Roughly 50 people were on hand yesterday as ground was officially broken on the River North Apartment building in Manitowoc.
The 87-unit building sits on the River Point District, which was purchased by the City in May of 2019 from Canadian National Railroad, and this structure was the first development approved by the City Council.
We spoke with Alex Allie, the Owner of Allie Family Companies, who designed the building, and he explained that the building will contain a “mix of micros, we call them, studios, ones, twos, and threes, with heated underground parking, common space, fitness center, and lots of great amenities for our residents.”
Allie also said that the design includes a lot of natural building products, including Cream City Brick and wood tones to “drawback to our roots of shipbuilding in Manitowoc.”
Mayor Justin Nickels said that he believes that this apartment building will help with the current workforce shortage.
“People are starting to, especially the younger generation, starting to pick places where they can live and call home, not just [have] a job,” Nickels explained. “We have the jobs available, but we have to create a community that they want to live in.”
And the development of the River Point District is the first step in doing that.
The infrastructure of the area is pretty well laid out, and even more upgrades are anticipated in the semi-near future.
“Next year I am going to be asking the Council for $3 million to continue the work down here. This is all TIF funded,” the mayor said. “That would include a public river walk along the river next to the 10th Street bridge, a kayak launch at the old Carferry dock, which is just upriver from the bridge, and a park which will be just west of this current development.”
Nickels also told Seehafer News that when the City purchased the land, “the goal was to have private development, but also to have that public access.”
The project is well underway, with a lot of interest in renting the units already coming in.
The building is expected to be completed by the end of October 2022.
For more information on the apartment complex, visit LiveAtRiverNorth.com.
