Beer maker Molson Coors to cut 9% of Americas jobs
Beer maker Molson Coors said on Monday it would cut about 400 jobs, or 9% of its salaried workforce in the Americas by the end of this year.
A group of East Tosa business owners want to turn a 16-block stretch of West North Avenue into a business improvement district as a way to invest funds from each property back into the busy corridor.
But some property owners have signed a petition opposing the initiative, which could keep it from going to the Common Council for consideration.
The proposed BID boundaries include 106 properties stretching from North 60th Street west to North Wauwatosa Avenue.
The North Avenue corridor of East Tosa is home to businesses including Cranky Al’s, coffee shops, insurance agencies, auto shops, a romance bookstore, wellness services, and popular bars and restaurants.
Anna Jarecki, the owner of Nourish Skin and Sugar Studio, says making East Tosa a business improvement district would help businesses better market their products and services for customers and improve connections between business owners. Funds through the BID could also address pedestrian safety concerns on the high-traffic corridor.
“The BID truly is an investment right into North Avenue,” Jarecki said.
But over 40% of property owners, some of whom also own businesses occupying the space along the stretch of North Avenue, signed a petition opposing the proposed plan, according to Jarecki.
Those against the effort believe the current BID proposal wouldn’t benefit them, according to the petition shared with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Those who support the BID hope that enough people who oppose may change their mind and rescind their petition signatures before Oct. 24 so that the BID proposal can go before the Common Council Oct. 28.
So far, those who have changed their minds include owners of Rocket Baby Bakery and Alfa Flower Shop, according to BID organizers.
What is a business improvement district?
Property owners in an area designated as a business improvement district contribute an annual fee based on their assessments that fund services and improvements in the area.
In East Tosa’s plan, fees would cost $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value on a property. That fee could be paid as part of rent by tenants of West North Avenue businesses, according to the plan.
In East Tosa, annual fees from all properties would total an estimated $140,400 in 2026, according to the plans. That annual fee would change based on changes in property assessments, which jumped 54% in the 2025 city-wide revaluation.
The district would be managed by a board of local stakeholders led by a part-time executive director whose compensation would be paid for through collected fees.
The rest of the money could be used for marketing, events and things like planters and signage. It could also go toward pedestrian safety initiatives.
Wauwatosa’s only current business improvement district is the Wawuwatosa Village. Business owners had tried to bring a BID to East Tosa in October 2014 and again in 2015 without luck, Wauwatosa Now previously reported.
Directly east on North Avenue is the Uptown Crossing BID, one of several in the city of Milwaukee.
What’s the timeline for the East Tosa BID?
After Jarecki and other East Tosa BID supporters submitted a proposal to the city, the Plan Commission held a hearing and unanimously passed the plan Sept. 8, sending it on to the Common Council.
According to state statute, this is when property owners who oppose the plan may submit a protest petition, Jen Ferguson, the city’s economic development manager, told the Journal Sentinel in an email.
A copy of the petition shared with the Journal Sentinel says the city clerk’s office received the document Oct. 3.
BID creation fails if a protest petition has signatures from property owners having an assessed valuation equal to more than 40% of the assessed valuation of all property in the area, according to Ferguson.
Business owners with Little Village Play Cafe, Maggio’s Wood Fired Pizza, The Well Red Damsel, Tosa Yoga Center, and Nourish Skin and Sugar Studio stood outside Rocket Baby Bakery Oct. 21 to support the business after its owner revoked his signature from the opposing petition. They also spoke to other business owners to spread the word about the BID in hopes it might sway someone’s opinion.
As of the afternoon of Oct. 22, some business owners had revoked their signatures, but over 40% of property owners still had signed the opposition petition, according to Jarecki.
Why do some property owners in East Tosa oppose the creation of the BID?
The Journal Sentinel attempted to contact several property owners who signed the petition in opposition of the East Tosa BID. Most did not answer, and a few declined to comment for this story.
Those opposing it said they believe the proposed BID would benefit some, but not all of East Tosa, according to the petition document.
“We as petitioners support business involvement in the community, but not under this format,” the petition said.
Why do some business owners in East Tosa want the BID?
Jarecki said she started trying to bring the BID together after she wanted to connect her business, located on the east end of the corridor, with businesses further west.
Iterations of neighborhood groups over time have hosted bike rides, chili fun runs and other initiatives to bring people together on the Avenue, according to Jeremy Maggio, owner of Maggio’s Wood Fired Pizza.
But the work that comes with planning events and bringing people together consistently isn’t easy when it’s not someone’s job, especially with business owners who are parents, Jarecki said.
“Volunteerism isn’t as prevalent as it was before,” Jarecki said.
Transforming East Tosa into a BID would bring a compensated employee on board “who could actively market the area” for both visitors and new businesses alike, said Bobby Pantuso. The former East Tosa alderman has been advising the BID formation group on the East Tosa BID proposal.
The BID leader and board could also seek out grant support that individual businesses might not be able to get on their own, Jarecki said.
Bridget Fogarty covers Brookfield, Wauwatosa and Elm Grove for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be contacted at bfogarty@gannett.com.
