Brown Deer Road (Milwaukee, Green Bay, Mequon: 2015, crime, neighborhoods)

[pete6032]

I see the Target on BDR is going out. Pretty soon that whole area will be a ghost town. What is going on up there that has led to so much loss of retail space?

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by pete6032

What is going on up there that has led to so much loss of retail space?

Carjacking under investigation in Brown Deer

Shopper loses vehicle, purse in carjacking outside Brown Deer stores

Brown Deer police seek two men involved in armed robbery at World Food and Petro Mart | FOX6Now.com

Arrest reported in attempted armed robbery at Brown Deer Walmart


...might have something to do with it. On a personal note, since moving to Mequon last year we looked at shopping options which are not great in Mequon or Cedarburg. You have 3 options, Grafton Hwy 60, County line road in Germantown and Meno falls and then there is Brown Deer Road.

Brown Deer road is so close and easy access for the north shore and people of Mequon/River Hills and we started to explore brown deer road. After one year of steadily shopping on Brown Deer Road we said forget it. we are done with that area after constantly reading stories of people getting robbed. I used to defend this area a lot on these forums but after reading the weekly police reports and checking crime maps every week when they are released, I just won't go down there.

I'll driver 15-20 min out of my way to Grafton or Meno Falls/Germantown to do my big box shopping. It's a shame because I prefer to give it to the city. We were at the Menards on a Sunday in the middle of the day when we came out and a couple of cop cars were there and when we asked what happened they told us a stolen car, in a busy parking lot of a menards at 1 in the afternoon? Forget it!

It's not the crime that will drive people away but the perception of crime. BTW that target must be run by the same guy who runs the Walmart on Capitol and Humboldt because if it weren't for the sign out front you couldn't tell the stores apart. The most disgusting, dirty, unorganized stores I have ever been to not to mention how rude everyone is at those two stores.

You will recall how Lowes said they are leaving Brown Deer road. If you ever drive past the new Walmart on Brown deer road I think they keep 2 cop cars parked out front 24/7. Forget Brown Deer road it's not worth the risk.

[openmike]

Demographics out on Brown Deer Road but also a suicide traffic flow on roads that mimmic Romania
in 1845.! We lived in Green Bay ,but enjoyed the area personally including Fresh Market. There is a lot
of competition in the area plus rents tend to be high . Driving on 45 requires retrofitting cars with roll over
bars , bladed hub caps ( as seen in Mad Max), yes goggles and a baseball bat for your basic road rage.

[Empidonax]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Carjacking under investigation in Brown Deer

Shopper loses vehicle, purse in carjacking outside Brown Deer stores

Brown Deer police seek two men involved in armed robbery at World Food and Petro Mart | FOX6Now.com

Arrest reported in attempted armed robbery at Brown Deer Walmart


...might have something to do with it. On a personal note, since moving to Mequon last year we looked at shopping options which are not great in Mequon or Cedarburg. You have 3 options, Grafton Hwy 60, County line road in Germantown and Meno falls and then there is Brown Deer Road.

Brown Deer road is so close and easy access for the north shore and people of Mequon/River Hills and we started to explore brown deer road. After one year of steadily shopping on Brown Deer Road we said forget it. we are done with that area after constantly reading stories of people getting robbed. I used to defend this area a lot on these forums but after reading the weekly police reports and checking crime maps every week when they are released, I just won't go down there.

I'll driver 15-20 min out of my way to Grafton or Meno Falls/Germantown to do my big box shopping. It's a shame because I prefer to give it to the city. We were at the Menards on a Sunday in the middle of the day when we came out and a couple of cop cars were there and when we asked what happened they told us a stolen car, in a busy parking lot of a menards at 1 in the afternoon? Forget it!

It's not the crime that will drive people away but the perception of crime. BTW that target must be run by the same guy who runs the Walmart on Capitol and Humboldt because if it weren't for the sign out front you couldn't tell the stores apart. The most disgusting, dirty, unorganized stores I have ever been to not to mention how rude everyone is at those two stores.

You will recall how Lowes said they are leaving Brown Deer road. If you ever drive past the new Walmart on Brown deer road I think they keep 2 cop cars parked out front 24/7. Forget Brown Deer road it's not worth the risk.

I've been to BDR many times for shopping and still go there regularly, and I agree that crime--or the perception of crime--is a big issue. But I've never had problems there, and have never felt unsafe. The sections just west of River Hills (including the TJ Maxx shopping center) extending to Northridge Lakes is basically fine. That area also includes Old Brown Deer (where Larry's Market is) and several stores along BDR like Otto's.

The stretch from around 76th westward is much more sketchy, but even that is okay. Yes, there's crime--and there's especially the perception of crime--but it's nowhere near as bad as places like Capitol Court and some of those strip malls on 76th near Hampton.

A huge problem, though, is that crime and the perception of crime lead to a downward spiral. The overall per capita income of nearby residents has fallen, that translates into less consumer spending in the area, that means store closures which reduce amenities and jobs, and so on. It's times like these when neighborhoods like that really need the boost from retail spending. Target never was a big draw for me (there's one in Bay View near where I live), but that area still has a Half-Price Books and a handful of other stores worth considering. But as the decline continues and customers head out to the suburbs, it'll become a place with more nail shops, dollar stores, and stuff like that. The street would be ripe for regeneration as an ethnic neighborhood-- I would love to see something like Chicago's Devon Ave. develop along there--but the demographics for that go to other parts of the city.

[shizukarose]

Not shocking. It was the only Milwaukee Target without a full produce and grocery section. They didn't even waste time investing into it. Theft plus the new Walmart down the road did it.

EDIT:I don't think Brown Deer is as bad as some people here make it out to be. But I do know shopping centers on BDR deal with a crazy amount of retail theft.

[zoomkay]

Originally Posted by shizukarose

Not shocking. It was the only Milwaukee Target without a full produce and grocery section. They didn't even waste time investing into it. Theft plus the new Walmart down the road did it.

EDIT:I don't think Brown Deer is as bad as some people here make it out to be. But I do know shopping centers on BDR deal with a crazy amount of retail theft.

I second this. The retail areas (especially in the Village of Brown Deer) attract too many shop lifters. I was against the new Walmart for this specific reason.

[thefragile]

That area went down the tubes once Northridge closed.

[pete6032]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Crime

I know the area has been heavily stricken by crime, which was probably the primary factor for all those stores closing down, but I'm curious as to what is behind that. Obviously the Milwaukee economy isn't what it used to be, but what, in particular, caused the BDR area to fall so far?

Originally Posted by shizukarose

Not shocking. It was the only Milwaukee Target without a full produce and grocery section. They didn't even waste time investing into it. Theft plus the new Walmart down the road did it.

EDIT:I don't think Brown Deer is as bad as some people here make it out to be. But I do know shopping centers on BDR deal with a crazy amount of retail theft.

Yeah I shopped at that Target and it was very small. Couldn't even go there to pick up the few misc. groceries I needed because the food section was tiny.

Also I didn't ever have problems shopping up in that area either, but I never went shopping up there at odd hours. I don't doubt that other people did have problems though.

Also it looks like there was a TIF to build Granville station. I wonder if that TIF is going to go underwater now that Pick n Save is gone too.

[adr3naline]

Aside from the area's demographics not being a great fit, Brown Deer's Target would have taken a hefty investment to update to Target's 2015 image. It was old an antiquated...felt as if you were stepping into 1992. I can imagine this played a big factor in the closure.

[zoomkay]

Does anyone think the area will ever be revitalized? Serious question...