F Street is bringing another innovative housing development to Brown Deer with their groundbreaking for F Street Village 43.

Following their successes at the nearby Greenlink Residences, F Street enlisted Greenfire to manage the construction of Village 43 – a new market rate multi-family community consisting of eight residential buildings and a centrally located clubhouse with access drives and parking. The development will bring 156 units of garden-style town home apartments and shared greenspaces along Brown Deer Road, just west of Green Bay Ave. Alongside F Street and Greenfire, the project kicked off with a ceremonial groundbreaking with project stakeholders, as well as the project team and local officials.

Village 43 will be a family-oriented, walkable residential development with social-connectivity in mind. F Street enlisted RINKA+ to design the development, with Pinnacle Engineering Group shoring up the civil engineering. Stemming from previous project successes, Greenfire was able to leverage a great working relationship with RINKA+ to smooth the transition from concept to breaking ground.

F Street’s Founder Scott Lurie welcomed all in attendance for their support and sharing the vision to make Village 43 possible. The sentiment of excitement for the project was shared by Paul F. Hoesly, Chief Financial Officer of Potawatomi Ventures – the parent company for Greenfire. The Village of Brown Deer Board of Trustees member Amos Owens also spoke to the benefits Village 43 will bring to Brown Deer, which was backed by Tax Increment Financing (TIF).

While the groundbreaking for F Street Village 43 was a ceremonial event for all stakeholders to get together and celebrate the milestone and efforts it took to reach this point, Greenfire’s project team was already hard at work preparing the site and pouring foundations.

Once completed, new residents of Village 43 can enjoy the feel of single-family living spaces with the amenities of a connected community in the heart of Brown Deer’s bustling and rejuvenated downtown.

Greenfire’s latest housing development project was a key highlight of Jewish Family Services’ (JFS) Annual Meeting. As one of Wisconsin’s oldest non-profit organizations, JFS holds an annual meeting for their donors, stakeholders, leadership, staff, family and friends – as a chance to review the milestones from the past year, look to the future and break bread together. As part of the afternoon’s events, JFS hosted tours of their facilities along Bradley Road in Brown Deer. This provides donors and dignitaries an opportunity to meet JFS leadership and staff and learn about the programs and services that JFS can provide for vulnerable members of the community. JFS aims to foster healthy independent living while being able to provide supportive staff and care when needed to residents. A highlight of their tour was the progress of their newest supportive housing project, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Residences at Woodale Crossing.

Tour goers were able to view the site firsthand, and see the progress made since the project’s groundbreaking in May 2024. The project’s site is located just south of the convergence of West Bradley Road and North Teutonia Avenue in Brown Deer, WI – just a short walk from JFS’ existing housing communities.

Greenfire has made substantial progress on the building, as vertical construction has already commenced on the three-story structure. Greenfire’s early involvement in the planning process has yielded smooth project staging from demolition and clearing of the site, earthwork and precast foundation of the 56-unit apartment development, designed by JLA Architects. Greenfire’s extensive logistical planning has mitigated disruptions to the neighborhood and the adjacent existing JFS property, the Deerwood Crossing Senior Residences.

JFS, Greenfire and JLA were happy to host the tour goers to the site, which included Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez – who was happy to view the project’s progress since the groundbreaking earlier in the year. The evening concluded with a dinner and speakers from JFS leadership, as well as stirring words of hope and optimism from Shakita LaGrant-McClain, the Milwaukee County Director of Health and Human Services and Elmer Moore, Chief Executive Officer of WHEDA. They reiterated the importance of the services that JFS provides to the community, and the positive impact that housing developments like Woodale Crossing can bring.

Team Greenfire was proud to attend and sponsor a fun event hosted by NAIOP Wisconsin: a development bus tour of Oconomowoc, WI. The event showcased current and under construction developments, the comprehensive plan regarding future land use, neighborhoods, transportation, sustainability, and other resurgent features of the city. One of the featured stops was Greenfire’s current project, Phase II of the Locklyn at Olympia Fields, a development by Wangard Partners.

The tour began with greetings from the event’s sponsors, including Greenfire’s president, Jeb Meier. Attendees also received introductions and insights from various developers such as Stu Wangard of Wangard Partners and Phil Aiello of Mandel Group.

As the bus toured through the redeveloped site that once was the Olympia Resort, the bus approached the second phase of the Lockyln at Olympia Fields. Tour guests got to see firsthand the progress of the construction that Greenfire is currently managing.

