What once was an eyesore on Milwaukee’s northside has become the site of a vibrant neighborhood.
Developer Gorman & Co. built 40 two- and three-bedroom townhomes for low-income families on the site of the former paint manufacturer T.C. Esser Co., an environmentally blighted parcel that required extensive remediation by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee and the developer.
Washington Park Townhomes is part of a larger neighborhood plan. A community garden on the southern edge of the site is managed by the Hmong-American Friendship Association, and the Green Bay Packers built a park north of the site through the United Way Hometown Huddle program.
“This is really the classic case of a blighted industrial site becoming a new community asset,” says Ted Matkom, Gorman’s Wisconsin market president. “It’s really transformational because we have added 40 townhomes to create a neighborhood on this site.”
The units, which were fully occupied in November, are affordable to families earning 30% and 60% of the area median income. Supportive services are coordinated through Lutheran Social Services.
The $8.5 million Washington Park Townhomes was a model public-private partnership, receiving key support from the city, including Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds, and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, which provided a loan and allocated low-income housing tax credits.
The development also continues Gorman’s work on the northside, where it has helped to stabilize and revitalize housing stock and neighborhoods over multiple phases. As with several other developments on the northside, the developer partnered with Northcott Neighborhood House to utilize a workforce training program to provide construction trade skills and create jobs for formerly incarcerated individuals.
