County Wants To Boost Small Business, Commercial Corridors

4600 S. Packard Ave. Cudahy. Photo taken May 8, 2025 by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County is working on a program to boost small business development.

The county’s Economic Development Division is putting together a program designed to provide support for both local small-businesses and municipalities looking to spur development in commercial corridors.

It would provide small businesses with grants up to $10,000 and provide technical economic development assistance to local municipalities. The goal is to bridge the gap between business owners looking for a brick-and-mortar location and municipalities seeking to activate commercial space.

The program is made possible, in part, by a $200,000 Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) grant the county successfully applied for in 2024. County officials plan to pair that funding with an existing economic development fund created in 2011 that still holds more than $600,000.

“We have a rare opportunity to leverage the two funds to build a county-wide small business program focused on brick-and-mortar technical assistance for entrepreneurs and commercial corridor activation in partnership with municipalities,” Celia Benton, director of economic development wrote in a report for the Milwaukee County Board.

The county plans to work with local chambers of commerce, the UW Extension and the Legacy Redevelopment Corporation to identify small businesses looking to expand into a new or permanent location.

Funding from the county’s Economic Development Reserve Fund would be used to create a new business liason position to build relationships between municipalities and their local business community, and to provide direct assistance with marketing and other economic development efforts. Additional funds would be used for renderings and marketing for municipal commercial corridors.

“This program will result in new jobs, small business investments, small business sustainability, commercial corridor activation and increased collaboration in the small business ecosystem throughout all 18 Supervisory Districts,” Benton wrote.

County Executive David Crowley mentioned the program in his 2025 State of the County address, calling on the county to work with municipalities to stimulate commercial corridor and small business development.

“Because in partnership, we know we can fuel local economic development,” Crowley said in a statement. “That’s why under my direction, Milwaukee County is taking a stronger approach to supporting small businesses, growing our economy, and creating job opportunities for workers in the process.”

The new program goes to the county board’s Committee on Finance and the Committee on Community, Environment and Economic Development for review this month.

Update: Story was updated to include comment from County Executive David Crowley.

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