MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee shopping center, once a retail mecca in the city, could see new life in the years to come as a mixed-use development. Milwaukee developer Kaylan Haywood has put together a team to redevelop the old Sears store on Fond du Lac and North. Haywood first became involved with the property in 2019 and originally planned to redevelop it as the Ikon Hotel. After initial work on the property, the plan lost steam in recent years and was then reimagined.
Redeveloping the property could do a lot for the city’s Park West neighborhood, according to Milwaukee’s Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump. “We know that it is going to have a catalytic effect on the surrounding community. Folks in this neighborhood deserve to have that just as much as anyone else,” said Crump.
Nearby businesses are hoping for a change too. The building currently sits in disrepair and has become an eyesore. "When I’m here and people are shopping, I just kind of angle them this way,” away from the former Milwaukee Mall across the street, says Fond du Lac Farmer’s Market Interim Executive Director Venice Williams. She says redeveloping the mall would transform the neighborhood. “To have something that is inviting and welcoming and becomes an asset to this neighborhood, we’re looking forward to that,” says Williams.
Plans for the new “Sears Market” as developers are calling it, include apartments, office space, a gallery, and even a brewery. The renderings by local architectural firm Rinka show a transformation of the site. According to the city, $3.8 million in public money has already been spent acquiring the property, cleaning up the site, and coming up with new architectural plans. $5 million more in public loans is available to the developer if certain conditions are met.
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