Photo credit: City of Cudahy
Cudahy may be famous for bacon, industry and bars, but the working-class city just south of Milwaukee is steadily attracting young professionals and business owners. According to city officials and politicians, Cudahy’s affordable housing, proximity to Lake Michigan and Downtown Milwaukee and nearby freeway access appeal to residents and business owners.
The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Cudahy ranges from $850-$1,000 per month, compared with Bay View’s $1,500, according to Brian Biernat, Cudahy director of economic development and zoning and inspections. “We are seeing a significant increase in interest from small arts-and-crafts entrepreneurs that are getting priced out of Bay View,” he says. “Right now, the affordability factor is definitely working in our favor.”
Among those entrepreneurs is Nick Woods, a member of the Milwaukee punk band, Direct Hit. Last month, Woods and a handful of investors opened X-Ray Arcade, a live music venue and mini arcade, which they opened in the former Metal Grille and Vnuk’s Lounge at 5036 S. Packard Ave.. In November, local artist Madeline Glaspey announced plans to open an art school and gallery in a former Cudahy funeral home at 3701 E. Layton Ave. Residents Miranda Kay Levy and her husband, Michael Adler, purchased a 100-year-old home in Cudahy about a year ago, a decision both are happy with.
“Surprisingly, it was bigger than most houses we looked at in Milwaukee [and was] half the price; and it had a garage! It was like the opposite of sticker shock,” Levy says, adding that she enjoys patronizing the city’s businesses, including nearby thrift stores and small corner bars and restaurants. With nearby Bay View’s home prices steadily increasing, Adler says, “Moving into Cudahy wasn’t just a smart decision for us today, but it was an investment in what Cudahy could be like in the future.” The couple have a 3-year-old son and Adler, who grew up on Milwaukee’s South Side, wants him to grow up in “a diverse, working-class neighborhood” similar to his own. Finding quality daycare has not been a problem. “We could have been part of the ‘white flight’ to the suburbs, but I wanted to make sure [my son] wasn’t insulated from the things that I love about the city,” he says.
Renaissance on Packard Avenue
Several years ago, Packard Avenue, Cudahy’s downtown area, underwent a $3 million renovation, which included adding plants and bioswales (a sort of channel implemented to manage storm water and protect it from pollutants), according to Cudahy First District Alderman Justin Moralez. Biernat adds that the city “wants to provide for new retail development opportunities.” Efforts will focus on shrinking retail space for properties at Packard Plaza and the soon-to-be former Kmart (6077 S. Packard Ave.) and adding residential buildings instead.
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The five-year non-expenditure—or “cooling-off” period—of Tax Incremental District #1 (implemented in 1994), has put a strain on Cudahy’s financial resources, Biernat says. Since 2016, the city has been unable to use these funds. Changes made in 2017 to state law allow the city to create an environmental Tax Incremental District (TID). “A TID is a very efficient way, in terms of a financial mechanism, to deal with infrastructure cost,” Biernat continues. Cudahy has applied for a $750,000-$1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, and Biernat is optimistic the city will receive the grant, “which will assist the city with ongoing planning requirements and brownfield (land specifically developed for industry use) remediation.”
Over the decades, Cudahy has faced its share of economic challenges. Many big box stores on one of the city’s main streets—including J.C Penney’s in Packard Plaza (5656 S. Packard Ave.), Pick ’n’ Save (5851 S. Packard Ave.) and Kmart—have closed or will close. City officials maintain that several factors have led to a decrease in retail services. Moralez says that, since 1970, the city’s population has dropped by more than 4,000, in large part to manufacturing job losses. “This overall diminishes support for local retail services,” he says.
Also, many of Cudahy’s buildings, some of which are a century old, need significant renovation, compared to newer buildings in Greenfield, Franklin and Oak Creek, Moralez says. According to Oak Creek Mayor Dan Bukiewicz, one of the economic advantages Oak Creek has over Cudahy is the amount of land available for development, whereas Cudahy’s land is fully developed. “In other words, we had clean slates,” he says. Businesses and healthcare facilities in the area, including Associated Bank and Aurora Health Care, along with hotels and newer residential buildings, spurred demand for the recently built Drexel Town Square complex and IKEA store in Oak Creek.
Like Cudahy, Oak Creek is located on Lake Michigan but is also directly accessible by freeway, bringing in visitors from all over the Metro Milwaukee area. But to compare Oak Creek to Cudahy would be unfair, the mayor emphasizes. Both South Shore suburbs “have their own identity. We don’t have to all be the same,” Bukiewicz says. The area “has so many things to offer.” However, Bukiewicz feels that Oak Creek can serve as a model to other South Shore communities which hope to increase business development. “We work very hard to listen to our citizens as to what they hope to see in the city,” he adds. “We view our comprehensive plan closely and review it regularly.”
Signs of a Progressive Future
Currently, Cudahy is home to a number of thriving small businesses, including City Lounge, Cudahy Pancake House, Jen’s Sweet Treats and Cudahy Burger Joint. Recently, the Milwaukee Transit Archives Museum moved to 4763 S. Packard Ave., a space that was vacant for more than five years. Cudahy Mayor John Hohenfeldt says the city is striving to attract new businesses with incentives, including subsidized rent for business owners over a period of years. “We’re trying to make sure our residents support these small businesses,” he explains.
Since 2013, three businesses, including Lala’s Mexican Restaurant, have received $50,000 grants from the city’s retail incentive program. Lala’s owner, Alicia Guerra, plans to build a new restaurant to replace her current location at 3470 E. Layton Ave. to land owned by the city’s Community Development Authority, reported Hohenfeldt, which is at Layton and Packard Avenues. Guerra has presented the city with a letter of intent good through March. “As leader of a local government, I’d rather work with an existing business than have another dark storefront,” says Hohenfeldt.
Moralez believes that recent laws protecting LGBTQ rights—including one banning the detrimental practice known as “conversion therapy”—signal a progressive future for the city. “We really have a change of the guard in Cudahy, so to speak. Moves like this transition a new era,” he says.
