Unique Milwaukee housing project aims to build true community

MILWAUKEE, WI. JUNE 18, 2021 – A dynamic team of developers and partners in city, county and state government celebrated the groundbreaking today for The Community Within The Corridor (CWC), which is the largest privately owned affordable housing development in Wisconsin. This project is being developed by Scott Crawford, Inc. and Roers Companies on 32^nd and Center.

“Having affordable housing available is key to our economy and recruiting the workforce Wisconsin businesses need,” said Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). “But this development is going so much further to help get residents off the sidelines and into meaningful work. The community will include child care, space for nonprofits, access to healthy food and even training.”

Located in what was once part of the Briggs and Stratton complex on Milwaukee’s Northwest Side, CWC will offer 197 housing units, a 35,000-square-foot community facility including a child care center, STEAM education resources, a food hall, laundry facilities and more, plus 25,000 square feet of recreation space.

WEDC has supported the $66 million redevelopment with a $250,000 Community Development Investment Grant to Milwaukee County and up to $12.4 million in Historic Preservation Tax Credits to allow the redevelopment to proceed while maintaining the historic architecture and character of the early 20^th century industrial buildings.

“The Community Within The Corridor aims to provide the proper resources to build a sustainable family, because we know families are the key to success in America,” said Que El-Amin, principal at Scott Crawford Inc., one of the project’s developers.

One of the key ways that CWC will support families is through its 35,000-square-foot community facility, which will include a child care facility managed by the New Horizon Center.  The new CWC child care location will have a capacity of about 200 children ages 6 weeks to 12 years.

While the child care services will be available to others in the neighborhood, the idea is to give the families who live in the development a safe and educational place for both infants and younger children who need full-day care as well as school-age children needing afterschool care, said Olivia El-Amin, co-owner of the New Horizon Center and Que El-Amin’s stepmother.

Parents living in the development won’t have to worry about transportation or weather and simply can drop off kids before they leave for the day, pick them up and walk to their apartment for dinner at the end of the day, Olivia El-Amin said.

“The need for child care in the state of Wisconsin is tremendous,” she said. “A good quality facility, like ours, located in a central place like Center Street—those are very difficult to find.”

In April, WEDC released a report titled Wisconsin Tomorrow: Building an Economy for All that looked at the public and private investments the state needs to make to help our economy recover from the pandemic and remove barriers some face in achieving economic well-being. Community infrastructure—which includes things like access to affordable housing and child care—was identified as a key priority for investment.

“The Community Within The Corridor development is very exciting because it takes this holistic approach to supporting families by offering not just affordable housing but child care, food resources, recreation spaces and more,” Hughes said. “We know that these are the type of resources that allow families to thrive and workers to succeed.”

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.