Repurposing office space left vacant in the wake of Covid, J. Jeffers & Co. is transforming downtown’s150-year-old Mitchell Building to add needed housing.
MILWAUKEE, WI – J. Jeffers & Co., a Milwaukee-based, mission-driven real estate development company, announced its plans to convert vacant office space within the Mitchell Building into 60 apartment units, with renovations slated to begin this summer.
“This infusion of investment and much-needed housing is a win for downtown Milwaukee,” said City of Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development Lafayette L. Crump. “We believe every neighborhood should have a mix of uses and opportunities, so including more residential downtown, as this project from J. Jeffers & Co. accomplishes, is quite welcome.”
Constructed in 1876, the Mitchell Building at 207 E. Michigan St. has housed countless iterations of offices and businesses, including a bank, throughout its rich history. For nearly 150 years, the iconic Mitchell Building has been continuously occupied as an office building – even during the Great Depression.
“We’ll preserve and incorporate the many distinctive features of this beautiful building into the apartment units,” said Joshua Jeffers, owner and founder of J. Jeffers & Co. “Many units will showcase walk-in bank vaults, as well as 16-to-18-foot-high ceilings, enormous 10-by-4-foot windows and original hardwood floors.”
The project, which will utilize state and federal historic tax credits, will first focus on the building’s interior, with exterior restoration planned to begin in spring 2026.
J. Jeffers & Co. has already conducted structural repairs to the foundation of the Mitchell Building, which shares a skywalk with the Mackie Building, 225 E. Michigan St., another J. Jeffers & Co. historic renovation.
