After more than two years, a Milwaukee organization focused on inclusively building the city's technology sector is nearing completion of its headquarters redevelopment.
The Milky Way Tech Hub is on pace to complete construction by the end of March, the organization's founder Nadiyah Johnson said. The newly renovated, two-story facility in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood will include coworking and event areas, a maker's space, a lounge and a handful of residential units for out-of-state entrepreneurs working remotely as digital nomads.
"We’re basically at the point where we’re activating the space now," Johnson said.
Click through the slideshow above to see renderings of the space. Construction started in November 2021.
Johnson has not set an opening date for the building but said construction on both floors is around 90% completed. In the home stretch, the Milky Way Tech Hub is looking to raise up to $100,000 to pay for furniture, laptops and programming, she said. It's offering naming rights options for companies interested in sponsoring the building or spaces within it, she said.
The full project cost is around $500,000, Johnson said. Other funding has included a loan from the Wisconsin Preservation Fund, a reimbursement grant from Brew City Match, $25,000 from the city of Milwaukee's White Box program and sponsorships from companies including American Family Insurance.
Located at 3801-3805 W. Fond du Lac Ave., the Milky Way Tech Hub headquarters is two blocks from the Sherman Phoenix Marketplace, a local hub for small businesses owned by people of color.
The second floor of the redeveloped Milky Way Tech Hub building will have apartment units reserved for the Milky Way Tech Hub's forthcoming Digital Nomads program, which will provide affordable, furnished living spaces for out-of-state startup founders to stay for around six to 12 months, Johnson said.
The Milky Way Tech Hub building is owned by Cyndy Johnson, city records show. Cyndy, Nadiyah's mother, ran an Allstate Insurance agency out of the building for more than two decades, Nadiyah told the crowd at the Milky Way Tech Hub's Hard Hat Demo event last month.
Ariam Kesete of AK Development is the co-developer of the Milky Way Tech Hub's headquarters project. Oby Nwabuzor of Envision Growth previously served as the co-developer but is no longer working on the project, Nadiyah said.
The Milky Way Tech Hub is the social impact arm of Jet Constellations, Nadiyah's software development company.
