All roads lead to growth

0 Comments | Milwaukee Journal, The, Jan 8, 1995 | by TOM HEINEN

A proposed $100 million-plus residential development and marina in St. Francis and work on a $90 million roadway to link Milwaukee's Hoan Bridge with a widened E. Layton Ave. in Cudahy have helped spark predictions of an economic boom for those cities.

Local political and business leaders say the new Lake Parkway and other road improvements will make southeastern Milwaukee County easier to reach. And that, plus growing regional interest in land near Mitchell Airport, will help put the area solidly in the economic mainstream, they say.

Such optimism is bolstered by signs of commercial and industrial vitality in the two cities, which have been hit hard in the past 15 years by the decline of major industries.

The area is trying to rebound from the era when companies like Geo. J. Meyer Co. and Bostrum Seating in Cudahy closed or moved out of town, and when there were big job losses at firms like the Ladish Co. in Cudahy and Bucyrus-Erie Co. in nearby South Milwaukee.

"If you look at our size, Cudahy really took a big economic hit in terms of job loss," said Cudahy Mayor Raymond Glowacki, noting that the Ladish work force declined from some 5,000 employees in 1979 to 1,100 now.

But there are signs of economic vitality that are brightening the picture, including:

A proposal to build 1,500 residential units and 120 marina slips at the 75-acre former Lakeside Power Plant site on S. Lake Drive in St. Francis. Developer Ralph C. Ohlers hopes to start construction by late 1995.

A resurgence at Cudahy's namesake, Patrick Cudahy Inc., where employment dropped after the meat packing firm closed its slaughtering operation. There were about 1,050 full-time employees a decade ago, but just 383 by April 1990. Today there are 725 full-time employees, and that figure could increase to 800 in less than a year, said Roger R. Kapella, president and chief operating officer.

The renovation and resurgence of Packard Plaza shopping center on S. Packard Ave., Cudahy. Some $1 million in renovations have been done, and up to $500,000 in improvements will be finished this year, said Stewart Wangard, one of the center's owners. The center, built in the mid-1950s, was 80% vacant 2 1/2 years ago. Now, it is more than 80% occupied.

Linda Ryan, president of the Cudahy Chamber of Commerce, said new businesses had opened at other sites on Packard. But signs of revitalization are less apparent on Packard north of the Ladish Co.

Milwaukee-based Vilter Manufacturing Corp.'s plans to buy a former Ladish Co. building on Packard Ave. in Cudahy in the next several weeks for its new headquarters and manufacturing plant. The $20.6 million renovation will include a 50,000- square-foot addition.

Robust activity at E. Layton and S. Whitnall Aves., near the border between the two cities. The latest development, a new Ed Witt's Venus Ford dealership, will open in late March and will be valued at about $3.4 million.

The steady success of the Ace World Wide Industrial Park at E. College and S. Pennsylvania Aves. in Cudahy. In the past 10 years an industrial park at E. Bolivar and S. Clement Aves. in St. Francis has also blossomed.

The Cudahy park added its 21st building in 1994, has few vacancies and is considering developing its remaining land, said Ryan, its property management director. The St. Francis Industrial Park is 99% leased, said Ralph Voltner Jr., St. Francis city administrator. Wixon/Fontarome Inc., a food ingredients manufacturer, is completing a 36,000-square-foot addition there.

These positive signs are helping point the way to a future that could be brightened further by broader economic trends.

Peter Beitzel, vice president of business development for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, says the South Shore communities are in a great position to benefit from Illinois businesses that are starting to flood into southeastern Wisconsin. They have affordable land for development or redevelopment, and their proximity to Mitchell Airport and freeways is a big draw.

"We think that area of town has basically been underdeveloped in the past," Beitzel said. "There's tremendous opportunities. The O'Hare {Airport} land values are so high that many businesses find the Milwaukee area attractive."

Local leaders also are optimistic about the approval last year by the County Board of a $50,000 study on how to put together and market larger blocks of land for industrial development around Mitchell Airport. Access Is Key

But Glowacki and others believe improved access will be the key catalyst for development to spread from Milwaukee.

Layton Ave. is being widened to four lanes from Pennsylvania to Nicholson Aves. Work is finished on the south side; the rest will be done this spring. Plans also call for Pennsylvania to be widened to four lanes south of Layton to E. College Ave. by late 1996.

The extension of Howard Ave. to the lakefront, scheduled to be finished in late 1996, will improve traffic flow and make St. Francis easier to reach from the west, said David Stawski, president of the St. Francis Association of Commerce.