As I reported last month, things are really starting to move at he redevelopment project of the former Pabst Brewery site, known as The Brewery. My sadness and anger over the missed opportunities of Pabst City are gone and now for the first time since 1996, people are once again working and living at the former Pabst Brewery site.
Once piece of the development puzzle is still coming together and that's retail. Greater Downtown Milwaukee is still in dire need of more retail options. The Third Ward has grown into the city's fashion and cultural center, but Downtown proper is poised to pounce on the housing boom and unique spaces available in and around The Brewery.
Local retailers are receiving "priority" consideration for spaces at The Brewery, and the Zilber Group is actively pursing several local and national tenants.
Since the neighborhood has such great access, it is immediately east of I-43, the main north-south corridor, with visibility to over 200,000 vehicles per day, it is well positioned for big and small retail and restaurants.
Which ones, though, would you like to see there? What's missing in Downtown? What do you want and need?
I'll start with a short list and please chime in using the talkbacks.
-Another Milwaukee Ale House-type brewpub
-Romano's Macaroni Grill
-Nike Town
-ESPN Zone
-A 24-hour Golden Apple-type restaurant (Chicago-based)
-Lucky Strike
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
