MILWAUKEE — Is Milwaukee in a golden era of new commercial development?
"There has been a significant focus on downtown Milwaukee," said Tracy Johnson, CEO of the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin.
Northwestern Mutual, Fiserv, and Milwaukee Tool are just a few companies wanting to call downtown home or expand their footprint.
"Companies want to be where the action is, and the momentum is," Johnson said @TheTable Tuesday night. "You've got 5,000 jobs coming to downtown, new jobs, coming to Milwaukee with these companies, and others that's going to be a boon to our economy."
Milwaukee has seen $4.1 billion in completed projects since 2010,according to Milwaukee Downtown, and another $2.5 billion under construction or proposed.
Despite the big investments and new development, Milwaukee's population has not been able to climb above 600,000. Mayor Cavalier Johnson has set a long-term goal of hitting one million residents.
Tracy Johnson says jobs are important but so are other factors.
"Affordable housing is very important. We're never going to change the weather," said Johnson. "But I think a good tax environment is also very important, and so, being able to have those discussions about affordability and quality of life is really important."
Having a winning sports team can also help.
"It helps that we're getting some big conventions, including the RNC (Republican National Convention in 2024). You look at the success of the Bucks. That's all nationally and globally televised and talked about and so I think that's also going to inspire some interest as well."
You can watch the full conversation in the video at the top of this article.
Charles Benson and Shannon Sims interview key people in our community during TMJ4's @TheTable segment every weeknight at 10 p.m.
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