The Avenue (previously known as The Grand Avenue, The Shops of Grand Avenue and Shops of Grand Avenue) is an urban shopping plaza currently under renovation that spans three city blocks in the downtown
neighborhood of Westown in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
.
The Avenue has been the only major indoor shopping facility in the city of
Milwaukee proper with the closing of Capitol Court in 2000 and the
Northridge Mall
Northridge Mall is a shopping mall in Salinas, California, the largest in Monterey County. Located off Highway 101 near Boronda Road and North Main Street in the northern part of the city, the single-story structure encompasses of retail space. ...
in 2003 due to competition from newly renovated malls in nearby suburbs.
History
Grand Avenue opened in 1982 and hosted over 80 specialty stores, along with what was at one time the largest food court in Wisconsin.
[The Shops of Grand Avenue](_blank)
''Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau,'' Retrieved May 27, 2008.
The shopping center was named after a bustling merchant street during the 19th century, Grand Avenue (the portion of the present day Wisconsin Avenue west of the
Milwaukee River
The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 Once a locus of industry, the river is now the c ...
). A main portion of The Shops of Grand Avenue encompasses the former Plankinton Arcade with many of its original features still intact including the
statue of John Plankinton in the center of the circular atrium. The Arcade replaced the Plankinton House Hotel on the same site.
Grand Avenue was opened during a time when many downtown retail centers in major cities were shutting down. It sought to avoid these problems by relying on locally owned shops that cater to the "urban" tastes of the nearby populace, in addition to the national chain-stores it houses such as the anchor
T.J. Maxx. Because of limited street/surface parking, an adjacent south ramp provides hourly fee parking, costs heavily offset by mall purchase validation.
At one time, the mall also featured
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...
(
Gimbels until 1986) on the east edge of the mall, but the location closed in 1997. The building that housed it, now
ASQ Center, is still connected to The Avenue by a skywalk and features a
Residence Inn
Residence Inn by Marriott is a brand of extended stay hotels. , there were 874 Residence Inn hotels in the United States, Canada and Mexico with 107,680 rooms, plus an additional 243 hotels with 30,417 rooms in the development pipeline. The brand ...
, although it is not technically part of The Avenue. With the east addition of the downtown YMCA, their circling walking track has views down to Grand Plankinton Concourse through skylights.
TJ Maxx
TJ Maxx (stylized as T•J•maxx) is an American department store chain, selling at prices generally lower than other major similar stores. It has more than 1,000 stores in the United States, making it one of the largest clothing retailers in ...
and
Linens 'n Things
Linens 'n Things was a Clifton, New Jersey-based big-box retailer specializing in home textiles, housewares, and decorative home accessories. The chain operated 571 stores in 47 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces, and had 7,300 employees as ...
were added in 2002.
In 2005, New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp purchased The Shops of Grand Avenue for $31.7 million.
Due to the economic downfall and its impact on the
Milwaukee metropolitan area, by 2009 the mall had lost many key tenants. In 2012 the mall was foreclosed upon and was put up for auction in October 2013. New York based real estate firm Alliance Capital Invest won with a final bid of $16.5 million. After struggling to improve performance, the mall was sold to a local ownership group for $24.6 million in December 2015.
On December 6, 2018, new plans for the existing space were announced as well as the space's new name, The Avenue. The former third floor food court will become office space for GRAEF-USA Incorporated. A new food hall will open on the ground floor named 3rd Street Market Hall, late in 2019. In addition, the 52 unit Plankinton Clover Apartments will replace some of the former retail space.
See also
*
Statue of John Plankinton
Gallery
File:Holabird & Roche pirouette.jpg, The rotunda of the Plankinton Arcade
File:Milwaukee July 2022 039 (Plankinton Arcade).jpg, Exterior of the Plankinton Arcade
File:Shops of Grand Avenue on Wisconsin Avenue.jpg, Outside of the Shops of Grand Avenue on Wisconsin Avenue
File:Shops of Grand Avenue.jpg
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avenue, The
Economy of Milwaukee
Shopping malls in Wisconsin
Shopping malls established in 1982
1982 establishments in Wisconsin
Downtown Milwaukee