BizNews FEATURE
Businesses benefit from synergies as St. Paul Avenue Design District matures by Maredithe Meyer, staff writer WHEN KORKUT COLAKOGLU moved his stone fabrication company to Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley in 1999, he was one of the only business owners at the time to call the then-blighted West St. Paul Avenue home. House of Stone Inc. moved into one of the many 100-year-old industrial buildings on the street that had sat vacant for years following the decline of Milwaukee’s machine manufacturing industry. “There was nothing around,” Colakoglu said, recalling that his wife thought he was crazy for choosing a desolate part of town to operate a business. But he saw huge potential for the neighborhood. Potawatomi
Bingo (now Potawatomi Hotel & Casino) was located to the south and Marquette University was investing in development to the north. Meanwhile, the nearby Historic Third Ward neighborhood was being rebuilt with housing and new businesses. Colakoglu chose to invest in the neighborhood by purchasing the building at 1701 W. St. Paul Ave. in 2000. Two decades later, he still considers it the best decision he’s made for the business. “I knew from that point on that this valley will not go backwards, but forwards,” he said. More than 50 businesses have moved to or expanded in the Menomonee Valley since 1999,
creating 5,200 jobs, according to Menomonee Valley Partners, a nonprofit formed that same year to lead the valley’s redevelopment. Over the past five years, the organization has focused on driving growth to an underdeveloped strip now known as the West St. Paul Avenue Design District. The district, between 11th and 21st streets, is home to some of the valley’s longest-running businesses, including House of Stone, BBC Lighting and Brass Light Gallery, which provided a strong foundation for what Menomonee Valley Partners envisioned as a “one-stop shop” for both commercial and residential design. Since September 2016, 11 local
businesses have moved into West St. Paul’s 22 historic buildings, driving more foot traffic to the area. Seven of them are décorand design-related companies: Riverview Antique Market, Christopher Kidd & Associates, ProStar Surfaces, Guardian Fine Art Services, The Warehouse MKE, Bachman Furniture and Selarom Construction. “The whole idea of the Design District was brought about by convenience for customers, and instead of them running from Brookfield to Oak Creek to Mequon, everything can be done in one small area,” said Joe Bachman, the third-generation owner of Bachman Furniture. He recently moved his 100-year-old business into the neighborhood after buying and renovating a portion of the former American Radiator Company building for a new 60,000-square-foot
Understanding your industry comes from
walking in your shoes
And chances are, we’ve walked in ‘em.
construction/ real estate finance food & beverage manufacturing technology BROOKFIELD | GREEN BAY | MILWAUKEE 14 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 17, 2020
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