MILWAUKEE — NewPoint Real Estate Capital has provided $20.6 million in construction financing for Michigan Street Commons, a 99-unit affordable housing community in Milwaukee. Kenosha-based Bear Real Estate Group is developing the project, which is slated for completion in spring 2024. Michigan Street Commons is being built on the western border of a larger redevelopment project spearheaded by Bear Real Estate Group and Kacmarcik Enterprises. Plans call for an 11-acre mixed-use sports and entertainment district, known as Iron District MKE, that will include a hotel, event space and a soccer stadium that will serve the USL Championship League and Marquette University.
Michigan Street Commons will rise five stories on a development site that currently contains a parking lot. Of the total units, 30 percent will be reserved for residents who earn up to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI), 40 percent will be designated for those who earn up to 60 percent of AMI and the remaining 30 percent will be reserved for those who earn up to 70 percent of AMI. Amenities will include a community room, fitness center, storage units and underground parking.
Cesar Diaz of NewPoint originated the loan, which was structured as NewPoint Impact 4 percent tax-exempt bond financing. NewPoint Impact is a proprietary affordable housing lending platform that pairs private capital with government-subsidized products. The Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority issued three series of bonds. Raymond James served as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity syndicator.