Costco expects to open its Franklin warehouse in November 2026, at South 27th Street and West Drexel Avenue. In its September 2026 newsletter, the city says construction there is moving at an "impressive pace." Just west of the site, along South 31st Street, the city has approved 166 new cottages, duplexes, townhomes and standalone houses. Every one of them is being built to rent.
The for-sale projects tell a different story. A 38-unit townhome project in Franklin got more time this summer. A 44-unit condominium plan approved in May 2025 was still clearing street-dedication steps this spring. If you are counting on new construction near Franklin's newest amenity, the homes you could actually buy are further off than the cranes suggest. For now, most of what you can buy in Franklin is resale.
Every Project Near the Corridor, Sorted by Who Can Own It
City records and local business coverage show five residential projects worth knowing about. They are listed here roughly in order of how close each is to having someone move in.
| Project | Developer | Location | Units | Rent or own | Latest status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEO Franklin | Advenir Azora Development | Along S. 31st St., west of Northwestern Mutual and Costco | 166 | Rent | Fully approved July 2026; infrastructure agreement Sept. 1; construction targeted for fall 2026 |
| Ryan Meadows Condominiums | Bear Development | 11590 W. Meadowview Dr. | 44 | Own | Approved May 2025; street dedication advancing as of April 2026; no prices or start date published |
| Lake Grove Place | Safari Homes | 3709 W. College Ave. | 38 | Own | Two-year extension of its approval adopted Aug. 4, 2026 |
| Poth's General | Land by Label | Former Orchard View site, 76th St. and Rawson Ave. | 292 proposed | Not yet specified by the city | Tax incremental district created April 2026; no confirmed schedule for the revised plan |
| Communities of Crocus | Not confirmed | Franklin | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Proposed in 2024; current status unverified |
That last row matters for anyone tracking new supply. In September 2026, BizTimes reported that Milwaukee County is redirecting $2.5 million in affordable housing money away from a Franklin development that is no longer moving forward. The free portion of that story does not name the project. Proposals in Franklin can shrink, slow down or stop entirely after approval.
Poth's General shows how much a plan can change. Earlier approvals allowed more than 400 apartments in taller four-story buildings. The city's current FAQ lists 292 residential units and 4,000 square feet of commercial space, with lower heights. The Common Council created TID 10 for the site on April 8, 2026. Under that district, the developer can be reimbursed up to $15 million, but only out of new property value the project creates. The city is not paying anything up front. A draft agreement in the city's March 2026 council packet set deadlines for the developer: construction was to start by April 1, 2026, and all residential units were to have occupancy certificates by July 1, 2028. That draft predates the revised 292-unit plan. No reporting reviewed here shows construction underway or confirms a schedule for the current version.
Why the Rental Plan Moved Fastest
LEO Franklin went from concept to full approval in about four months. Advenir Azora presented it to the city in March 2026. On July 9, the Plan Commission voted unanimously for the land combination, conditional use, planned-development overlay and site plan. The Common Council adopted the conditional-use resolution and overlay on July 21. It passed even though Mayor John Nelson opposed the location:
"I would just like to see it not on South 31st Street. South 27th Street, yes."
The project's own terms help explain the speed. It is a $51.6 million development that the developer is paying for privately. At the July 9 meeting, the developer's attorney said, "We are not asking for, and we will not ask for a tax increment district to be created for this," according to Finance & Commerce. Without a request for public money, there was less for the city to negotiate, and that shortened the timeline.
There is also a financing reason. A for-sale townhome builder can only sell each unit to a buyer whose mortgage gets approved. Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed rate averaged 7.03% as of September 24, 2026. At that rate, fewer buyers qualify for any given price. A build-to-rent developer finances the project once and earns its money from rent. LEO Franklin's planned rents run from $1,650 to $3,350 a month for one- to four-bedroom units. Advenir Azora told the commission that 50 of the 166 units will have three or four bedrooms, according to Finance & Commerce. Those larger units are the homes a buyer seeking more space would want to buy, and here they will be rented instead.
