Video, audio, map: Waukesha's downtown continues to undergo major changes, with mixed success

Todd Ponath
Crews work on constructing apartments on top of a parking garage at the corner of South Street and Grand Avenue in Waukesha. The Prairieville apartments are another option that people will have for living in the downtown area.
Published on: 11/5/2014

George Wang has seen the changes in downtown Waukesha.

He was here during the down times in the early 1990s and has stayed to see major growth over the last three decades.

"I've seen a lot of the ups and downs in downtown," said Wang, owner of Waukesha Tattoo Company @ Galleria Edge in downtown, as he stared out the window of his shop on the far west side of Main Street.

From this particular vantage point, he is looking directly at The Kendal Lofts, an example of one of the many recent developments in downtown that is helping change the landscape.

Wang said when he first arrived to the scene downtown wasn't a place to visit. It was often just a place to drive through, he said.

"Back in the day people wouldn't even come down to this end of the street," Wang said. "But it's changed for the better, with some hiccups along the way."


 

AUDIO:

Local shopkeeps describe the changes they've seen over the years in downtown Waukesha.

Jest for Fun Joke Shop owner Jeff Campbell on the changing retail environment:

 Martha Merrell's Books owner Norm Bruce on changes to downtown Waukesha in the last two decades:

Longtime Little Swiss Clock Shop owner Karen White on the changing makeup of the downtown:


Still a mixed bag

So what is the health and pulse of downtown today?

Wang sees progress but also more hurdles to overcome. A walk through the streets of downtown backs that up — continued growth and new tenants at key locations but room for improvement in the overall aesthetics and development.

For example, one of the biggest previous eyesores — the restaurant and bar to The Clarke Hotel at the Five Points — is now operating and buzzing with people. A series of long-planned road construction projects has started and is expected to transform the way downtown looks over the next six years. The same could be said of the new luxury apartments that are either being built or have been proposed for the area.

On the other hand, there's still prime real estate available, and some For Rent signs continue to stand out.

And the road construction work that won't be finished until 2020 has had business owners concerned about the impact on downtown.

On road to improvement

It's a downtown that Mayor Shawn Reilly said is going to "look phenomenal" at the end of the multiphase construction process.

However, its short-term impacts remain unknown as streets shut down for extended periods of time to improve an infrastructure that hasn't been updated for decades and underground work that hasn't been touched for more than 100 years.

Business owners on Clinton Street experienced the short-term negative impact this spring. In many cases, they said the project significantly hurt sales.

But as Dan Taylor, owner of Taylors People's Park in downtown indicated this summer after Clinton Street reopened, the benefits clearly will outweigh any short-term issues.

"The great thing when this is completed is we will have such a pedestrian-friendly downtown," said Taylor, speaking as he sat on the now-wider sidewalk outside his restaurant at 377 W. Main St. "When the streets are done, when this downtown is finished and is looking like (how Clinton Street now looks), this place should be hopping with people. I think it will."

The road construction project will be done in six sections over the next six years and in many cases will include replacing deteriorated pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalk and terraces, which will be enhanced with concrete pavers. New LED lights, as well as street trees and other amenities, will also be installed throughout downtown.

West Main Street from Clinton Street to Wisconsin Avenue as well as on Maple Avenue (from Main to Wisconsin) is scheduled for construction in 2015, while West Main Street from Clinton all the way to the intersection of Barstow Street will see work in 2016.

Wang's tattoo and gallery is located within the boundaries for construction next year. He wants to get as much information from the city as possible ahead of time so he and his customers are prepared.

"I'm confident we will be OK," Wang said. "I think it will be a good thing for the long run and you have to have a long-term vision which is what the city is doing with these projects to better the downtown."

Catherine Huelsman, general manager of Berg Management, which leases many residential and commercial properties in downtown, says she knows business owners aren't happy about the pending street closures for construction but says "they'll be happy with the end results."

Positive developments

Huelsman has the same feelings about her current downtown properties.

