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative (2009-10).  One of the catalytic projects identified by neighborhood residents, businesses, and other stakeholders was a 48-unit mixed-use, new construction of affordable housing to improve the infrastructure and cohesiveness of the community.
      • Clarke Square residents have expressed interest through the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative Quality of Life Plan’s Housing Strategy (2010) for 48 units of affordable, new construction units for the neighborhood.  A former anchor agency with a robust senior program in the neighborhood aspired to produce the new construction units for independent and first-stage senior housing.  However, the agency changed strategic directions and relocated outside of the neighborhood.  
    • Today, in 2016, this new & exciting opportunity of a $7,000,000 investment in Clarke Square Apartments will honor the residents’ goal for a catalytic new housing development with introducing 40 new construction housing units in the Clarke Square Neighborhood for the first time in over two decades.  In the past several years, adjacent neighborhoods to Clarke Square, such as Muskego Way (southeast) and Layton Boulevard West (west), have benefitted from new affordable housing construction.  
    • The focus on homeless youth who are aging out of foster care has emerged a very critical issue in the past few years, which Journey House Campus Housing Initiative is striving to address with our community partners.  
    • Residents have also expressed interest in family-sized apartments that provide affordable and healthy living environments for their families to reside.  They want to stay in the neighborhood and continue access to the diverse and multiple assets of the Clarke Square Neighborhood.  We also have actively engaged families attending Journey House who would like to move into Clarke Square to be closer to Journey House Center for their children to participate in programs and their continued educational growth and opportunities for their entire family to excel.
    • For more information on the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, please visit http://www.clarkesquare.org. 
  • Experienced Developers: Cardinal Capital Management, Inc. and Journey House 
    • Cardinal Capital will be the primary developer and property manager.  Founded in 2004, Cardinal Capital has gained a national reputation as an industry leader in acquiring, developing, preserving and financing multifamily housing.  Cardinal Capital and its affiliates have acquired, developed and preserved over 8,000 units of multifamily housing.  These projects have been awarded numerous local and national awards.  Cardinal Capital's award winning properties in the City of Milwaukee include Veterans Manor on 35th and Wisconsin Avenue and Empowerment Village Lincoln and Empowerment Village National on the Near South Side.
    • Journey House will provide supportive services to residents of the Project at the Journey House located at 2110 W. Scott Street. Journey House empowers families to move out of poverty by offering adult education, youth development, workforce readiness, and family engagement. Our website provides information on an array of programs, activities, and events to engage the entire family.
    • For more information on Cardinal Capital Management, please visit  http://www.cardinalcapital.us. 
  • Outreach to the Community
    • ​The partners held two public meetings with residents of the Clarke Square Neighborhood with Alderman Donovan on October 11, 2016 and January 5, 2017.  We've disseminated over 3,500 flyers about the project and talked directly with residents and neighbors.  As a result of these discussions, we have modified the design of the project to reduce the number of units and to increase the amount of available parking.  In addition, Journey House and Cardinal Capital in partnership with the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative have developed a neighborhood compact to engage neighbors with the project and provide opportunities for ongoing communication between the developers and residents during and post construction.
    • Contact: Call Dr. Michele Bria at 414.647.0548 or mbria@journeyhouse.org 

In The News

Zoning committee approves foster care apartments (Journal Sentinel - January 31, 2017)
EYES ON MILWAUKEE - Clarke Square Apartments Advance (Urban Milwaukee - January 31, 2017)
Donovan Favors Journey House Proposal (January 12, 2017; Urban Milwaukee)
Proposed Clarke Square Apartments to House Youth Aging Out of Foster Care (January 11, 2017, Neighborhood News Service)
​Clarke Square Apartment Plans Endorsed in Milwaukee – Milwaukee Business Journal (December 5, 2016)
Clarke Square Apartments Win Preliminary OK – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (December 5, 2016)
Affordable Apartments Proposed in Milwaukee’s Clarke Square Neighborhood – Milwaukee Business Journal (November 28, 2016)
Apartments Planned for Clarke Square Area – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (November 28, 2016)
Clarke Square apartment plans endorsed in Milwaukee - bizjournals.com​ (​Dec 5, 2016)
​Unique Apartments for Clarke Square - UrbanMilwaukee.com (Dec 7th, 2016)
​Land and Space: Housing for homeless young people - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (December 12, 2016)

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Clarke Square Pavilion
Resident-Selected Option (May 2015) - Draft Rendering
​In partnership with Milwaukee County Parks, Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative is leveraging Zilber Family Foundation resources to renovate the Clarke Square Pavilion to assist in activating the park with a more accessible and welcoming community & family gathering space.  The new Clarke Square Apartments are a prime location to live with close proximity to Clarke Square Park’s assets. If you are interested in joining Friends of Clarke Square Park, please contact lee@clarkesquare.org to receive more information.

