I still remember the smell of cinnamon pretzels drifting through the Grand Avenue Mall back when I was in high school neon lights, fountain pennies, and that perfect teenage feeling that the whole world was waiting just past Spencer’s Gifts. Fast forward a couple of decades and most of those malls are either demolished or drifting around like concrete zombies. But something wild happened in Milwaukee: a group of dreamers looked at a half-dead 1980s mall and said, “What if people actually lived here?”
They spent $65 million, ripped out the sadness, and turned it into The Avenue a buzzing mix of apartments, pickleball courts, food halls, and skywalks that somehow feels like the future and the past had a really stylish baby. One random TikTok later, millions of us were obsessed. This is the story of how a forgotten mall became the coolest address in the Midwest and maybe a sneak peek at what cities everywhere could look like tomorrow.
1. The Day the Music Stopped: When America’s Malls Went Quiet
Grand Avenue opened in 1982 with all the usual fanfare anchors like Boston Store, crowds three deep at the Orange Julius, and that glorious indoor waterfall everyone threw coins into. For years it was downtown Milwaukee’s beating heart. Then came Amazon, suburban sprawl, and a slow bleed that every American over 30 knows too well. Foot traffic dried up, stores shuttered, and by 2019 the lights were off and the echoes were loud. It wasn’t just Milwaukee CoStar says only 700 of the roughly 2,500 malls that existed in 1980 are still kicking today.
Five Signs Your Childhood Mall Was on Life Support
- Escalators that only went one direction (because no one was coming back up)
- A fountain with more pennies than water
- Security guards outnumbering customers 3-to-1
- Entire wings roped off “for renovations” that never happened
- The lingering scent of despair mixed with Cinnabon
2. The Crazy Idea That Actually Worked: Turning Shops into Homes
In 2016, while most developers were still writing obituaries for downtown malls, Hempel Real Estate and Interstate Development looked at the empty Grand Avenue and saw apartments, offices, and a food hall. Architects from The Kubala Washatko figured out how to carve living spaces out of a building that was literally designed to sell leg warmers. By 2021, after a $65 million glow-up, The Avenue opened its doors proof that sometimes the craziest ideas are the ones that save cities.
What the Developers Got Right That Everyone Else Missed
- They kept the bones but changed the soul historic tax credits helped fund the magic
- Mixed uses (live + work + play) mean the lights never go off again
- Turned former anchor stores into amenities instead of parking lots
- Connected every building with skywalks and internal hallways so winter never wins
- Listened to Milwaukeeans who wanted density without losing the city’s quirky heart
3. Inside the Apartments: Yes, People Really Live Above a Former Macy’s
Walk into Plankinton Clover or Playbill Flats and you’ll forget this was ever a mall. We’re talking 12-foot ceilings, stainless steel everything, in-unit laundry, and my personal favorite some units have glass storefront doors that open right onto the old promenade. It’s like living inside an architecture magazine that also has a dog spa downstairs.
Five Apartment Features That Make You Say “Shut Up and Take My Deposit”
- Private verandas that used to be Gap windows (now your own little urban porch)
- Floor-to-ceiling glass in select units that make sunrise feel cinematic
- Townhome-style layouts with actual front doors on the “street” level
- Soundproofing so good you’ll never hear the pickleballers (unless you want to)
- Airbnb-allowed units rent it out when you’re traveling and let the apartment pay itself
4. Amenities So Good You’ll Never Leave the Building (And That’s the Point)
Remember when the coolest thing in a mall was an arcade with sticky floors? The Avenue replaced that with a rooftop-worthy list of grown-up toys: pickleball courts where the food court used to be, a legit gym, a dog agility park, a clubroom that looks like a boutique hotel lobby, and a skywalk straight into 3rd Street Market Hall where you can play indoor golf between tacos.
Five Amenities That Feel Like Someone Read My Diary
- Pickleball courts that stay open until midnight (because adult recess is real)
- Dog wash station with a blow-dry bar your pup will never smell like wet regret again
- Secure, heated parking (a non-negotiable in Wisconsin, let’s be honest)
- Clubroom with a kitchen big enough for actual Thanksgiving
- Direct indoor access to nine food vendors no coat required, ever
5. The TikTok That Broke the Internet: When @SaritaLatasha Gave Us All FOMO
One day Sarita, who works in the building next door, decided to film a quick “wait till you see this” video. She walked us through the sun-lit atrium, past the pickleball games, and pointed at apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows like it was no big deal. “There’s actually people living here now,” she whispered, and 1.5 million views later the comments were pure chaos: “Zombie apocalypse compound!” “Take my money!” “Why don’t we do this EVERYWHERE?”
Five Comments That Perfectly Sum Up the Internet’s Reaction
- “This is what happens when urban planners discover joy”
- “Rent looks reasonable until you add the emotional damage of being this cool”
- “Hear me out: we convert EVERY dead mall and save the planet”
- “I have never wanted to live above a former Sunglass Hut more in my life”
- “Milwaukee quietly winning while the coasts argue about subway rats”
6. Why This Matters Way Beyond Milwaukee: Dead Malls, Live Cities
America is littered with empty big-box cathedrals, but we’re also short something like 4–7 million homes. Converting malls isn’t just nostalgic it’s one of the fastest, greenest ways to add housing without paving another forest. Building construction accounts for 40% of global carbon emissions; repurposing doesn’t. Plus, when you stick apartments, offices, and bars in the same spot, nobody has to drive an hour for groceries.
Five Reasons Adaptive Reuse Is the Urban Superpower We Forgot We Had
- Keeps embodied carbon locked in existing concrete instead of making more
- Preserves weird 1980s architecture that’s honestly starting to look cool again
- Creates instant walkable neighborhoods no 20-year master plan required
- Qualifies for historic tax credits that make the math actually work
- Turns “blight” into pride people love living in something with a story
7. The Future Isn’t Building New It’s Renovating What We Already Have
The Avenue isn’t perfect. Some critics (looking at you, Alexandra Lange) worry about the lack of windows or the fishbowl feeling of glass-front units. Fair points. But it’s alive, it’s full, and on any given Tuesday night you’ll hear laughter bouncing off marble that used to echo with sadness. That feels like winning. Across the country, developers are taking notes Bell Works in New Jersey, Ponce City Market in Atlanta, and dozens more projects prove this isn’t a fluke. It’s a blueprint.
So next time you drive past a dead mall with weeds cracking the parking lot, don’t see a ruin. See a future neighborhood waiting for someone brave enough to imagine people living above where the Sam Goody used to be. Because if Milwaukee can turn a 1980s ghost into the hottest address in town, imagine what the rest of us could do. We’re not running out of space. We’re just running out of imagination. And honestly? The imagination is back.
