Developers love to talk about street level presence, embracing the pedestrian way and enhancing the public realm.
Good design, inside and out of a space matters. And, often, it's the little things that help fill vacancies and even get high rents and better tenants.
Thus, I gotta tip my hat to City Center at 735, 735 N. Water St., in Downtown Milwaukee. While many of the planters you see in Downtown are courtesy of the hard work of Milwaukee Downtown B.I.D. No. 21, the owners of City Center, Compass Properties, LLC, have taken the ones outside their space to another level with a fun design and unique stacking.
Gabriel Fernandez, property manager for the City Center, said that he asked Stacey Balsley of Planteriors of Wisconsin to create an artistic arrangement for the front door area. Sheldon Oppermann, vice president of Compass Properties, told me that Fernandez appreciates the chance to brighten the day of those who pass by.
"We are finding people stopping and taking pictures with the. How cool," said Oppermann.
Whether you're walking or driving by, you'll do a double take and probably crack a smile too.
Yes, it's the little things.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