"Retail is on a major up," she said, as she combed through papers from her office inside the basement of The Rotunda, also in downtown. "We are at 75 to 80 percent retail filled. It's the highest rental occupancy for commercial in probably 15 years."

Huelsman recently leased a large 2,000-square-foot corner spot where Grand Avenue and Main Street meet to Henry and Michelle Gacek, who this summer opened a store there called Picky, Picky Resale Shop. The couple was looking for a fresh start after struggling at their store on Bluemound Road in Wauwatosa.

Rhea Loveless, their downtown neighbor at Burlap & Lace Marketplace, opened her store — which specializes in repurposed, upcycled, handmade, vintage and organic items — this summer at 840 N. Grand Ave. and will open a second location downtown in mid-November.

Huelsman had a space available with the departure of a taxi service that operated out of the 900-square-foot site at 308 W. Broadway, another key space at the Five Points, and Loveless jumped at the opportunity, signing a three-year lease for her second location.

She will move her clothing items and jewelry into the second site, while continuing to sell household items at her original store, which also houses a self-serve coffee shop and hair salon.

"I really like the downtown community," said Loveless, who moved her store from West Allis to Waukesha. 

Pictured: Vacant and new businesses in downtown Waukesha.

Still-vacant feelings

However, vacancies are still evident elsewhere downtown.

Huelsman herself hasn't been so lucky finding a tenant for another prime downtown property — Berg's largest open retail space has been empty since spring 2013 and is in the heart of downtown at 280 W. Main St. The space, which Horse Emporium previously occupied for many years, totals more than 5,000 square feet.

"It's been vacant way too long," Huelsman said, adding that there has been some interest in the site but its sheer size has been a factor in the lingering vacancy. "(For) that big of space, it's hard to get (a tenant)."

Another empty space operated by Berg Management is at 290 W. Main St., the former site of River Mills Food. However, that space won't be vacant for long, Huelsman said — it will soon open as an extension of Generations at 5 Points, which signed a two-year lease for the site to expand its successful restaurant operation there.

Huelsman said the owners of Generations are still weighing their options on what it wants to do inside but added they hope to open by the end of the year or early in 2015.

Wang also owns a vacant storefront next to his tattoo shop, at 453 W. Main St., that he recently renovated. It was previously a carpet store.

Another property that stands out — in part due to the telltale construction paper placed over the door and windows — is the former Random Twigs art gallery and studio, 275 W. Main St., which closed this summer.

Off Main Street, Huelsman is also looking at filling 257 W. Broadway, the site of the former Montecito Ristorante Lounge, an Italian-style restaurant that closed this spring. Owners cited a lack of foot traffic off Main Street.

Another large empty space is at the corner of South and Barstow streets, 209 South St., previously a music store. The commercial space was sold last year to a developer, but it remains on the market.

The former Sweet Perfections Bake Shoppe, 918 N. Barstow St., continues to sit vacant after the business, which sought more parking and a larger location, moved to the northeast side of the city this summer. The old building will be torn down if a new apartment complex in that area is approved.

The former Panos grocery store at 200 W. Main St. also remains dormant more than a year after owner Panos Assimakopoulos vacated it, citing a lack of parking. The future of the vacant site is unknown. Assimakopoulos, who owns the building, said there has been some interest in the store but no one has made an offer.

"I'm happy with my decision to move," said Assimakopoulos, who still operates his store on Sunset Drive.

More hospitable environment

Dennis Radtke and his team at The Clarke Hotel, on the other hand, are happy to have a footprint in downtown Waukesha.

Radtke is the director of operations for Harp & Eagle Ltd., the new owner of the hotel, and recently reopened the hotel's bar and restaurant, 314 W. Main St., a downtown centerpiece.

The latest revitalization effort reversed the sad scene of a heavily remodeled property that, on the ground floor, was vacant for almost three years, sporting large windows that allowed pedestrians to stare into a conspicuously empty restaurant.

Ownership struggles resulted in the hotel going into foreclosure and, with constant leadership turnover the bar and restaurant struggled as it tried to cater to a high-end clientele.

The restaurant/pub now offers a more casual dining experience with prices to attract more than the business executives.

