Milwaukee residents near the former Northridge Mall site had a chance to share their thoughts on a proposed multi-family housing development at a community meeting tonight.
The meeting, organized by Alderwoman Taylor's office, ran from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Crossover Center on North 76th Street in Milwaukee. It is meant to give neighbors a chance to ask questions and share feedback about the proposal.
The development is sparking conversation in Milwaukee's 9th District, where residents say they want their voices heard before anything moves forward.
For years, the old Northridge Mall site sat mostly quiet. Now that it has been demolished, a proposed apartment development in a nearby vacant space has neighbors talking.
Some say bringing housing could help breathe life back into a corridor that has struggled since Northridge Mall closed. "When they took the mall away that put a big dent in this area," resident Mark Steward said. Steward said he sees potential in the housing proposal, but stressed affordability is key. "It's a good thing, cause a lot of people need places, but like you say affordable — that's gotta be the thing," he said.
Fellow resident Robert Bruss agreed more housing is needed. "I think we need more low income housing in the area," Bruss said.
Others say development needs to be done carefully, making sure it brings jobs that truly benefit the people who already live here. "I don't know what I think we need is manufacturing, businesses like when the spice company was gonna buy that, that's — I thought that was a brilliant idea," resident Will Stolen said.
Some residents said they want to see more businesses, jobs, and activity return to the area. "I think it's fine, but we do need more stores out here, restaurants and grocery stores. You can bring places, jobs here to this community," Steward said. Bruss echoed that sentiment. "I would like to see small businesses, almost like a downtown area, small businesses, restaurants, things like that, maybe some housing," he said. Resident Stacey Nelson said, "Maybe one more grocery store, maybe a Whole Foods out this way would be decent."
While opinions differ, residents agree on one thing — they want a seat at the table as decisions are made. "I think there needs to be something for the kids, the kids need something to do, definitely a center, something to occupy their time," Nelson said. Stolen added that housing alone is not enough. "Try to woo businesses in to create employment, if you have housing you have to have jobs to go with it," he said.
According to Alderwoman Taylor's office, the meeting was meant to give neighbors a chance to ask questions and share feedback about the proposal. The meeting ran from 5:30 to 7 p.m last Friday. at the Crossover Center on North 76th Street in Milwaukee.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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