Mayor Johnson Moves to Concordia Neighborhood

Mayor Cavalier Johnson has a new home in a new neighborhood to go with his new job.

Johnson and his wife Dominique sold their ranch house on N. 63rd St. near W. Capitol Dr. and purchased a 120-year-old mansion in the city’s Historic Concordia neighborhood on the city’s near West Side.

The Johnsons paid $350,000 for the Tudor Revival-style house, which city assessment records indicate has 4,094 square feet of finished space. It’s a price per square foot that would make mayors in virtually every other major American city jealous, and a large vote of confidence by Johnson in the future of the Near West Side.

The house is in a location nearly as diverse as the city. Within a couple blocks, the mayor can find an office building, a high school, multiple apartment buildings and a mix of single-family and duplex houses. At least one of the apartment buildings is a subsidized affordable housing development, while another is owned by one of the city’s largest landlords and its most prolific evictor, Berrrada Properties.

Like most of the Concordia neighborhood houses, the Johnsons’ home was designed by a notable architecture firm. The three-story structure was designed by Ferry & Clas, the same firm that designed the Central Library, Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist and Pabst Mansion. The firm also designed the Tripoli Shrine Center, a neighborhood landmark along W. Wisconsin Ave.

The neighborhood, a mix of mansions in various states of repair, apartment buildings and the former college campus, is bounded by W. Highland Blvd., W. Wisconsin Ave., N. 27th St. and N. 35th St. “Living in the city doesn’t get more convenient than this,” says the Historic Concordia Neighbors website while listing the proximity to a number of popular Milwaukee attractions. The organization can add City Hall to the list, Johnson will make the 2.5-mile trip daily with his security detail. The new residents missed their opportunity to participate in the neighborhood’s annual June home tour, but they can still catch the neighborhood association’s annual meeting on Oct. 18.

The mayor’s new home will be a boost to the city’s bottom line. The property was most recently owned by the tax-exempt Society of the Jesuits and home to members of the religious order. The Concordia neighborhood is located just west of the Marquette University campus. It was most recently assessed for $332,000.

The Johnsons had owned their prior home since 2016, acquiring it for $85,000. A ranch home built in 1955, they sold it on July 1 for $193,000. State real estate transfer records indicate the Johnsons were renting a house in Euclid Park on the city’s far southwest side in the interim.

The new house has a Walk Score of 70. “Most errands can be accomplished on foot,” says the walkability estimating service. But unlike virtually everyone else that would move closer to Downtown, the Johnsons Walk Score actually decreased. Their prior home scored a 75 given its proximity to Midtown Center, but until Johnson succeeds in his effort to combat reckless driving, that score of 75 might be a bit misleading.

Where did Milwaukee’s past mayors live? Tom Barrett has a home in the Washington Heights neighborhood and has spent his whole life on the city’s West Side, except for a short departures for college and, more recently, Luxembourg. John Norquist lived on S. 26th St., and like Johnson, moved after being elected, living there until he took a job in Chicago, where he still lives.

Johnson did not respond to a request for comment.