Blair Williams
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William Blair is a young commercial real estate developer who sees himself as a person who understands both the necessity of development and the significance of historic preservation. He is a person with some financial power, but more important, significant political power, because he sits on the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission, which has jurisdiction over the buildings and neighborhoods designated as “historic” in Milwaukee. This includes the Water Tower neighborhood. Blair also lives in the locality but is not involved in its neighborhood preservation organization.
In his office overlooking the corner of North Avenue and Farwell, William Blair, discusses his philosophy of commercial real estate development. He owns no property on Downer, although he has made an unsuccessful bid. He is the developer of two residential/commercial buildings on the north end of Oakland Avenue in the heart of the neighborhood in Shorewood. He says that his philosophy in those two developments was to understand that a major structure in a neighborhood must appeal not only to customers and users of the commercial space, but to those people who live nearby, or walk or ride their bikes past the building. |
A visit to these structures reveals that they have set backs from the street, allowing passers by mingle with patrons at outdoor air dining areas, or explore take in the offerings in the shop windows as they pass. The commercial areas are divided into small shops that appeal to the senses: a local coffee vender, a wine tasting establishment, a frozen yogurt shop, a restaurant. Most importantly, the height of the building and the structural materials used do not draw undue attention or overwhelm the street. They fit the neighboring structures in size and material, without mimicking them. They are architecturally interesting. People accept the buildings as good neighbors.
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- Blair Williams, interview by Fran Assa, Yuko Nakamura and Chelsea Wait, Milwaukee, June 13, 2013.
