Lincoln Avenue becomes first urban Main Street Program participant West Allis also selected

Conrad Kaminski remembers the days when Milwaukee’s Lincoln Avenue was “humming” with business activity.
Lincoln Avenue’s commercial activity never died. But it did wane over the years.
Now the hum is coming back. Kaminski, president of Merchants & Manufactures BanCorp, heard that hum become a roar recently when the Lincoln Avenue commercial area was brought into Wisconsin’s Main Street Program. (M&M BanCorp includes, among others, Lincoln State Bank and Lincoln Community Bank.)
It was a first for the program, which is part of a nationwide effort to help struggling small-town main streets bring back and retain economic vitality.
“Lincoln Village will be the first urban neighborhood district selected to the Main Street Program,” Gov. Scott McCallum said at an announcement gathering at Kosciuszko Park on Lincoln Avenue. “The Wisconsin Main Street Program has earned national recognition for helping downtowns across Wisconsin reclaim their place as centers of commerce and community.”
Just prior to that announcement event, McCallum was in West Allis, where he named that city as part of the Main Street Program.
McCallum noted that the state’s Main Street communities have attracted 1,775 new businesses, 9,479 new jobs, and $353 million in new investment since 1987.
The Lincoln Avenue district, known as Lincoln Village, consists of Milwaukee’s largest concentration of historic buildings whose designs are influenced by the various ethnic groups its community represents. The business district included in the Main Street Program stretches from 5th to 20th streets. Lincoln Avenue is dominated by the Basilica of St. Josephat, the only Roman Catholic basilica in Wisconsin, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The area has a population of 12,019, which is greater than that of some of the small towns engaged in the Main Street Program.
Neil White, who had been a strategic planning coordinator under the Community Development Block Grant program, was named executive director of the Lincoln Village Main Street Program.
The Lincoln Avenue area has seen a variety of revitalization efforts and projects in recent years. Earlier in September, the U.S. Small Business Administration named the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. an SBA Microlender. LNRC is one of five microlenders in the state, and is the only SBA microlender exclusive to Milwaukee County.
LNRC will make loans of up to $35,000 for small business start-ups and expansions. In addition to the loan funds, SBA has awarded LNRC funds for technical assistance, so that customers can be helped before, during and after the borrowing process.
West Allis, meanwhile, has continued to see vibrant retail and commercial activity on its main street – Greenfield Avenue. That six-block downtown offers nearly 100 diverse, specialty retail and service businesses and provides jobs for 575 full-time employees. West Allis, with a population of 63,221, is currently creating a downtown walking tour and is preparing for the community’s centennial celebration in 2002. Future plans include creating a comprehensive downtown marketing program and developing new design guidelines to preserve the historic character of the downtown.
Oct. 12, 2001 Small Business Times, Milwaukee