There's an upswing in Uptown

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Saturday, December 12, 1998 3:00 AM CST

BY MICHAEL BURKE Journal Times

photos by Mark Hertzberg

(map ran with story also)

RACINE Downtown seems to have gotten all the headlines, all the studies and all the attention as it works to reclaim some of its former vibrancy.

Meanwhile its little sibling, Uptown, goes hungry and threadbare. Who's working on behalf of that neglected corridor to Racine's lake front?

``We can see there are thrusts to help the downtown, but there has been nothing to help the Uptown," said Dr. Bruce Savin, owner of the Vision Clinic, 1421 Washington Ave.

``I would love to see the same type of attention given to Uptown," he said. ``We're part of the same entrance way. To concentrate only on downtown seems very, very shortsighted."

Surprisingly, new money is being planted in Uptown by investors who think its economic revival is quite possible. The main player is Castlerock Investment Group of Oak Creek, which will soon own six buildings on the north side of Washington Avenue. The group is already doing some renovation and sprucing up those facades.

``Over winter we will start to determine what will happen," said group spokesman Gary Thompson. ``In spring ... there will be massive activity."

Different investors have bought two Uptown buildings, including the former M&I Bank at the southwest corner of Washington Avenue and Ann Street. A cafe is in the works there.

``I know by this time next year, if people haven't been back to Racine for a while, they will be amazed what that looks like in that area," Thompson predicted.

For now, however, existing merchants see Uptown as neglected and nearly lifeless. George Kopulos, owner of the Corner House, 1521 Washington Ave., was asked to assess Uptown's economic health.

``There isn't any," he said.

Kopulos blames Regency Mall and the advent of large discount stores for Uptown's demise. ``The smaller businesses were eaten alive," he said. They lacked the buying power to compete with the huge stores that have gobbled up open land around Racine.

``I don't know if (Uptown) could be revitalized, with suburbia and everything moving out," Kopulos said.

If the mall and the megastores crippled downtown, what they did to Uptown is close to murder. Take away a few businesses such as Corner House, Vision Clinic and Easterday Office Equipment & Supply, and what you have left is mostly a few service businesses and a large handful of antique and resale shops.

Gone is the old Uptown Theater. The bank is closed, and the defunct Paulson's Furniture is now a church. There is no longer a dry-cleaner. Even the branch library has long since checked out.

Savin has fond memories of Uptown's better days. ``There was a wonderful drug store across the street and a bakery next door to the bank," he said. ``All the storefronts were filled. ... It was a friendly, nice area."

Last spring, Racine County Board Supervisor Bill Sklba, who has taken a personal interest in that area, wrote that ``the image, reputation and value of Uptown are at the proverbial fork in the road of its future."

But it may not be time to declare Uptown a ghost town. Although it's not very evident yet, new life is being injected.

For example, investor Linea Anthony and a partner, Ryan Germanotta, have begun to convert the former M&I bank into a cafe with art and music. Anthony said they would like to open it in March or April.

The cafe will occupy both floors of the imposing bank building, she said. It will feature live and recorded music such as jazz and blues, and probably be open from about 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.

``Taking it from what it is to something else is what the attraction is for me," she said.

Besides the bank building, Anthony and Germanotta also bought 1339 Washington Ave., the offices of Nielsen, Madsen and Barber. ``We're trying to figure out a way to develop it into more-pleasant office space," Anthony said.

Thompson said Castlerock's Uptown investment will exceed $500,000 in building prices alone. That does not include renovation costs.

The Racine native is the active member in a group of six investors. He finds properties worth rehabilitating and then supervises the work.

``The properties are way undervalued (in Uptown)," he said. ``It seems a lot of properties have been pretty neglected. From an investor standpoint, it's a good deal."

By early January, Thompson said, the group will own six Uptown properties, all on the north side of the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Washington Avenue. That will give them:

m The former Uptown Theater.

m Eleven commercial sces.

m Twenty-two second-floor apartments. The first renovated ``luxury apartments" are nearing completion, Thompson said.

``Our initial plan is to redo the faces of (the buildings), just change the look of the area," he said. ``... I want your eye drawn to the buildings as you drive along."

As the buildings are spiffed up, he said, Castlerock will begin to look for commercial tenants. For example, with no Uptown video store, a franchise of small video stores, like Hollywood Video, would be a good fit. Or perhaps a hardware store chain.

``What we're trying to do is get at least one or two good anchor tenants," Thompson said, ``so others will follow."

Thompson said Castlerock has used the rejuvenation of Milwaukee's Brady Street area as a model for what it wants to do in Uptown.

But they started out just to buy a single, undervalued building, the Davies Building.

Then the owners of the next building north approached them, Thompson continued. They closed that deal in October.

Pretty soon, Castlerock was grabbing all the properties it could along that stretch. ``There were a lot of for-sale signs," Thompson said. ``We started looking at everything that was for sale."

He said the Brady Street revitalization provided a ``vision" for Castlerock. ``That was a real rundown area" six to eight years ago, he said.

Then owners started painting their old buildings in several colors to highlight their architectural features. ``Then there was this push, `Wow, this can be a nice area,' " Thompson continued.

``Now you keep turning your head because your keep seeing nice-looking buildings."

Small shops came in and the improvements gained momentum. ``When we found out about it, the prices were sort of out of range," Thompson said.

``We thought, Why don't we do the same thing with Uptown Racine?"

He said Castlerock will control the types of businesses which set up shop in its refurbished commercial spaces, as well as the signage. ``After all that work, we don't want gaudy signs," he said.

Anthony said having a commuter railway station in the Uptown area someday, as is being studied, could only boost the area's fortunes. ``It certainly hasn't hurt Kenosha," she remarked.

``I think more people recognize that (Uptown) is the gateway to downtown, as much or more than State Street is," Sklba said.

``I am excited that we've got serious renewed interest in Uptown development. And I think it's contagious."

Anthony is upbeat about Uptown's chances. ``Something has to happen," she said, ``and then maybe other things start to happen, and then things change."

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