The Struggle for a Fair and Prosperous Milwaukee

The corner of West Capitol Drive and North 27th Street in Milwaukee was once so vital to the American defense industry that the A.O. Smith factory housed a warren of tunnels and bomb shelters during World War II to protect workers and their production from an attack by the Luftwaffe. Now, that intersection is the Century City business park, the “catalytic” site for the revival of an almost 5-mile* long industrial corridor extending from the city’s northern boundary to the Menomonee Valley.

The $20 million, high tech office building anchoring the site was completed last year. But for now, it sits vacant while the city searches for a tenant that meets its employment standard of 15 to 22 jobs per acre while also launching the city’s efforts to revive the impoverished and largely African American north side. “We’re looking for a higher standard,” explains Kein Burton, the city’s developer for the site. “We put more than $40 million in.”