Commission extends mothball status for Catherine Foley Tavern restoration; $3M first-phase fundraising target announced

The Historic Preservation Commission on April 14 granted a six-month continuation of "mothball" status for the Catherine Foley Tavern at 266 East Erie Street, allowing ongoing stabilization and planning work while the restoration team pursues fundraising and design approvals.

Emma Rudd, executive director of Milwaukee Preservation, provided a project update noting the team has contracted a preliminary design team and completed 100% of design development. She said the project team includes Bergland Construction (construction manager), Egberg Anderson (architect), ZS LLC (core shell consultant), and engineering and tax-credit consultants. "Today, actually, officially for 4/14, we have completed 100% design development, had a review this morning. Our part 1 has been accepted by the state and submitted to the national level, and then we are in the process of pursuing the part 2," she told the commission.

Rudd said the restoration effort has an estimated budget of about $3,000,000 for phase one, with a fundraising kickoff planned for May 15. She described temporary shoring and tarping that kept the interior dry through the winter and said temporary barricades now limit access to unsafe areas inside the building. The project team intends to occupy part of the first floor and all of the second floor for Milwaukee Preservation Alliance offices and provide approximately 1,000 square feet of leasable retail space on the first floor once completed.

The commission voted to continue mothball status for six months — the maximum allowed — by voice vote.