Safari Homes gave its own reason for slowing down. When it asked for more time on the Franklin townhomes in July 2026, it cited volatility in the construction industry, according to BizJournals. The Plan Commission recommended a two-year extension on July 23, and the Common Council adopted it unanimously on August 4 as Resolution 2026-8512. When the project was first reported in 2024, it was a $14 million plan for 38 for-sale townhomes. Two years later, it has an approval and more time to start building.
What a Buyer Waiting on New Construction Is Actually Waiting On
Here is the sequence the public record supports, from nearest to furthest:
- November 2026. Costco is expected to open. Costco's list gives the month but no specific day.
- Fall 2026. LEO Franklin is targeted to begin construction.
- Late 2027. LEO Franklin's first residents are expected, with the project finished in 2028. These are rentals.
- Not yet scheduled. Ryan Meadows Condominiums and Lake Grove Place, the two for-sale projects, have approvals in hand but no published construction start dates or prices.
None of the reporting gives a sale price for any new for-sale townhome or condo in these projects. So a buyer cannot yet compare a new Franklin townhome against a resale one, because the new one has no price. Waiting means waiting on a timeline no developer has committed to publicly.
Where the For-Sale Options Are This Fall
Franklin-only sales figures for summer 2026 have not been published in a usable form. The most recent municipal breakdown from the Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS covers only January through March, which is too old to treat as current. The current numbers come from two county and metro series. They track different areas, so they should not be combined.
According to the Wisconsin REALTORS Association's August 2026 report, Milwaukee County had a median sale price of $300,500 in August 2026. The county closed 789 sales that month, with 3.6 months of inventory and an average of 55 days on market.
The Metro MLS August 2026 summary covers Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties together. It breaks the market out by property type:
- Single-family: $425,000 median, 18 average days on market, 2.2 months of supply
- Townhome/condo: $311,000 median, 27 average days on market, 3.2 months of supply
The gap between those two rows is useful to a buyer. In August 2026, townhomes and condos across the four counties stayed on the market about nine days longer than single-family homes, and there was about a month more supply. That usually means more time to decide and more room to negotiate on resale attached housing than on detached houses. New for-sale townhomes near the Costco corridor have no prices yet. Existing ones are selling, with numbers anyone can check.
The Corridor Will Be a Work Zone for a While
Anyone touring homes near South 27th Street should plan around active and upcoming construction:
- The MMSD Oak Creek Southwest Sewer Extension is under way along the 27th Street corridor. It affects Oakwood Road, Elm Road and South County Line Road. A County Line Road closure began September 9, 2026, for about a month, and a longer closure is expected in January 2027.
- On July 21, the Common Council authorized design work for a South 27th Street water main extension.
- WisDOT's resurfacing of about six miles of WIS 241, from West Elm Road to West Villa Drive, is still in design. Construction is anticipated as early as 2029.
- Club Car Wash, a proposed wash of about 4,358 square feet at 6311 S. 27th Street, received conditional-use approval from the Common Council on September 1.
For a buyer, this matters in practical ways. A home near the corridor in 2027 may sit next to a sewer project, a water main installation and a new Costco's traffic all at once, and the state road work could follow. Drive the route you would actually use, at the hour you would use it, before you write an offer.
A Few Questions Buyers Ask
Can I buy one of the LEO Franklin houses?
The approvals describe LEO Franklin as market-rate build-to-rent housing, with rents from $1,650 to $3,350 a month. Nothing in the city record or local coverage describes units being sold to individual buyers.
Does the Lake Grove Place extension mean the townhomes are canceled?
No. The Common Council adopted a two-year extension of the project's approval on August 4, 2026. The extension keeps the approval in place. It does not set a start date.
Will the 292 units at Poth's General be for sale?
The city's FAQ describes 292 "residential units" and does not say whether they will be rented or sold. Earlier versions of the project were apartments. Until the developer files a plan that says otherwise, it is safest not to count these as homes you could buy.
If you want a newer, low-maintenance home in Franklin and are deciding whether to wait for the projects near Costco or buy resale now, Karen Larson can compare the attached and detached homes listed today with the approvals still waiting to break ground. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
