Commercial/mixed use building owners are eligible for façade grants through Riverworks and/or the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development (DCD).

Properties that lie within the Riverworks BID 25 and 36 boundaries (map of BID 25; map of BID 36) are eligible for up to $3,000 or $5,000 for property improvement projects through Riverworks. The City’s program (covering areas within and outside the BIDs) grants up to $5,000 for each side of a building facing a street, so corner buildings are eligible for larger grants. For example, a $10,000 project on a building facing one street located in BID 36 could get $8,000 in grant money: $3,000 from the BID and $5,000 from the City. In this example a property owner would only end up paying $2,000 out of their pocket.

Riverworks is also working on putting together a micro loan program. Since the façade grant programs are based on reimbursement, property owners must come up with money up front, which can be an obstacle at times. Riverworks' program would lend money at favorable rates – even possibly having months with no interest – so that someone approved for a façade grant could borrow money with the promise that they will pay part of it back with the dollars reimbursed from the City or BID. 

Riverworks will work with property owners along Holton Street between approximately Center and Keefe, and along Keefe Avenue between approximately Holton and MLK Drive. Architectural renderings of façade improvements there are produced by Community Design Solutions (CDS) from UW-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning with Riverworks staff input and direction. Riverworks has a contract with CDS and will arrange for the renderings to be provided free of charge, although they have a limit on the number of renderings that can be produced. The renderings are useful for façade grant applications, as visuals are required by the Façade Grant Committee to show what a property is expected to look like after work is completed.  In addition, they make the application more professional, which increases the chance of grant approval, as well as successful acquistion of conventional loans, quality tenants and contractors.

Riverworks also assists property and business owners with other aspects of economic and business development. See their Business Resource Center at http://www.riverworksmke.org/rdc/business-development.php - scroll to the bottom where you can access a number of links for useful information.

You can also read about Riverworks projects that are in the works related to Holton Street at http://www.riverworksmke.org/rdc/in-the-works.php. Check the “News” page for updates on some of the projects Riverworks is working on, like the mural project this summer that will end up being located at Holton and Townsend.  To access this information, go to the following link:http://www.riverworksmke.org/news.php.

For more information about any of these programs, contact Chris Grandt at Riverworks Development Corporation, 303 E Vienna Ave., Milwaukee, WI  53212. Phone: (414) 906.9650 Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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