River bluff site on Milwaukee's east side getting four-story apartment building

A four-story, 36-unit apartment building is coming to a river bluff site on Milwaukee's east side — near a similar project that's in the works.

West Bend-based Metro Realty Group LLC, led by Don Heinemeier, has received city permits to construct the building at 2075-2077 N. Cambridge Ave.

The new building will replace a pair of duplexes that will be razed, said Adam Hertel, the project's architect.

That work is to begin within a week or two, said Hertel, of American Architectural Group Inc.

Under that schedule, the apartments would likely be completed by May 2019, Hertel said.

Known as Cambridge North Apartments, the units will range from studios to two bedrooms, he said. The development will include a secured surface parking lot.

The development will likely appeal to University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students and other renters, Hertel said.

The site overlooks the Milwaukee River and is near E. North Ave. restaurants, bars and other businesses.

"You get the east side moniker as a location," Hertel said. "That's always a good thing."

Metro Realty Group acquired the property, including its 37,000-square-foot lot, in 2014, according to city assessment records.

The site is already zoned for apartments or condominiums, so Metro Realty Group can begin developing its building without undergoing the Plan Commission review process.

Cambridge North Apartments is being developed about one block south of a similar project that's in the planning stages.

Developer Kalan Haywood plans to begin construction in October on a five-story, 44-unit apartment building at 1431 E. North Ave.

Haywood's building would replace the closed Judge's Irish Pub, which would be razed.

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