Longtime community leader LaMarr Franklin started the first week of his 80s by cutting the ribbon on the new LaMarr Franklin Lofts, an affordable housing complex named in his honor at the corner of North King Drive and Dr. William Finlayson Street.
“I am very proud and beyond words,” Franklin said at the ribbon cutting held on Friday, Oct. 3.
“Thank you for this.”
The $16.7 million development, led by KG Development Group and the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation (MLKEDC), took about five years to complete.
The new development marks the latest push for affordable housing in the Harambee neighborhood.
“When I was growing up here, a lot of the buildings on MLK were vacant,” said Anthony Kazee, principal developer with KG Development.
“Now, I get to be part of the economic development of the neighborhood.”
The LaMarr Franklin Lofts in the Harambee neighborhood on Oct. 3, 2025, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 46 of 55 new apartment units will be designated for affordable housing. -Angelica Edwards/ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The LaMarr Franklin Lofts are joined by multiple housing developments, adding to the neighborhood’s affordable housing stock. The now-completed MLK Apartments above the King Drive Library, the upcoming Union at Rose Park, and the LaMarr Franklin lofts, combined, will provide more than 200 new apartment units to the neighborhood by the end of 2026, according to information from the developers of each project.
Inside the LaMarr Franklin Lofts
The new lofts will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
There is a total of 55 units, 46 of which will be designated as affordable housing with rent starting as low as $469 per month, and Section 8 vouchers are accepted. Nine of the apartments will be market rate, starting at $1,057 a month.
All the apartments are leased, according to MLKEDC, but new applications will be added to a waiting list.
The building will offer commercial space for lease at the street level, but currently, no businesses or organizations have claimed the space.
The ground floor of the development also features resident office space and a community room home to the Milwaukee North Sunrise Rotary Club, a local non-profit.
Who is LaMarr Franklin
LaMarr Franklin speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the LaMarr Franklin Lofts in the Harambee neighborhood on Oct. 3, 2025, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 46 of 55 new apartment units will be designated for affordable housing. -Angelica Edwards/ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
LaMarr Franklin is a Milwaukee resident and community leader known for his years of service to Milwaukee.
“He led with actions,” said Monique Grahm, Franklin’s daughter.
Franklin was instrumental in launching the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation 30 years ago and has remained involved as a lifetime member of its board of directors.
He spent 40 years on the board of the Northcott Neighborhood House and helped organize Milwaukee’s first Garfield Days festival in 1997, among many other neighborhood events.
In 1973, he started the Milwaukee Chapter of the Black Achievers Program at the YMCA — a college and career exploration program.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving to have their name on this building,” said Franklin Cumberbatch, vice president of engagement at Bader Philanthropies, a foundation that provided funding for the new lofts.
Developments around Harambee
The LaMarr Franklin Lofts is one of two Harambee neighborhood apartment complexes to open its doors with affordability in mind in 2025, and another is on the way.
Low-income apartments are now available at the MLK Library Apartments, which opened its doors Sept. 6, following the library’s grand opening. Another development, Union at Rose Park, just broke ground at the end of September and is set to open in the winter of 2026.
There will be 223 new apartments available altogether, once the Union at Rose Park is completed, and 165 of those will be considered affordable housing for lower-income residents, a requirement of each development’s tax incremental financing.
The Compass Lofts is another planned affordable apartment development, but it is currently stalled. According to KG Development, the real estate developer behind the project, the hope is to begin construction sometime before the end of 2026.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for LaMarr Franklin Lofts in the Harambee neighborhood on Oct. 3, 2025, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 46 of 55 new apartment units will be designated for affordable housing. -Angelica Edwards/ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Mayor Cavalier Johnson dubbed 2026 as the “Year of Housing” with his proposed budget. According to Johnson, maintaining stable housing requires a consistent effort in Milwaukee neighborhoods like Harambee.
Johnson hopes developments like the lofts will add stability to the neighborhood so that children growing up in Milwaukee do not need to relocate because of housing insecurity.
“I went to six different elementary schools because we moved around so much,” Johnson said. “The more we are able to make it, so kids don’t have that experience, where our neighborhoods are stable, that is how you build a stronger city.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: LaMarr Franklin Lofts opens new apartments for rent in Harambee