The tour was conducted by Bob Duffy, Director of Economic Development with the City of Oconomowoc, who provided detailed background for each site visited. The tour route included a visit to industrial developments south of Interstate 94, showcasing the area’s expanding industrial sector. Participants then headed north into downtown Oconomowoc, where they observed the resurgence of commerce that has revitalized the area since the great recession. Bob reiterated the city’s commitment to continued improvement of the city, and that Oconomowoc is a prime partner in attracting developers and commerce. The tour concluded at the Locklyn at Olympia Fields clubhouse, where Greenfire sponsored the cocktail reception.

Greenfire’s involvement in the Locklyn Phase II project is significantly contributing to the growth and vitality of Oconomowoc. As a centrally located hub between Milwaukee and Madison, Oconomowoc continues to grow exponentially and the demand for quality housing will continue to rise. Greenfire is always eager to take part in events like this NAIOP tour of Oconomowoc to offer a firsthand look at what we’re working on, and network with developers and local officials who help make community improvements possible.

Progress on phase II of the River House development along the shores of the Milwaukee River continues!

The walls are starting to rise on the second phase of construction for the next two podium-style, new construction towers along the East bank of the river. The next two buildings add an additional 333,400 SF to the project, bringing the River House site to over 700,000 SF of residential housing space. The complex includes underground parking, as well as a complete redevelopment of the river walk. Like the first phase of the project, getting to this point in construction was no easy feat.

A very compact site against the river has created complex site logistics that required a unique approach to the construction process after the setting of the two new buildings’ foundations. After the footings for both Buildings Three and Four were set, Building Four’s footings were subsequently buried under aggregate to allow for the transportation of materials and equipment to Building Three’s base from the elevated site entrance ramp from Water Street. Once the erection of Building Three is complete, the next stage of erecting Building Four will uncover the pre-set footings and continue construction.

Before getting to the stage of being able to set footings presented its own set of challenges as well. Once site excavation began, Greenfire’s team discovered many remnants and layers of previous structures that once inhabited the site. The deeper the digging went; the more discoveries were made. Entire swaths of wood flooring were uncovered as crews dug deeper into the riverbank.

As crews set the retaining wall pylons along Water Steet, Greenfire’s crews also discovered buried deep alongside Water Street were old brick building facades and windows! It is difficult to date exactly, but Michael Hankins, project engineer, surmises that the elevation of Water Street was raised over many decades ago, and those were previous streetside building fronts.

The unique challenges presented by a complex building site are one of the many reasons why Greenfire’s project expertise can deliver solutions to keep a project on track. Through diligent preplanning and execution, the next phase of River House will continue to rise along the banks of the Milwaukee River.

It was a momentous occasion in Brown Deer for the groundbreaking ceremony of Jewish Family Services‘ Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Residences at Woodale Crossing. Woodale Crossing will be a supportive housing community, featuring 56 units of affordable and supportive senior housing. The safe, stable residence project will also offer housing for persons living with disabilities as well. Greenfire was proud to take part in the ceremony hosted by JFS, which featured remarks from key members of the project and local dignitaries. Hosted by Adam Witkov, JFS Board Chair, he thanked everyone in attendance and welcomed Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez, who applauded JFS’ efforts and stressed the importance of projects like Woodale Crossing for the betterment of the community. Rebecca Buretta, the Regional Representative for US Senator Tammy Baldwin and Maria Ayala, the Representative for US Representative Gwen Moore were in attendance and gave words of encouragement. Local representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services also spoke, including James Mathy, Housing Administrator and Shakita LaGrant-McClain, Director, as well as Village of Brown Deer Trustee Priscilla Hightower Thompson spoke to the importance of Woodale Crossing towards the housing of vulnerable residents of Brown Deer and Milwaukee County. It was great to hear from members of the JFS team, including Shelby Guendel, JFS Community Case Management Supervisor, and Sharon Jackson, JFS Community Resource Coordinator. JFS President and CEO John Yopps reiterated gratitude to everyone in attendance and those who made the project commencement possible, but also welcomed to the podium Elmer Moore, WHEDA Chief Executive Officer to offer kind words and congratulations to everyone involved in Woodale Crossing. Everyone involved in the project took turns ceremoniously putting shovel to dirt, to commemorate the beginning construction. JFS also gifted everyone in attendance specialty bottled Root Beers, “Wood Ale” and “Woo Brew Low Calorie”. An artist even painted the groundbreaking ceremony in real time. Greenfire looks forward to beginning the construction of Woodale Crossing and adding vital supportive housing to Brown Deer.