South side buildings get big upgrade, win award
Milwaukee-based supermarket operator El Rey Enterprises LLP has long owned other commercial buildings near its first store on the city’s near south side.
But it was only last year that El Rey decided to upgrade the facades of three adjacent buildings that house a group of small businesses.
The buildings now have a more attractive appearance and some new tenants. That’s providing a boost for the larger shopping district along South Chavez Drive, while also landing a Mayor’s Design Award.
“We’re just trying to make this a more desirable business district,” said Nelson Lang, an El Rey coowner.
The three buildings, which have six storefronts, are at 1000-1010, 1014 and 1016-1018 S. Chavez Drive, between West Mineral and West Washington streets.
They total around 13,800 square feet, according to city assessment records.
The buildings are about one block south of El Rey’s main store and offices, and have been generally leased to small businesses. Some of those retailers have been there for several years.
“We’ve had stable tenants in there,” Lang said. Still, the buildings, constructed between 1885 and 1923, were showing their age.
Department of City Development officials encouraged El Rey to use the city’s facade grant program to help pay for the improvements, Lang said.
So, El Rey last year replaced the old storefronts with new brick facades, including doors and windows, and new signs.
The project architect was Luis Barbosa, of BMR Design Group Inc. Razo’s Construction Corp. was the general contractor, and Ignacio Padilla was the signage contractor.
The project, which started in May and was completed in November, cost $210,000, Lang said. He said city grants provided $22,500.
The work took longer to complete than expected, Lang said, and caused some inconvenience for the tenants and their customers.
One business, telecommunications provider Latin Communications, is leaving, Lang said.
But that space is being leased by Oportun Inc., a San Carlos, Calif.-based personal loan provider,
which will open its first Wisconsin location this fall, he said.
Another new tenant is Joga Bonito Futbol, a soccer gear shop.
The other businesses leasing space at El Rey’s buildings are Rivera’s Western Wear, Latin Kutz Hair Salon, MC Multiservicos tax service and travel agency Travel Mexico.
“The change is good,” said Alejandro Rivera, who opened Rivera’s Western Wear in 1997.
He said the fresh look could help him draw new customers for his boots and other Western-style clothing.
The buildings do look better, said Arnoldo Hernandez, Travel Mexico manager.
But those changes do little to combat crime, which he called his bigger concern about the neighborhood.
Pop-up stores
Meanwhile, second-floor space is being used by the Milwaukee office of Local Initiatives Support Corp., a national nonprofit group that helps economic development efforts.
That group is working with the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative and the Cesar Chavez Drive Business Improvement District to provide temporary space for “pop-up” stores, said Beth
Haskovec, who leads LISC’s commercial revitalization efforts.
The idea is to provide inexpensive space for two startup retailers to test their products each month throughout the summer, Haskovec said.
The first two businesses are Monash Natural Blends, which sells aromatherapy products, and In My City 365, a clothing store, she said. They are at 1008 S. Chavez Drive and are operating throughout June.
The Chavez Drive stores are part of Pop-Up MKE, which also will have popup stores this summer at 339 W. North Ave., in the King Drive Business Improvement District, and 1615 W. North Ave., in the Marketplace Business Improvement District.
The Mayor’s Design Award recognized the Chavez Drive facade improvements in its Small Gems category.
The Small Gems projects display design
excellence “while respecting the urban fabric and contributing to the character of their surroundings,” according to the award criteria.
The facade renovations “gave the buildings a more consistent look and addressed some of the blight of deteriorated awnings and inconsistent signage,” according to a nomination submitted by Natanael Martinez, of the Department of City Development.
The project was among 20 winners in this year’s Mayor Design Awards.
El Rey has owned the buildings, which are among the company’s real estate investments on Milwaukee’s south side, for several years.
El Rey, owned by the Villarreal family, opened a supermarket in 1978 at 1023 S. Chavez Drive.
As the business expanded, El Rey opened other stores at 1320 W. Burnham St., 3524 W. Burnham St., and 5200 W.
“We’re just trying to make this a more desirable business district.” Nelson Lang Co-owner of El Rey Enterprises LLP
Oklahoma Ave. The company also operates a tortilla factory at 1530 S. Muskego Ave.
Meanwhile, El Rey outgrew its first store.
In 2007, it opened a new, larger supermarket at 916 S. Chavez Drive. El Rey now leases its original store to Family Dollar.
El Rey owns other nearby buildings. Those properties include 1037 S. Chavez Drive, leased to Fashion City, and 824-826 S. Chavez Drive, with Sayury’s Clothing on the street level and a pair of upper-floor apartments, according to assessment records.
Also, a company affiliate in May bought a 20,000-square-foot building, 1127-1135 S. Chavez Drive, and its adjacent parking lot, for $1.7 million, according to state real estate records.
El Rey plans to redevelop the building, a former Dental Associates clinic. That project could include some medical providers, as well as a small El Rey cafe, Lang said.