Mandel Group plans 3rd Ward development.

Mandel Group Inc. is committed to expanding its residential housing base in downtown Milwaukee by building a development in the 3rd Ward.

Preliminary work is underway to determine the size, scope and location of the project, said Dick Lincoln, vice president of the Milwaukee-based Mandel Group.

Mandel Group executives met with Historic Third Ward Association officers Aug. 19 to discuss the company's plans.

"It could be the biggest project ever in the 3rd Ward," said Nancy O'Keefe, executive director of the association.

While Mandel Group and others with a development stake in the 3rd Ward were reluctant to discuss where a new housing development might surface and the size of a …