"Just because you offer something wonderful doesn't mean you need to charge large sums of money," said Paul Ward, manager of The Clarke Irish Pub. "We don't want to be that place where people say we always go there on our birthday or for our anniversary. ... We want you to come four, five nights a week."

Many downtown stakeholders say the success of the hotel — which also has two small storefront vacancies attached to its property — and its bar and eatery will have a positive effect on the rest of downtown.

"That's going to be a big anchor to draw more and more people downtown," Huelsman said. "Having that vacant for so many years was a real negative."

Taylor, who likewise welcomes the Irish pub, said even more ethnic options would help downtown.

"We could use five or six niche restaurants," said Taylor, who added he would love to open another business, possibly a small convenience-type store, in downtown. "We have an Italian restaurant with Mia's, which is great, but we could have a little Spanish restaurant, a German restaurant." 


 RELATED STORIES ON DOWNTOWN'S UPS AND DOWNS


Apartment impact

City officials have indicated that a grocery store was requested in the city's Central City Master Plan, but right now there isn't enough foot traffic in downtown.

"We don't quite have the density for that," Acting Community Development Director Jennifer Andrews said. "Developers are very aware of the demographics needed to support a grocery store."

But officials hope the foot traffic can be increased with the soon-to-be built and the proposed high-end apartments for downtown Waukesha. One will be an addition to the Main Street Plaza on West Main and North Barstow streets, and the other along the Fox River at the southeast corner of Corrina Boulevard and Buckley Street.

Berg Management's Prairieville Apartments, which are being built on top of a parking structure, are expected to be finished early next year.

"If we increase the residential population, it will make the retail and businesses more desirable, especially if they have unique amenities and offer a different type of product," Andrews said. "We look at the Third Ward in downtown Milwaukee and they have a strong daytime work population but also hundreds of units that support businesses."

Office space

Besides new living spaces, filling the unused or untapped available office space is a major component in helping revitalize downtown, Andrews said. Berg has many, including one large space at 255 W. Broadway, four at 217 Wisconsin Ave., along with 14,000-square-feet of office space in the Center City Plaza at 741 N. Grand Ave.

David Smart, owner of Smart Realty Company in Waukesha, said he saw in recent years many professional businesses, such as in the medical and banking fields, move out of downtowns to larger business centers. But Smart said getting these people back is a key to downtown's success.

"There is an opportunity to attract more office space," said Smart, who has retail and office space available at 144 W. Broadway and commercial space at 135 Wisconsin Ave. "And that will result in a higher quality residential population."

Nearby jewel

A five-acre site outside the immediate downtown area is where Huelsman and Andrews see the biggest opportunities for growth and which they think could bring in the foot traffic that so many downtown businesses covet on a daily basis.

The site is across the Riverwalk between Broadway and Barstow Street. It consists of a parking lot with a small green space (where an antique shop used to be) and the old Hardees, which continues to collect cobwebs. The Huelsmans' proposed convention center at this site a few years ago hit roadblocks at City Hall.

The site is owned primarily by developer Charles Davies, but the city as well as Berg Management own portions of the land, too. Huelsman says this area is where she sees "the biggest growth in downtown" and is a "major potential development site."

Andrews said Davies is actively marketing the site and that the Central City Master Plan calls for four different options, which could include a mix of businesses with residential.

"A mixed use plan could really add to the daytime population if it adds office users on that side of the river to complement the nearby state office buildings," Andrews said.

On the horizon

Looking forward, Huelsman sees more expansion on the west side of downtown. Taylor still sees the downtown trending upward.

"It will," Taylor said. "It will just take time, but it's definitely on the upswing."

Andrews said downtown Waukesha has the ingredients to be successful.

"A thriving downtown has to have strong community events and a residential population to support its businesses," Andrews said. "It's really multi-(faceted). In Waukesha, we're pretty excited. We have a great mix of businesses and with our new streetscape, we have a positive outlook for the future of downtown."

Waukesha NOW poll question: What are your thoughts on downtown Waukesha?