A rare redevelopment opportunity awaits on Milwaukee's Lower East Side. The City of Milwaukee is selling a mixed-use building it acquired through property tax foreclosure, located at 1115-1117 E. Brady St. The three-story building, constructed in 1888, is available for $280,000. The city is accepting bids through a request-for-proposals process. Since 2000, the building's first-floor tenant, Dragonfly Vintage Goods and Gifts, has been a fixture. After a 25-year run, the store closed in 2016. The building has seen various tenants, including Usman La'Aro and CBD store Purple Reign, before being lost through property tax foreclosure in 2021. The most recent tenant, BlackInk Milwaukee, a tattoo business, closed in 2024. The building's unique feature is a grotesque of a mythical winged creature atop it, designed by artist Pamela Scesniak in 1999. The upper floors contain two long-vacant apartments. The property is part of the locally designated Brady Street Historic District, requiring any future owner to apply to the Historic Preservation Commission for exterior modifications. The Department of City Development mandates that the property be maintained as fully taxable with an active first-floor storefront, suggesting various retail uses. Bids are due March 23, and this is the city's first sale of a Brady Street building since 2015. The last sale was to Pepperoni Cannoli, who renovated the property and now leases the first floor to Chocolate Sommelier.
