Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson delivered the 2026 State of the City with a clear message: everything begins at home. With 2026 declared the Year of Housing, the City is focused on expanding access to housing, strengthening neighborhoods, and increasing supply across income levels.
The address highlighted projects that contribute to these goals, including developments constructed by Greenfire: The Historic Garfield Apartments and The Griot, representing different approaches to housing delivery, from adaptive reuse to new multi-family construction.
The Historic Garfield Apartments involves the conversion of a former Milwaukee Public School building into affordable housing. The project required coordination with historic preservation standards, integration of existing structure conditions, and alignment with funding requirements tied to affordability. Greenfire’s preconstruction and construction management approach supported cost control, schedule coordination, and compliance throughout the process.
The Griot includes mixed-income housing within a larger community-focused campus that included the construction of America’s Black Holocaust Museum in the 6,500 SF first-floor commercial space. The project required coordination across multiple stakeholders, integration with adjacent uses, and sequencing within an active urban corridor. Greenfire supported delivery through early planning, trade partner coordination, and consistent communication with project partners.
Among the Historic Garfield Apartments and The Griot, the program featured another two recently completed Greenfire projects – Cornerstone Village-Highland and Rowe MKE.
Across each project, Greenfire’s role centers on providing clear preconstruction planning, open communication, and execution that aligns scope, budget, and schedule. As Milwaukee advances its housing priorities, these projects demonstrate how coordinated delivery supports broader community goals.
