Milwaukee Magazine touts GRAEF as major catalyst for Westown’s revival Breathing life into the neighborhood

Illustration by Rui Ricarod/Folio Art

The revival of Milwaukee’s Westown neighborhood is the focus of a new article in the latest issue of Milwaukee Magazine.

“Not long ago, the city’s Westown section was so pocked with prominent empty spaces that former police chief Edward Flynn once proposed moving the 1st District police station there just to fill the void. Now, an array of projects is breathing life into the neighborhood,” the article reported.

The article cited the importance of GRAEF moving its national headquarters into The Avenue as a major catalyst for Westown’s momentum.

“There are certainly some folks that loved our (previous) location and its ease of access,” GRAEF Vice President Lori Rosenthal told the magazine. “But those who were willing to make a change really wanted to make a big change. We can be part of something that continues to energize that part of the city, and that’s really exciting to us. We want our existing staff to be happy and excited about the space, but this is about attracting future talent, as well.”

The progress of Westown prompted Milwaukee Department of City Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux to say, “It used to be about what shoe was going to drop next … Now, there’s a unified sense of optimism along West Wisconsin Avenue.”

To read the entire article, visit Milwaukee Magazine.