MILWAUKEE -- A consortium of nonprofit and business leaders on Wednesday morning announced a plan to bring new investment to three of Milwaukee's distressed neighborhoods.
Donsia Strong Hill, Executive Director of LISC Milwaukee, said a $200,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase will fund the creation of three new "pop up shops" in corridors on MLK Drive, Cesar Chavez Drive, and near Fond du Lac & North.
Strong Hill said LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) hopes to supplement the new funding with City of Milwaukee facade and white-box grants.
According to Strong Hill, pop up shops allow for retailers to move in - with their equipment - and sell their products for 30 or 60 days.
"We're going to do three pop up shops in three corridors, show this concept can work, and go from there," Strong Hill said.
A successful stint at a pop up shop could encourage entrepreneurs to eventually open their own store, said Deshea Agee, Executive Director of the Historic King Drive Business Improvement District.
"This will certainly bring more business, more entrepreneurs, and more opportunity to King Drive," Agee said.
"We have a lot of issues in Milwaukee," he said, "and this is a way to get past some of those issues and show we can work together as a community to change our neighborhoods."
