The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has awarded the city of Kenosha a $250,000 Community Development Investment grant to support the new Uptown Lofts development.
WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes and Deputy Secretary Sam Rikkers visited Kenosha Monday to tour the soon-to-open Kenosha Emerging Leaders Academy and announce the grant.
“In Kenosha, the state, local government, nonprofits, businesses and educators are all working together to build a neighborhood designed to inspire innovation and entrepreneurship,” Hughes said. “We know that entrepreneurship is one of the best ways for communities to build transformational wealth and are proud to support the changes being made in Uptown.”
“Uptown Lofts, the Children’s Library and Kenosha Emerging Leaders Academy are laying the foundation for long-term success in Uptown, the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood and throughout the city,” Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian said.
The new development includes 71 workforce housing apartments along with commercial space and a new branch of the Kenosha Public Library, specifically devoted to children and increasing their reading skills. The first apartment tenants are scheduled to move in this month.
“The Uptown Lofts mixed-use development will be transformative for that neighborhood,” said Nicole Ryf, president of the Kenosha Area Business Alliance. “The addition of much-needed affordable housing and a children’s library makes the development even more attractive for residents of the Uptown Area and the entire city.”
KABA worked with the city and developer Gorman & Co. to ensure that Uptown Lofts would have space for two businesses that had been located on the site and were destroyed by fire during 2020 protests following a police shooting. Construction is continuing on the commercial spaces – a neighborhood grocery store, La Estrella, and Uptown Restaurant.
Read more in the Kenosha News.