“We did end up putting a sign out front saying that we were open, but compared to the scaffolding, the sign was minuscule,” said Carol Grossmeyer, vice president of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop’s Downer Avenue store.

As Downer Avenue continues to go through an extensive overhaul, shop owners are concerned about dwindling business during the construction process. What was once a historical and picturesque avenue on Milwaukee’s East Side is now a place temporarily filled with bright orange street blockers and scaffolding on the corners.

Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop is one local and independently owned business that is feeling the pain of the construction. The shop has been in the Milwaukee community for 80 years and has occupied their space on Downer for 10 years.

Even through all of the construction that has been in and around the building, Carol Grossmeyer, the shop’s president, feels that the shop has been particularly affected.

“This has been a very difficult experience,” Grossmeyer said. “What we are most concerned about is our commitment to Downer Ave. and its residents.”

Since construction started this summer, Grossmeyer said there has been an obvious dip in sales. Many residents of Downer and even the general public thought that the store had been closed for a period in July, but that is not the case.

“We were never closed at all this summer,” Grossmeyer said, “I get this question a lot.”

The scaffolding that was put up in front of the building blocked the large picture window of the shop and covered them with protective plastic, giving the shop a closed and vacant look.

“We did end up putting a sign out front saying that we were open, but compared to the scaffolding, the sign was minuscule,” said Grossmeyer.

Even though the construction on Downer is to increase parking and construct a boutique hotel and more retail space, Grossmeyer continues to stay optimistic. The improvements should be complete in two to three years and will hopefully bring more people to the area.

Shorewood Construction

Downer Avenue, however, is not the only street that is getting overhauled. Numerous streets in the Shorewood area, such as Oakland Avenue, are littered with orange and are down to single lanes.

According to Chris Swartz, Village of Shorewood manager, for every one mile of road construction, $2 million goes into the project. Most is from community taxpayers and the rest from local and statewide grants.

The road construction on Oakland Avenue cost close to $1.8 million, although just a little over a half mile was renovated.

“We work very hard on getting grants every year,” said Swartz. “However, every year we get state aid close to $600,000. Half of that money goes toward our road program and we accrue more each year.”

Even in Shorewood, many residents have mixed emotions but they all seem to concede that the construction must be done.

“Morris Boulevard will be the next road to get redone it 2008,” Swartz admitted. “And boy does it need it.”

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