Echelon Apartments at Innovation Campus

Living History On A College Campus

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Innovation Campus is a hotbed of research, business partnerships, academia, and environmental preservation. HGA designed the Echelon Apartments to create a residential community for the campus. It is comprised of 188 luxury apartment homes in six three-story buildings.

The apartments are near historic remnants of the Milwaukee County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy. Designed in 1912 by noted architect Alexander Eschweiler, these buildings fell into disrepair. As a result, four of the five historic buildings on the grounds had to be removed.

To be sensitive to the history of the former school, HGA restored part of the old administration building for use as a leasing office, fitness center, community room and theater room for residents of the development. The design of the new apartment buildings echoes the style of the historic buildings, featuring brick walls with the steep-pitched roofs of the Tudor Revival.

The Echelon development is surrounded by acres of parks. An 11-acre monarch butterfly preservation area, DNR forest and a 55-acre Milwaukee County park create an urban community with immediate access to outdoor recreation.

The redevelopment of the Milwaukee County grounds was a substantial undertaking that contributes to the region’s burgeoning medical and technology sectors, while preserving public land and natural environments. Echelon was a highly complex undertaking that required a great deal of outreach, discussion, and collective planning. Upon completion, Echelon serves the needs of Innovation Campus, City of Wauwatosa, and the greater Milwaukee area.