Milwaukee-based developer Wire Capital Group, breaks ground on Maritime Lofts site in Manitowoc

By William Gooden

On Thursday, August 27, 2026, Wire Capital Group broke ground on the future site of the Maritime Lofts on the long-vacant former Mirro Aluminum site. The former aluminum cookware plant was torn down in 2017 and the site at 1512 Washington Street has sat empty ever since. That was until January 2022, when Wire Capital Group, a Milwaukee-based, Black founded and owned developer placed and won a bid with the city of Manitowoc to develop the Former Mirro Cookware site into affordable housing on the south side of the vacant property. The city sold the site to Wire Capital Group for $1, because the site was declared a contamination site by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

“It took a village really to come together to make this happen. So, it took time. We had to sit through and look at this site like this for quite a few years. But today we were able to finally give the citizens of Manitowoc something positive in what’s gonna be here,” said Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels.

Originally called the Maritime Flats, Wire Capital Group partnered with non-profit housing organization Movin’ Out, Inc. to secure early funding, including a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) award and Federal Home Loan Bank grants to finance the $16M+ project. Wire Capital Group later partnered with Gorman & Company to handle the site clean-up and construction. Using a $2 million federal grant, the city cleaned up the site last fall to make way for the housing development. Maritime Lofts will have 59 units of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment homes, affordable to households earning between 30 percent and 80 percent of the County median income.

“Our vision is to create an environment that aligns with the focus on living, working, and playing in the city,” Wire Capital Group president and founder David Juniel said. “Manitowoc’s a beautiful city and we hope to transform the under-utilized prior Mirro site into something the city will be proud of.”

City officials say this new apartment building is just the beginning of a revitalization. There will be a park added to the property, to include the original doors from the Mirro facility, along with other upgrades coming to the neighborhood soon.

Nickels added, “You bring a building like this and it’s really gonna start. You’ll see things trickle along here. Just Washington Street right in front of us here that this will be on, will be completely redone by the state as well in 2030.”

Construction will begin in early fall with completion anticipated in 2028.