MILWAUKEE—An aging set of warehouses that for years blighted the suburban town of Wauwatosa will soon be a destination for upscale shoppers. As reported in GlobeSt.com back in April, Chicago-based developer HSA Commercial Real Estate has started converting three of the 1960's-era structures by connecting them with walkways, redoing the fronts, the roofs and updating all building systems, but preserving their industrial look.

And Timothy Blum, executive vice president and managing director of the Retail Division of HSA, says the firm has just finalized leases with Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, Old Navy and Carter's. The project, which broke ground in April 2013, already has lease commitments with Nordstrom Rack, Dick's Sporting Goods and Ulta Beauty. By next summer, HSA will have finished this first phase of the renovations, resulting in 270,000-square-feet of retail called The Mayfair Collection.

“For all intensive purposes, it will look like a brand new center,” Blum says. The entire 69-acre site has about 1-million-square-feet of warehouse space. In subsequent phases, HSA will attempt to transform the remainder into other uses such as medical office buildings, general offices and multifamily residences. Wauwatosa and HSA have already agreed to create a tax increment financing district that will provide $8.5 million to cover infrastructure costs for the project. Known as the “Burleigh Triangle,” the site has Highway 45 to the west, Burleigh Street to the south, and the Union Pacific Railroad to the east. City officials say the site has been underutilized for years and long-targeted for redevelopment.