Officials from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding with city leaders that will provide Milwaukee with a $2 million grant to rehabilitate 100 homes and demolish an additional 100 blighted properties.
Most of the work will be done in the Sherman park neighborhood on Milwaukee’s northwest side, the site of multiple days of unrest in August following the death of a 23-year-old armed African-American suspect named Sylville K. Smith, who was shot and killed by a 24-year-old African-American police officer.
The Department of Financial Institutions regulates state-chartered banks and other financial institutions, including various operations of the securities industry.
The money is part of the $4.5 million state-funded economic and workforce development package for Milwaukee that Gov. Scott Walker announced in August.
Providing training and jobs for unskilled or unemployed workers who reside on Milwaukee’s northwest side is a major focus of the package, DFI officials said in a statement announcing the $2 million grant released Friday.
“DFI is pleased to be part of a long-term solution to help the City of Milwaukee rebuild some of its neighborhoods and provide meaningful jobs for its residents,” DFI Secretary Lon E. Roberts said.
Other state agencies involved in implementing the economic and workforce development package include the Department of Workforce Development, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Health Services, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.