Journey House
Campus Housing Initiative (CHI)

Who is eligible?
Young adults 18 to 25 years of age who are homeless or aging out of foster care.
What happens?
Placement into rent-subsidized Journey House Campus Housing and participation in UCI programs and other Journey House programs as deemed necessary in order to enhance prospects of securing gainful employment. 
How can I become involved?
Eligible young adults are identified jointly by Journey House, Milwaukee County's Project O-YEAH, and the City of Milwaukee.
Journey House's Campus Housing Initiative (CHI) is a unique and ambitious endeavor in partnership with Project O-YEAH, the City of Milwaukee, and Milwaukee County.  Through this program, Journey House seeks to help address the often-overlooked issue of homelessness among young people.  At Journey House, many of our teens have "homes" but no beds.  We know teens who have never slept in their own bed during their entire life.  Although they are not technically without a home to sleep in nor are they part of foster care, they do not know where they will sleep at night.  They rotate homes of their friends, cousins, or other family members, a practice known as couch surfing. They are present every evening at Journey House studying, helping, or playing. They are doing the best they can, but what they need is a safe place to sleep in a bed they can call their own.  This problem is much deeper and more pervasive than anyone can imagine.
The act of moving from place to place to locate a suitable temporary sleeping surface, often for between one night and several weeks.  'Couch surfing' derives its name from the fact that the individual often sleeps on the couch of any acquaintance able to host them; the individual 'rides the wave' of their host's hospitality for as long as possible.
Project Goal
Journey House addresses this real and pervasive issue in our community by offering access to affordable, safe living for youth ages 18 to 25 who are aging out of foster care or are otherwise homeless.  The goal is to provide 24 affordable housing units and opportunities for Wraparound motivated youth and community youth who are in need of an affordable, safe, goal-oriented, and positive living environment.  Thus far Journey House has acquired the following foreclosed properties from the City of Milwaukee (target leasing dates noted in parentheses):
  • 741 South 23rd Street (2 one-bedroom and 4 studio units)
  • 2033 West Scott Street (4 one-bedroom units and a Community Room featuring Local Art Exhibitions)
  • 2330 West Mineral Street (2 two-bedroom units which will be renovated in Spring 2017 to 1 two-bedroom and 2 one-bedroom units)
While addressing these young peoples' most pressing need for reliable shelter, Journey House has set high standards for the quality of this programming.  In addition to the priority of providing safe, affordable housing, Journey House has established the following goals for its Campus Housing Initiative:
  • Transform foreclosed and blighted properties into affordable living spaces in order to beautify and revitalize the Clarke Square neighborhood.  Renovations will include new siding, windows, roof, and landscaping.
  • Provide for the young tenants a cultural environment that resembles campus-style living while encouraging professional workplace aspirations.
  • Through participation in UCI programs, foster the young tenants' desires to excel, attend college or participate in the workforce, and become successful, self-sufficient residents of our community.
We believe that the structure of this program is replicable and accessible, not only in the city of Milwaukee but throughout the entire country and in any country where social service agencies can partner with municipal leadership to effect positive change.  This initiative addresses a real and often unspoken issue facing our community and we look forward to continuing this work for the benefit of our young people and of our community as a whole.

In The News

Affordable Apartments Proposed in Milwaukee's Clarke Square Neighborhood
Milwaukee Business Journal - November 28, 2016
We were featured in an articled titled The Growth of Journey House in the Neighborhood News Service on October 27, 2016.
For Spanish-Speakers, we were also featured on Telemundo Wisconsin for our Grand Opening: Propiedad Hipotecada Transformada en Vivienda para Jóvenes
Special thanks to our partners for their investment of their treasure, time, and talent:
  • City of Milwaukee
  • Milwaukee County
  • Milwaukee Area Technical College (Department of Labor YouthBuild Grant)
  • JH MATC PaCT YouthBuilders
  • John Miceli and Tami Quinlan
  • Greg and Jeanne Herrle
  • Intec Construction
  • Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative/Layton Boulevard West Neighbors Home Improvement Matching Grant Program (for new roof!) - Special thanks to Zilber Family Foundation!
  • All volunteers who assisted John Miceli throughout the spring, summer, and fall, including his colleagues at Eppstein Uhen Architects

Grand Opening of 2033 W Scott on 10/22/16

See how Journey House is empowering families on Milwaukee’s near south side
​SEPTEMBER 28, 2016, BY BRIAN KRAMP