MILWAUKEE – 21 years after the Northridge Mall welcomed its final shoppers, the community is now brainstorming what comes next for the site.
Around 150 people, mostly nearby residents of Milwaukee’s northwest side, attended a Monday town hall and Q&A session on the future of the 58-acre city-owned site now known as Granville Station led by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, 9th District Alderwoman Laressa Taylor, and Department of City Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump. It was the first opportunity the public had to share what they want to see at the property following the city’s acquisition of it from China-based U.S. Black Spruce Enterprises last January.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Judge grants approval for Milwaukee ownership of Northridge Mall
While the local leaders on stage reiterated multiple times throughout the night that no idea was off limits, Crump and Taylor both told me whatever goes into the massive space needs to make sense not just for nearby neighbors, but for the region at large.
“If I’m envisioning it, it’s a place that shows the best of what Milwaukee has to offer, and it’s a reminder that we can do everything in Milwaukee that we can do anywhere else in this state and this country” said Crump. Specifically, he mentioned the area could be have multiple uses including recreational space. Mayor Johnson added during the presentation that since the land plot is so large, the city may explore accepting more than one Request For Proposal (RFP) for the site.
“We need something that’s going to stand the test of time, that’s going to last generation to generation, and that’s going to continuously bring value to the district” added Taylor, who said she would like the new project to include more green space and parks.
Ideas floated during the Q&A session from the crowd included a health center, job training facilities, and a potential re-location of Milwaukee Area Technical College’s downtown campus.
Other residents asked the city if there would be a major marketing and public relations campaign attached to the project aimed at changing the perception of Milwaukee’s northwest side. Alderwoman Taylor assured the audience that would be the case.
“People have this idea that this side of town is not a safe place to be” said Nicole, a nearby resident who’s lived in the neighborhood for 47 years. She told me she would hear rumors of people being attacked in the mall parking lot in the past, but believes the neighborhood has been a great place to live.
According to year-to-date data from the Milwaukee Police Department for District 9, there have been 903 instances of Part I crime so far in 2024, a five percent drop compared to the same period in 2023. In the area around the former mall specifically, there have been 11 incidents so far this year, though vandalism and arson have plagued the space for many years prior.
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Crump also tells me it’s important to keep the nostalgia factor of the old mall out of planning decisions. “It would be very easy to say ‘We’re going to build a new mall here, and re-capture the spirit of Northridge past.’ What we need to do is think about what those buildings meant for the community. It doesn’t have to look exactly the same, but it can still fufill some of those roles.”
Viet USA out of New Berlin is handling the demolition of the former mall, and says they anticipate the site will be ready for re-development as early as the fall of 2025. The group previously worked on the demolition of the former Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee.
To learn more about the future of the former Northridge Mall, click here.
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