Studio Apartment Rentals on Milwaukee’s East Side
High rises with lake views line Prospect Avenue, while cozier brownstones, bungalows, and duplexes dominate just a few blocks inland. If you’re looking for a small apartment, such as an efficiency, studio, or one-bedroom, you’ll find more buildings than you can possible visit. This availability is due in part to Milwaukee’s near-obscene condo craze, which has many former renters purchasing the lofts they’ve longed for. Cue the character apartments!
The gem of East Side Milwaukee’s small apartment market is the “old school” studio or efficiency apartment, which tends to feature things like hardwood floors, clawfoot bathtubs, steam heat, and pantry-style kitchens. If you want a plain square apartment with ugly beige carpeting and subdivision-style fixtures, you can certainly find one of those too – usually in the 70s style saltbox buildings tucked in between the more charming brick ones. But most people who seek out studios on the East Side want some of the character and warmth that come with older buildings. You can choose a well-maintained brownstone and still live affordably and comfortably. In fact, some of these apartments are the best deals out there.
It is not unheard of to find efficiency and studio apartments under $400 a month. In fact, during my own apartment search (and during searches for several friends), I saw many attractive apartments in desirable locations that boasted this kind of pricetag. Heat is often included because these apartments normally have steam-driven radiators, and you may get lucky and find a building that includes your electric bill in your rent too. One friend of mine scored a studio for under $400 a month in a picturesque neighborhood just a few blocks in from Lake Michigan. The only catch to his apartment: it’s incredibly small with a small closet. If you are considering a studio, you probably don’t have many belongings anyway, so this may not pose a problem. Be warned, though, that apartments in the sub-$400 rent category usually have some noticeable (though not unmanageable) flaw such as a tiny fridge or the complete absence of a walk-in closet.
If you want a little (but not a lot) more space, Milwaukee apartments in the $400-500 range are much easier to come by. The studios themselves tend to be larger, and you are more likely to find a walk-in closet and possibly a kitchen that allows for a small, ice cream parlour sized table. My own East Side apartment weighs in at $460 per month, including heat, cable, and high-speed internet. I enjoy a large main room (16’x18′), a built-in wooden kitchen booth, a pedestal bathroom sink, a large walk-in closet, pristine hardwood floors, and an attractive building exterior. I like to think that my knowledge of the rental market helped secure such a wonderful deal, but the truth is that if you look at enough places in Milwaukee, you’ll find a studio with the features you want for a price within your budget.
Moving into the $500+ rent bracket, the studios start to become quite spacious. Some have large kitchens, built-in curio cabinets, multiple closets, and even small dining rooms. Studios at this price level tend to have ample closet space and bathrooms that don’t require contortionist maneuvers. However, watch out for the overpriced studios. I have seen a number of East Side studio apartments with rents as high as $600 that were actually inferior (smaller, mismatched, and more poorly maintained) than their under-$500 counterparts. Before taking a studio apartment on Milwaukee’s East Side for over $500 a month, make sure it has amenities that cheaper places don’t have – maybe cable/internet, a balcony, a huge kitchen, parking, etc. Otherwise, you may be locking yourself into a lease at an inflated price.
There are a number of well-known rental companies that own a surprising chunk of the East Side “character studio” apartment buildings in Milwaukee. Shoreline Real Estate Company is perhaps the most notable of these mega-landlords. I once rented from Shoreline and found the experience to be pleasant. My building was well-maintained, my property manager was attentive and friendly, and the few maintenance concerns I had were addressed swiftly. Shoreline truly covers the entire East Side of Milwaukee. It owns buildings on the “Lower East Side” (near downtown), the Prospect Avenue corridor, the Downer Avenue strip, and the Oakland Avenue stretch heading into Shorewood. Shoreline is also a practical rental company when it comes to apartment-searching, as all buildings with vacancies have Sunday open houses at roughly the same time. Six-month leases are offered, but sometimes there are rental specials if you sign a full year lease. Visit Shoreline on the web at www.shorelinerealestate.com.
Eastmore Real Estate, my current rental company, is another excellent choice. They own fewer buildings than Shoreline and don’t as many studios, but their properties are incredibly well-maintained with attentive and approachable property managers. A handful of Eastmore buildings are the salt-box type, but most are attractive brick buildings with charming interiors. The application process, at least in my case, moved quickly. I saw an apartment I liked on a Wednesday, turned in the application on a Thursday afternoon, and got an approval call on Monday. I picked up my keys on Tuesday morning and have been thrilled ever since. The current Eastmore website (www.eastmore.com) leaves something to be desired, so don’t judge the company on that basis alone. See the buildings for yourself.
Another large rental company with a lot of buildings in Milwaukee is Katz Properties. Not unlike Shoreline, Katz has blanketed the East Side with their name. If you have your ears open, however, you’ll find that Katz renters tend to have more complaints about things like poor maintenance, untidy common areas, and unfairly high rents. Certainly, each building is different, and you might find a Katz charmer. But the few people I know who have rented from Katz recommend choosing a different rental company. On the few occasions I have gone with friends to see a Katz building, we’ve been underwhelmed by the staff we encountered. Since there are safer bets, like Shoreline and Eastmore, there’s no reason to pursue Katz unless you truly find something remarkable.
Of course, large rental companies are not the only way to find a character-filed studio apartment in Milwaukee. Plenty of single-building operations are present, and it doesn’t hurt to call the numbers you see posted on buildings you like to arrange individual showings. Single-building landlords vary dramatically from absentee to attentive, so it’s best to investigate and ask a lot of questions. One friend of mine, though, is very happy with a $425 a month studio located just north of Brady Street in an owner-occupied building.
Living in an East Side studio apartment is a fun and often cost-effective way to enjoy Milwaukee’s urban offerings. There’s a cozy little home out there for everyone, so remember to visit as many places as you can before deciding.
