Foreclosure ruling looms over historic Port building

The historic downtown Port Washington building that was once home to the Historical Society’s Exploreum museum is slated to be sold at a July 9 sheriff’s auction following a foreclosure judgment against its owner.

The judgment of foreclosure was signed by Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Adam Gerol on Nov. 24 and a notice of sheriff’s sale issued on June 1.

Although the sheriff’s sale was still listed on the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office website this week, Mikelle Flanner, registered agent for Wisconsin Commercial Properties LLC and the owner of the store that operates there — Fifth-Main — said in a statement Tuesday that the corporation has “achieved resolution to the foreclosure,” will retain ownership of the building and continue to operate Fifth-Main there.

“Though court filings still show that a sheriff sale is pending, a resolution and a restructure of the mortgage obligations will be complete in order for Wisconsin Commercial Properties LLC to retain the building,” she said, adding that the corporation has “resolved its financial situation, brought all property taxes current and has made substantial payment in reduction of the amounts owed to Summit Credit Union.”

According to the notice of sheriff’s sale, Summit Credit Union was owed $464,186 when Gerol signed the judgment of foreclosure.

The historic building at 118 N. Franklin St. has had a number of uses through the years. It was built in 1906 as a businessman’s club but through the years fell into disrepair. In 2012, the Port Washington Historical Society purchased it and renovated it to become an interactive maritime museum.

The museum, which was hailed as a state-of-the-art facility that made use of technology to offer hands-on experiences not found elsewhere when it opened in 2015, was largely financed by donations from the community.

But the Historical Society decided in 2022 to sell the building, and a year later sold it for $750,000 to Wisconsin Commercial Properties.

Flanner then opened Fifth-Main. She also owns E-Collectique in Thiensville and had a Mequon shop.

Dawn St. George, executive director of the Historical Society, described the structure as “a  wonderful building.”

“I hope she can make it work,” St. George said.

In her statement, Flanner noted that Kohler Credit Union foreclosed on the Mequon property and now owns the building.

The order confirming the sale of that property noted that Flanner owed Kohler Credit Union $1.55 million at the time.

Flanner said in her statement that she attempted to expand into Mequon “but that expansion was negatively impacted by Covid and lack of support from the City of Mequon ...

“Wisconsin Commercial Properties LLC is confident that it is now ‘right sized’ with two properties and is well situated to continue as a landlord to Fifth-Main. Both the Thiensville and Port Washington stores will remain open.”

Flanner said she is concerned about rumors that the Port store is closing, saying it has been negatively impacted by the hearsay.

Fifth-Main, she said, has been in business since 2005, describing the shop as a “buy-sell-trade” operation that buys “wearable goods from the public and offers a wide variety of resale at an affordable cost.”

Amanda Baldwin, executive director of Port Main Street Inc., said she hopes Fifth-Main remains a part of downtown Port.

“Our hope is always that downtown businesses are successful and continue to be part of the Port Washington community. We value the role Fifth-Main plays in our downtown district,” she said.

The building, she said, “is a very interesting space. It has a lot of history, and we would love to see them stay there.”