The appropriations bill recently approved by the U.S. Senate includes $750,000 to help revitalize the 30th Street Industrial Corridor in Milwaukee’s central city. The money will be given to the city’s Redevelopment Authority, which will use it to acquire and refurbish properties, which will then be sold for development.
The 30th Street Industrial Corridor was once a thriving industrial area with several manufacturers along the old SOO Line Railroad tracks. Many of those companies left or went out of business, leaving brownfields behind in a part of the central city with a high level of crime and a desperate need for more jobs.
Some companies do remain in the corridor, including DRS Power & Control Technologies Inc., Master Lock Co. and Eaton Corp. Businesses in the corridor have created a business improvement district.
With renewal sweeping through the Menomonee River Valley, city officials have begun to turn their attention to the 30th Street Industrial Corridor as the latest major redevelopment project in Milwaukee.
The Senate’s appropriations bill also included $250,000 for the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership/Big Step Center for Excellence. That money will be used for construction and renovations to expand the Center for Excellence in Milwaukee. The center helps low-income people enroll in apprenticeship classes and training certificate programs and refers them to employment opportunities.
In addition, the bill includes $200,000 to help install a green roof on the 120-unit Convent Hill project being built at the southeastern corner of Ogden Avenue and Milwaukee Street by the City of Milwaukee Housing Authority for elderly residents.
