Sherman Park site gets new life
Damaged building to be hub for businesses
A Sherman Park building damaged in last summer’s riot would be converted to a hub for small African-American-owned businesses under a new proposal.
Developers JoAnne Sabir and Juli Kaufmann plan to buy and renovate the BMO Harris Bank building at 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
BMO Harris is using the twostory building until its new neighborhood bank is completed this fall across the street, at 3637 W. Fond du Lac Ave. The building was targeted by arsonists during a civil disturbance last August after a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed a man who had been armed.
Renovations at the building would begin in November after BMO Harris moves out, Kaufmann said Monday. The restored building, with 10,000 to 15,000 square feet, would open in late spring, she said.
The developers say 12 businesses, with about 45 employees, have agreed to lease space at the building. They include a second location for The Juice Kitchen, which Sabir and her husband, Maanaan, operate at the Innovation and Wellness Commons, 1617 W. North Ave.
Other businesses planning to operate at the renovated build-
ing include Funky Fresh Spring Rolls, Embody Yoga and Buffalo Boss, a Brooklyn-based chicken wings eatery that would be opening its first Wisconsin location, said Kaufmann, who operates Fix Development LLC.
The $2.5 million project would include financing from private investors, foundations and city funds.
Mayor Tom Barrett and Ald. Khalif Rainey, whose district includes the site, are to announce on Tuesday a city financing proposal that would provide a $225,000 grant for the building’s renovations, and an additional $100,000 in grants and loans for additional projects.
The grant would be repaid by the improved building’s property taxes. That financing proposal would require Common Council approval.
The project is being done by a new group, Sherman Phoenix LLC, Kaufmann said.
The economics will be challenging, she said, given the level of market rents for the Sherman Park neighborhood compared to the renovation expenses.
But there is more than financial motive, said Kaufmann, whose other central city developments include the recent conversion of a building at 1848 W. Fond du Lac Ave. into The Tandem restaurant.
“I think it’s really important to find new models that work in disinvested main streets,” Kaufmann said.
“Innovation is critically needed,” JoAnne Sabir said.