New Report Identifies What Market Would Support at Former Northridge Site

Mayor Cavalier Johnson introduces Granville Station study. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

What to do with the largest available development site in the city of Milwaukee?

A newly released market study suggests the city should consider three options for the Northridge Mall property: an industrial business park, a mixed-use, housing-centric neighborhood or a “catalytic anchor.” It’s the latter that city officials say they’re pursuing first.

“There’s a huge opportunity to support new jobs, to have new investment in an area of the city that, quite frankly, deserves our attention,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson at a press conference Thursday morning at City Hall.

“For us, the right user is the one who will bring real impact. This means a few things. We want significant capital investment and growth to the city’s tax base. We want new momentum along the Brown Deer corridor. We want family-sustaining jobs,” said Department of City Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump. “A strong anchor will drive demand for surrounding development. If it’s catalytic, we are open to it.”

City officials recently celebrated the complete demolition of the long-shuttered mall and are now gearing up to sell the 58-acre site. The site is expected to be formally listed for sale in 2026.

Area Alderwoman Larresa Taylor is excited for what comes next. “This is definitely going to be a catalyst to making that area alive like it once was,” she said.

A Jan. 21 public meeting will give the public “one more kick at the cat,” said Crump. It will allow attendees to react to the study’s findings. Public input will also be accepted during any future land sale process.

“We will not forget about the community in this process,” said Crump.

The study suggests the anchor could be a large youth sports facility, medical center, research center, higher education facility, entertainment complex or major employer.

An industrial development would serve a market with higher demand, says the report, but certain tenants may be incompatible with other nearby uses, including existing housing, and it may not have a high number of jobs. A housing development would face an uncertain market, though much development has occurred nearby in Brown Deer, and could be slower but is likely to generate a larger property tax base than industrial uses.

The report, completed by Baker Tilly and GRAEF, determined that at least one use is unlikely: retail. “The retail market in the area has seen persistent stagnation. Underperformance over the past 20 years has led to a high vacancy rate at commercial properties,” says the report. Larger retail spaces are being converted to industrial spaces, says the report. ETE REMAN has converted former Toys ‘R’ Us and Walmart stores near the mall into shipping and production facilities.

The top recommendation of the report is to focus early recruitment efforts on an anchor user. Crump said the city will work with M7 and other partners to attempt to market the site nationally.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation contributed $100,000 toward the $125,000 study.

There is one use that nearly half of the respondents have indicated they support: sports and recreation. More than 40% of respondents indicated support for the concepts and they “emerged as the strongest single theme from public engagement,” says the report. A “high number of comments” also endorsed a design focused on walkability, while others focused on education and workforce training.

The Jan. 21 meeting is being held in an open-house style from 5 to 7 p.m. at 7800 W. Brown Deer Rd.

Mall history

The mall was initially built in 1972 as a sister project to Southridge Mall in Greenfield. It closed in 2003 as a result of a variety of factors, including its distance from the freeway, an increase in poverty in the area and the reputational damage from a domestic violence homicide that was initially falsely framed as a hate crime.

A predecessor of China-based U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group bought the property for $6 million in 2008. But Black Spruce never advanced its plans for an Asian marketplace beyond conceptual drawings. The property later became a frequent target of break-ins and, ultimately, of fires. The city ultimately acquired the property via tax foreclosure in January 2024 after a multi-year legal fight.

Demolition began in March 2024.

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Property Map

Map of ownership of area around Northridge Mall. Image prepared by Department of City Development.

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