Milwaukee’s skyline has changed dramatically over the past year. Two new luxury high-rises, The Couture and 333 Water, have left their mark on the city.
Both properties began recruiting tenants in the spring of 2024. Previous articles about The Couture can be found here. 333 Water is located in the heart of the Third Ward. At 31 floors, this building is the tallest in the area. In this article, we’ll tell you about the building’s features and give you a little insight into the state of the Milwaukee real estate market.
333 Water offers units ranging from studios to three bedrooms. The $160 million building boasts stunning views of the skyline, Southside, Lake Michigan and the Hoan River. Amenities include an indoor golf simulator, outdoor putting green, pool and patio, coworking space, entertainment area, gym, grill, pizza oven, ping pong table, and weekly community events. Living in this luxury apartment comes at a higher cost than most Milwaukeeans are accustomed to. Rent ranges from approximately $1,800 to $8,700.
james growSeveral luxury apartment buildings have been built in recent years, including The Couture, 7Seventy7, The Ascent, and 333 Water. Online chatter and frosty conversations have focused on the feasibility of such a building in the Milwaukee market, who would live there, and whether it’s too expensive. If you ask developers, they’ll tell you that Milwaukee is the perfect place for this type of development, and there’s a demand for it.
“That demand is from people who live here now, and it’s also demand from people who live in Chicago,” said Tom Darcy, senior managing director at Hines.
Hines is the company that built 333 Water. They see Milwaukee not maintaining dozens of buildings of this type, but at least a few more.
“Can you substantiate that you know a building of this size, a 15-story building? It doesn’t have to be every 30 years. Every three or four years? That’s right,” said Hines Senior. Managing Director Tom Darcy said.
Hines said the ideal tenants are young people, snowbirds, athletes and business professionals who work downtown or commute to Chicago on a hybrid schedule.
“In a city the size of Milwaukee, you have to have everything from a graduate student from Marquette to someone selling a 5,000-square-foot house in Brookfield,” Darcy said.
james growSelling points are amenities, rental flexibility, and location.
“So for people who really want to live in this area, that’s a priority. They spend more of their disposable income on rent than people who don’t value being in this community. “It will be,” Darcy said.
Driving down Route 794 at night, you may notice that the 3rd Ward’s skyscrapers are not often lit. 333 Water has approximately 31 percent of the units occupied. Couture is about 33%. Some people may say no one will move in. Developers claim it’s one-third full in just six months since opening, which they say is a good thing.
“We believe that we knew the demand was there long before the product came out. The product is just catching up,” Darcy said.
Take a tour of 333 Water to see what it’s like inside.
Inside a new luxury high-rise and the state of the Milwaukee real estate market
Both The Couture and 333 Water developers said they expect the majority of their buildings to be occupied by the end of 2025.
To achieve this, they must compete not only with other luxury condominiums but also with existing buildings. Some argue that this type of development is reaching saturation. Developers don’t think like that. Hines believes this will bring more people to the city and fill these buildings. Plus, it brings positive economic benefits to the city, from property taxes to more people patronizing local businesses.
“If you only have one tower, it doesn’t really make a huge impact. If you have four towers, you’re starting to build up a critical mass and it’s automatically consumed. So it creates competition and at the same time , it also impacts this ecosystem and makes downtown more attractive as a whole,” Darcy said.
It remains to be seen whether everything will go as the developers hope. We will have to wait and see how the real estate market reacts to these new buildings.
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