Downtown: A Place To Live, Work, Play

"Downtown's retail fortunes and the area's vibrancy are critically important to Milwaukee and the metro area's communities....Downtown is vital, even though it no longer is the region's primary business center--and hasn't been for years. The suburbs claim 54 percent of the Milwaukee-area office market....Suburban office parks lured tenants away from downtown decades ago with cheaper rents and expanses of asphalt for parking. In recent years, however, downtown has held its own....The quality of downtown's jobs illustrates how the full impact is not measured solely by the number of jobs and businesses. Downtown amenities such as arts venues, restaurants and clubs, lakefront and riverwalk paths, and shopping are key as Milwaukee competes for the best businesses and workers the region needs to thrive. The downtown housing market is sizzling, a sign that the area's amenities are strong attractions. Entertainment, festivals, new restaurants and the overall 'cool factor' drew praise from the downtown workers and residents....Yet they also want to see improvements in parking, transportation, close-by convenience stores, an office supply store, fashion retailers, more 'lower-end' dining or take-out restaurants, and medical offices."