A group of East Tosa businesses and property owners have launched a new effort to create what would become Wauwatosa's second business improvement district, commonly referred to as a BID, more than a decade after a similar campaign failed to rally enough support from stakeholders.
Proponents of the new BID plan say the East Tosa commercial strip along North Avenue, known for its restaurants and small shops, lost some momentum during the years after the last BID effort failed. And when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, businesses did not have a strong advocate to help ensure the neighborhood continued as a vibrant draw for both neighbors and visitors from outside the area.
This summer, some businesses and property owners approached the idea of creating a BID with renewed interest, according to Bobby Pantuso, a former alderman and owner of 4Jay Films, who is helping to promote the new BID plan. The goal is to complete the process of city authorization in time to launch the new district by January 2026, with a modest budget and a part-time executive director.
"We're calling it the 21st century Main Street," Pantuso told Tosa Forward News during an interview at 69th Street Plaza in the heart of the prospective business improvement district. He added that the district also would market itself as an arts district, given that colorful murals already decorate the sides of several of the avenue's buildings.
The process starts at the Wauwatosa Plan Commission, which is scheduled to discuss the request at its Sept. 8 meeting. After that, the hope is to gain authorization from the Common Council later in the fall, provided the campaign doesn't face any strong opposition, like the BID proposal did in 2014.
"I think there was a group of business owners that did not see the value," Pantuso recalled of the failed 2014 BID proposal.
At that time, the neighborhood had been served by a volunteer-led business alliance, but the lack of a more formal organization with a steady revenue stream made it difficult to maintain some of the neighborhood's signature events, such as the annual Chili'n on the Avenue cookoff and the Tour of America's Dairyland bike races, which moved to the Village of Wauwatosa BID in 2021.
With an East Tosa BID, the North Avenue business community would be able to collect tax revenue from the city through an additional levy on 106 commercial properties from 60th Street to Wauwatosa Avenue, with a maximum additional tax of $5,000 on the district's highest-value commercial properties. It would not tax homeowners.
The BID levy would raise an estimated $140,000 a year to pay the part-time director, increase marketing efforts and fund beautification projects and other improvements along the street, such as signs and sidewalk cleanup. New North Avenue events could provide additional BID revenue and bring more people to the street and businesses, and with a paid executive director, businesses would be able to speak with a more unified voice about the needs of the district, Pantuso said.
Though Pantuso's 4Jay Films, a video production and marketing company, is not located on North Avenue, he lives in the neighborhood and agreed to serve on the BID's first board, if it wins approval. He said other supportive businesses so far have included the Little Village Play Cafe, Maggio's Wood-Fired Pizza and Nourish Skin and Sugar Studio.
“Volunteerism is not as big as it used to be 15 years ago. So we definitely need something in place where someone is paid to do social media, all that kind of stuff that would be impossible for someone to do on a volunteer basis," Anna Jarecki, who owns Nourish Skin and Sugar, told OnMilwaukee, which first reported the new BID campaign.
Other business owners already have weighed in with their support.
"The BID would be great for East Tosa," Paul Hackbarth of Camp Bar said in a Facebook comment. "When we lost the East Tosa Alliance, activation in the area for business and residents have stalled. With the right leadership in an East Tosa BID, many great things can be done. ... We have locations in three other BIDs, and not only is it great for business it’s great for the overall area in so many ways."
