A $400 million apartment community proposed for Wauwatosa's Mayfair development − tied to nearly $58 million in city financing − is designed to transform the site and tap continuing strong demand for upscale rental housing.

The 918 apartments would be built in the parking lot near Mayfair's former Boston Store and adjacent to a nearby mall parking deck.

Meanwhile, Mayfair operator Brookfield Properties is working with the city to fill that former department store with a new retailer.

"When you have rooftops and retail, it's the perfect mix between the two," said Barrett Lo President Richard Barrett, whose other projects include downtown Milwaukee's Couture high-rise and Oak Creek's Emerald Row apartments at Drexel Town Square.

Wauwatosa's proposed financing for the development is designed to help preserve the value of Mayfair − one of the city's biggest assets, said Paulette Enders, city development commissioner. The Boston Store building has been vacant for five years.

Both Enders and Barrett said demand for upscale apartments remains strong − driven largely by Wauwatosa's job growth. The city's apartment vacancy rate runs around 4%, Enders said.

The apartments would be in four mid- to high-rise buildings, and could range from studios to two-bedroom units − although that mix is still being determined. They would have market-rate rents.

Barrett Lo hopes to begin construction on the first phase by mid-2025 if the development receives city approvals as well as financing.

The first phase's 463 units would be completed within three years of that construction start, Barrett said.

Those apartments would be in two connecting buildings with 15 and 17 stories. They would be developed in the parking lot south of the former Boston Store and would include a parking structure, rooftop deck and other amenities as well as up to nearly 10,000 square feet of retail space.

Additional phases call for apartments in 19- and 18-story buildings

Two additional phases could add 220 and 235 apartments.

Those respectively would be in a 19-story building constructed west of The Container Store and a 17-story building tied to the parking structure south of Mayfair's Nordstrom department store.

That latter phase would involve partially demolishing that parking structure to help create space for the new apartment building. Both it and the building next to The Container Store would include structured parking, rooftop decks and other amenities.

There's no specific timetable for those additional phases, Barrett said. He estimates the entire development would take 10 to 12 years to complete.

Barrett Lo's planned financing package includes $35.7 million from the city. The city would spend another $22.2 million on public improvements such as streets, sidewalks, sewers and water mains.

The city funds would come from the new development’s property tax revenue − if the Common Council approves a tax incremental financing district for the site.

Without the financing district, the increased property tax base from the development would be immediately available to the city, school district and other local governments.

But the development would not occur without the financing district, according to Barrett Lo and city officials. A council review is set for Sept. 19.

The city estimates the development's first phase alone would create $111.6 million of additional property tax base.

The Wauwatosa Community Development Authority in 2022 bought the 15-acre Boston Store property for $3.95 million to help spur its redevelopment. The price of selling the property to Barrett Lo is still being negotiated, Enders said.

Barrett Lo also plans apartments at Southridge's former Boston Store

Wauwatosa is following a path similar to what Greendale did in 2021, when the village bought Southridge Mall's former Boston Store and its parking lot for $3.3 million.

The Greendale Village Board approved a preliminary agreement to sell the property to Barrett Lo to create a four-story, 790-unit apartment community as well as 50,000 to 60,000 square feet of commercial space.

Those plans have been delayed as the firm works to obtain approvals from Southridge's owners. That process has moved slowly as the mall goes through receivership.

Meanwhile, Brookfield Square Mall's former Boston Store is to be demolished and replaced with mid-rise office buildings, and possibly other new developments, under plans from Irgens Partners LLC.

Also, the former Bayshore Boston Store, in Glendale, was converted into a new Target department store and supermarket. It opened in 2021.

Finally, downtown Milwaukee's former Boston Store will house a small format Kohl's department store, which is to open this fall. That building's upper levels, which once housed offices for Boston Store's owner, are being renovated for Fiserv Inc.'s headquarters relocating from Brookfield.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Barrett Lo plans 900 apartments at Mayfair with Wauwatosa TIF