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By Ashley Voss

Taking a stroll through Milwaukee’s Third Ward, it’s plain to see the area is no stranger to revitalization and expansion.

In this unique neighborhood, weathered-gray structures adorned with faded advertisements stand alongside the richly textured red brick of neighboring buildings. Luxurious condos and office buildings move in beside century-old factories and manufacturing spaces, while curving street lights invite visitors to stay awhile, take a stroll and indulge their cultural and artistic senses.

For some Chicago residents, this inkling to hang around is hard to shake, and they’re finding second homes in the condos of Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

Chicago suburbanite John Jacobs was in the market for a weekend getaway spot when he first laid eyes on The Waterfront Condominiums at 130 S. Water St. The property, overlooking the Milwaukee River, offered everything the 53-year-old Jacobs and his wife could have asked for, including a variety of nearby dining and theater options and, most importantly, a slip for this lake enthusiast’s boat.

The couple looked no further.

“It was a spur of the moment investment,” laughs Jacobs.

And they could not be happier, making the commute from their Woodstock, Ill. home at least twice a month, and giving their two grown children a place to relax as well. Jacobs’ youngest son is a junior at Marquette University, while his 25-year-old is a Marquette graduate who enjoys returning to his alma mater.

“Milwaukee offers almost everything Chicago does, without the crowds,” Jacobs says.“It’s just a pleasant place.”

For Martin Huennekens, the commute works in reverse. The Riverwalk Plaza Condominiums resident and treasurer of its Board of Directors, Huennekens is among the growing number of people drawn to the Third Ward’s big-city culture but small-town appeal. He is an avid Chicago opera-goer and enjoys visiting the Windy City, but takes up residence in the vibrant Milwaukee district. He can’t complain about the people or the efficiency of life in the Third Ward. One big plus, Huennekens says, “You don’t have to wait for a table at a restaurant.”

In recent years, condominiums have become the number one redevelopment property in the historic Third Ward area. An increasing number of office buildings and shopping venues now take the place of the warehouses and factories that laid the neighborhood's foundations in the early 1900s.

Recently, the East Chicago Street area, surrounding the Riverwalk Condos, has come to the attention of realtors and development firms. The Chicago-based Magnet Group Realty, for example, purchased Reliable Knitting Works, Inc.’s downtown manufacturing space to create new retail and housing venues. And one of the neighborhood’s largest manufacturers, Beck Carton Group, will move out of downtown to Franklin Business Park, making way for 64,000 square feet of office space.

While some residents choose to enjoy their own mini taste of Michigan Avenue in the revitalized neighborhood's upscale shops, hip bars and theaters, Huennekens says potential buyers also appreciate the closeness of the condos to the train station. He typically makes the commute to Chicago via train twice monthly.

Another important factor is the sensible pricing. At the Riverwalk Plaza Condominiums, lofts boasting exposed ceilings and other historic features range in price from $200,000 to $800,000, depending on the size of the unit and additional amenities such as a boat slip or below-ground parking. According to Huennekens, condo buyers seeking the same luxuries in the Chicago market can often expect to pay at least double the price.

As a result of the reasonable rates, Huennekens has noticed a pattern emerging among the condo residents. While a few years before, the market was flooded primarily with 50-to-60-year-old “empty nesters” like Jacobs, he has noticed the increasing popularity of condos among the “26-year-old” crowd. A few years before, those just starting their careers and seeking a comfortable first home would have been hesitant to drop nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars--this is no longer the case.

“Five or six years ago, these were very pricey places, but a $200,000 starter home is normal now,” he says.

According to Huennekens, the most attractive selling point is the high demand for properties in the Third Ward area. He notes that even if residents only stay in the area for a short time, the properties are becoming increasingly “sellable” due to the high number of potential new condo-owners waiting in the wings.

Judy Pemberton, director of condominium sales for Ogden Real Estate, Co., shares Huennekens sentiments.

Although the construction of Ogden’s River Renaissance Condominiums will not be complete until summer 2007, Pemberton says 44 of the building’s 80 units, which range in price from $190,000 to more than $1 million for the penthouses, have already sold. The largest number of people coming into Ogden’s Sales/Design Center are Chicago residents, young professionals and empty nesters from the suburbs, drawn in by amenities similar to those they would get along the Windy City’s lakefront.

“For the Chicago buyers, they are looking for a weekend place where they don't have to drive very far, but still have all the benefits of city life,” she says. “They look for condominiums with boat slips, as those are hard to come by in their area and the summer life on the river and lake is fabulous in the downtown area.”

The River Renaissance has also attracted national interest, the result of strategic advertising inside the terminal of Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport.

“It’s been kind of fun you know, to get all these calls from all over,” Pemberton says. “People you know, who lived in the Milwaukee area and then are considering maybe coming back and getting it as an investment.”

With new condo and office projects nearing completion and prospective buyers calling from Chicago to New York, has the Third Ward reached its housing capacity? “Absolutely not,” Huennekens says. Similar space in other metropolitan areas, such as Los Angeles, house about 35,000 residents: The one-square-mile area along Milwaukee’s lakefront still has room to spare with just under 3000.

“We are just now approaching a critical number of residents to support all the services that a neighborhood needs, such as a grocery store, a pharmacy, a gas station, video shop,” Huennekens explains. “We are still one of the least crowded areas of the city.”

View this slide show to look inside a Third Ward condo.