Milwaukee County Paves the Way for Sustainable, Affordable Housing in Near West Side Partner’s Concordia 27 Development

MILWAUKEE – The following statement was issued today by Near West Side Partners Executive Director Lindsey St. Arnold Bell:

“Near West Side Partners and our collaborators are incredibly grateful for Milwaukee County’s support of Concordia 27. This $2 million commitment will help ensure that housing units renovated at Concordia 27 are sustainably affordable for our neighbors who earn $15 per hour or less.

In particular, we want to thank County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson for championing this critical investment and County Executive David Crowley and all the Board members for supporting this budget provision. We appreciate the County’s leadership in addressing historic housing instability in Milwaukee through this private-public partnership. More than just affordable housing, units at Concordia 27 will also provide access to comprehensive health, wellness, and job training resources that will be available in the development’s first-floor community center.

Together, we can achieve our vision of a Near West Side wellness corridor where our neighbors can find the support they need to address critical inequities, including housing insecurity, health disparities, trauma, food insecurity, unemployment, and transportation access.”

Concordia 27 will include:

• 33 affordable, high-quality housing units for working families making less than $15 an hour;
• A commercial kitchen operated by Milwaukee Center for Independence (MCFI) providing 18,000+ daily meals to more than 11,000 low-income children in 111 early education, after-school and K-12 schools in Milwaukee County;
• Workforce training and space for emerging food entrepreneurs within the MCFI kitchen.
• Health and wellness education and trauma-informed services and trainings led by Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee (SWIM);
• Café offering fresh and affordable meals to-go as well as co-working and creative maker spaces with retail opportunities operated by Fruition MKE;
• New community spaces and offices for Near West Side Partners to enhance housing navigation services, entrepreneurial support, and provide expanded programs and activities for Near West Side residents;
• Convenient access to transit through MCTS’s Bus Rapid Transit line.

The Concordia 27 project will create new full-time employment opportunities, a space for community engagement and support entrepreneurs and small businesses as they grow and generate additional jobs. The expansion of Concordia 27 will strengthen the local economy, expanding the impact beyond the Near West Side.

About Near West Side Partners:
Near West Side Partners, Inc. (NWSP) is a non-profit organization with a mission to revitalize and sustain the Near West Side as a thriving business and residential corridor through collaborative efforts to promote commercial corridor development, improved housing, unified neighborhood identity and branding, and greater safety for residents and businesses. NWSP was founded through the support of business and civic leaders, including the organization’s five anchor institutions – Advocate Aurora Health, Harley-Davidson, Marquette University, Molson Coors, and Potawatomi Business Development Corp.

About Concordia 27:
Concordia 27 is the redevelopment of a vacant, historic property on the corner North 27th and West Wells Streets into a comprehensive community center and affordable housing development that holds the power to catalyze momentous health, social and economic improvements for Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin residents. In partnership with service provider partners Near West Side Partners (NWSP), Milwaukee Center For Independence (MCFI), Scaling Wellness In Milwaukee (SWIM), Fruition MKE, and Wiegand Enterprises, this new community hub will offer a variety of resources and services to residents, create new full-time job opportunities, provide new creative spaces for community engagement, and support entrepreneurs and small businesses as they grow and generate additional jobs to strengthen the local and statewide economy – expanding the impact of Concordia 27 even beyond the Near West Side. Learn more about this high-impact project by going to https://nearwestsidemke.org/concordia27/.

 

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.