Photo credit: Shepherd Staff
Once considered to be a sleepy Milwaukee suburb, Wauwatosa has undergone a significant transformation over the last decade. “The last eight years have been tremendous in growth and evolution,” says Wauwatosa Mayor Kathy Ehley, who was elected to office in 2012. Ehley grew up in Brookfield but has been a Wauwatosa resident for years. “It’s an incredible location [that has] become a truly desirable place to live.”
Quality schools—including Longfellow Middle School, Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West High Schools and Roosevelt and Lincoln Elementary Schools—as well as a variety of housing options, are steadily attracting younger families to the city. With a median home value of $255,400, Wauwatosa offers many housing options, from single-family homes to duplexes, apartments and condos. “The city is experiencing an amazing renaissance that is part natural and part the work of our city leaders,” says Joel Tilleson, a Wauwatosa alderman since 2012. “A red-hot housing market is allowing a new generation to move in and contribute their voices to the wants and needs of the community.”
With a population of slightly more than 48,000, spanning 13.25 square miles and bordered by Milwaukee, Elm Grove and Brookfield, Wauwatosa is one of Milwaukee’s largest suburbs. However, Wauwatosa maintains a close-knit, community feel, with many civic events, groups and associations. The city is truly multigenerational; many Wauwatosans are lifelong city residents who stay in the city to raise their families. “What’s special and unique about Wauwatosa is our neighborhood associations,” said Ehley, noting that the city boasts 27. “It’s really a wonderful community to be involved in. Everybody is part of the fabric of the community.”
Photo credit: Shepherd Staff
Inside Ultimate Confections
Although the city has experienced an explosion of new restaurants (from casual to fine dining) and businesses within the last few years, many, like Ultimate Confections (820 N. 68th St.), have made Wauwatosa their home for decades. The chocolate shop is now celebrating 30 years of business. “The corner of 68th and Wells is brimming with great businesses and is always bustling. Wauwatosa is so business friendly and neighborhood friendly,” says the shop’s owner, Pat Murphy. “Since we have been part of the Tosa community for decades now, we have adult children bringing their kids, or even grandkids.”
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Diversity a Major Asset to Thriving Community
The Wauwatosa Village, considered the heart of the city, is now a premier shopping and dining destination for Metro Milwaukee. The village boasts casual and fine dining restaurants and specialty shops like Le Reve, Niemann’s Candy & Ice Cream, Tabal Chocolate, Café Hollander and Urban Laundry Boutique, while retaining its historic charm. In recent years, several Milwaukee businesses, including Bel Air Cantina and Camp Bar, have opened additional locations in the city. “Wauwatosa celebrates its diverse selection of businesses, and residents repeatedly show loyalty to local establishments who invest in our community and help keep us unique,” Tilleson notes. “We’ve become a desired location for some of Milwaukee’s best-known hotspots looking to expand their brand.”
The city embraces local and national artists by showcasing public art projects such as the East Tosa Mural Project, which consists of six vibrantly colored murals painted on North Avenue businesses. In addition, Wauwatosa’ Hart Park features the Hartwork Project, an annual summer event in which sculptures are displayed by three local artists, and people can vote for their favorites.
“Wauwatosa has appealed to creative types for many years, but the city’s recent investment in public art projects seems to be encouraging people to become more active in the community. Some building owners have already added murals of their own in the wake of the city’s project this past summer,” says Tilleson, founder of the East Tosa Mural Project. “Our hope is that this public-private reinvestment continues with both additional projects from the city itself—including expansions of the mural program and Hartwork Project—combined with more privately sponsored projects like the ones we’ve already seen.”
Liz Harris, a former English teacher at Wauwatosa East High School and Milwaukee Area Technical College, has lived in Wauwatosa since 1968. Harris said she was attracted to the quality public school system and the kid-friendly neighborhoods. She added that the city’s “excellent library” is a “big plus,” along with its access to top-notch medical facilities. Indeed, the Wauwatosa Public Health Department offers free immunizations for children and other public health services. “We are especially lucky to have Froedtert as a Class One Trauma Center, [a] collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin and the specialized care provided at Children’s Hospital,” she says. “It’s a real asset to the community to have [health care] of this quality so close to home,” Ehley adds. “We are so blessed.”
To Harris, Wauwatosa’s increasing racial and political diversity is another plus for the city. “I applaud progressive groups who are working hard for inclusiveness,” she says.
The city’s parks, among them Jacobus, Hart and the newly completed East Tosa Pocket Park, provide green oases to relax from the stressors of daily life. Hart Park, which also includes a senior center, is the site of numerous community events, such as high school football games, the Tosa Tonight summer concert series and the annual Milwaukee Scottish Fest (Highland Games). Tosa Fest, held annually in the village, is a community-wide celebration featuring food and live entertainment.
Photo credit: Shepherd Staff
Jacobus Park
Ehley adds that, in the next few years, the city hopes to become friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists. “In the near future, residents will see continued revitalization in both The Village and East Tosa commercial districts, as well as exciting new development projects on our north and west sides near Mayfair Mall and the Burleigh Road shopping corridor,” Tilleson concludes.
