Now, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has given a name to the city's next big overhaul: The Greenlight District.,”

In the last few years, Milwaukee has invested in its blighted spaces. First was the Menomonee Valley project and then the Pabst redevelopment.

Now, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has given a name to the city's next big overhaul:

The Greenlight District.

Also known as the 30th Street Industrial Corridor, the area was historically the manufacturing home of many companies, including Harley-Davidson, Miller and Master Lock.

According to 1st District Alderman Ashanti Hamilton, the funding for the development already exists; the city is just "packaging it."

"We're really excited that the mayor and the city council members are taking an interest in this area," said Brenna Holly, executive director for the 30th Street Industrial Corridor Corporation.

Many of the companies that used to reside in the corridor used the railroad for transporting goods. With the decline of the railroad, the companies moved out and Milwaukee suffered, according to Benjamin Timm, project manager for the corridor.

Now, the city hopes to clean up the area and lure manufacturing businesses back.

"The perception of an outsider is that the corridor is dead and abandoned," Timm said. "People are bunkered in but there's a lot of life."

Timm said the area's biggest selling point is that surrounding neighborhoods provide a workforce.

"We want to bring in new job-creating users," Timm said. "Job creation is our No. 1 goal."

The benefits of job creation are far reaching.

"It ties the neighborhood to the development and the industrial side," Hamilton said. "It makes it safe and attractive to draw businesses."

The 30th Street Industrial Corridor, which extends from West Hampton Avenue to West Highland Boulevard between North 27th Street and North 35th Street, shares many qualities of the Menomonee Valley.

"With the success of Menomonee Valley, we're shifting focus northward to the corridor," Timm said.

The city's focus on the valley over the past eight years has brought triumph. Corey Zetts, program director for the Menomonee Valley Partners, called the valley a model of economic development.

City leaders are looking for a repeat.

"I'm optimistically hopeful that this will be as fruitful as Menomonee Valley," said Common Council President Willie Hines.

But why keep the corridor as an industrial center? Why not develop it for small businesses and homes like the old Pabst Brewery site?

"It will remain industrial because industrial land in Milwaukee is shrinking," Timm said. "We're trying to maintain what we have."

The area's redevelopment will be financed in several ways. Barrett recommended the use of Tax Increment Financing in a Jan. 11 press release. TIF is a system of financing where the city uses revenue gained from a project to pay off the money initially borrowed to fund it.

However, both Timm and Hines said additional state and federal funding would be required.

Timm said that over the next year a comprehensive plan of the area will be developed. The 30th Street Industrial Corridor Corporation will identify clusters of land where resources can be maximized.

"Because the space is so big, it offers many opportunities," Timm said.

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