A 257-unit apartment development planned for Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward has received its first city approval.

A 257-unit apartment development planned for Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward has received its first city approval.

The Plan Commission is endorsing the rezoning of a small portion of the 3-acre development site north of East Summerfest Place and west of North Lincoln Memorial Drive.

That rezoning of a parcel at 640 E. Summerfest Place, which needs Common Council approval, would give it the same zoning as the rest of the project site.

The five-story building, proposed by Bloomington, Minnesota-based Kaeding Development Group, also needs design approval from the Historic Third Ward Architectural Review Board.

That design has been revised after previous board meetings, with another board review coming in July.

The apartments would wrap around a 310-space parking structure — so it wouldn't be visible from the streets.

"We're trying to find a nice cohesion with the rest of the neighborhood," said Carl Kaeding, chief executive officer of Kaeding Development Group.

Its apartments would range from studios to three-bedroom units, with monthly rents of around $1,150 to $3,900, Kaeding said.

The parcel being rezoned has a small warehouse that's to be demolished. The rest of the site is vacant.

The Journal Sentinel reported in December that Kaeding Development had reached a preliminary agreement to buy the project site from the Italian Community Center for $5.5 million.

The apartments would have a main entrance at 129 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive, as well as an entrance to the parking structure from Summerfest Place.

The design includes two courtyards with a swimming pool and patio/grilling area, as well as a dog park.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.