Welford Sanders Lofts

Catalyst Construction converted the 184,843 square-foot former Nunn Bush Shoe Co. factory into a mix of offices and apartments.

A partnership comprising Wisconsin Development and the non-profit Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation redeveloped the property by converting the existing building into 59 apartments and 38,000 square-feet of office space. As part of the conversion, a two-story, 1960s-era addition was demolished to form an interior courtyard space inside the historic U-shaped complex.

The completed building looks and feels more like something one would expect to find in the Historic Third Ward. High ceilings, large windows, wood floors and plenty of brick are found throughout, making its conversion to apartments a logical choice. Of the 59 planned apartments, 47 are made available via low-income housing tax credits to residents earning less than 60 percent of the area’s median income. The apartments are a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom and are accessible via the former factory’s historic entrance on North 5^th Street.