Neighborhood’s growth depends on Goldmann’s

Published: June 30, 2009
Tags: DK USA Property Management LLC, Goldmann’s Department Store, Historic Mitchell Street, Milwaukee, redevelopment

Sean Ryan
sean.ryan@dailyreporter.com

Silence has ruled the stretch of Historic Mitchell Street near the vacant Goldmann’s Department Store ever since the retailer closed down in October 2007.

“The building being unoccupied, that end of the street, the volume of traffic dropped,” said Jerry Lewis, former co-owner of Goldmann’s and current owner of Mitchell Street Menswear Inc. in Milwaukee.

“Everything dropped, and it just ceased to draw people on that end of the street, and it was very noticeable.”

Uncertainty over a proposed redevelopment of the building stunted revitalization efforts on Mitchell Street, said Judith Keller, executive director of the Mitchell Street Development Opportunities Corp. She said if the building owner can secure the tax-incremental financing it requested from Milwaukee and get started on the project, more Mitchell Street development announcements will follow.

“The building’s been boarded up and making Mitchell Street look a little bit sadder because of that,” Keller said.

Building owner DK USA Property Management LLC, Shorewood, is asking for a $500,000 loan from the city to help pay for a project to renovate Goldmann’s interior for retail and, possibly, office space and to restore the building’s exterior to its 1920s appearance. The project, including DK USA’s payments to buy the building, will cost $4.4 million.

The city’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee on Tuesday unanimously endorsed the TIF loan. The full Common Council is scheduled to consider the loan July 7.

The loan would come from a TIF district the city created along Historic Mitchell Street that includes $1.5 million to subsidize projects. DK USA will not have to repay the loan if its project generates enough tax money to pay off the debt.

TIF districts let cities borrow money to encourage development in a certain area and then use the increased property taxes generated by projects to pay off the debt.

Property values in the Mitchell Street TIF district declined 9 percent — or $6.5 million overall — between 2008 and 2009. A city TIF report estimated the district’s value at $52.86 million in 2008.

Ron Giguere Sr., president of the Mitchell Street Business Improvement District, said Goldmann’s gave residents a reason to shop in that of the district. He said there are not many vacancies along the street, and things will heat up when Goldmann’s reopens.

“It was just the economy dictated the longevity of getting something done,” said Giguere, expediter for The Fixture Mart Inc., Milwaukee.

Lewis said former Goldmann’s customers are coming to his new store to buy clothes, and the eastern end of Mitchell Street remains vibrant. But the area around Goldmann’s does not. Lewis and co-owner Milt Pivar sold Goldmann’s to DK USA in 2007.

“The opening of Goldmann’s again will just rejuvenate the whole street,” Lewis said. “It’s just very important for it to be opening again. It’s been difficult without it.”

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