Nicole Robbins is executive director of the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp., which is on a mission to transform the urban landscape of the King Drive corridor in Milwaukee’s Harambee, Bronzeville, Halyard Park, Brewer’s Hill and Riverwest neighborhoods.
MLKEDC takes a place-based approach to increasing density and building comprehensive services and resources adjacent to its properties.
Robbins joined the organization in 2018 as its director of housing and real estate development. In that role, she launched the new MLK Homes initiative, through which the organization purchases and rehabilitates homes and resells them to owner-occupants in the Harambee neighborhood. She was named executive director in 2019.
“Under Nicole Robbins’ leadership, MLKEDC is spearheading a renaissance in the corridor, with new homes being built for low- and moderate-income households for the first time in decades,” said Patrick McSweeney, public relations strategist at Athena Communications. “Following those new rooftops are new commercial and office facilities filled by small businesses and nonprofit organizations to serve the neighborhoods. Robbins is literally and figuratively building community through social and cultural connectivity.”
