Near West Side Partners, in collaboration with UWM’s Community Design Solutions, hosted a daylong Design Charette to create a vision for six key commercial corridors on the Near West Side.

Representatives from six local architecture firms participated: Uihlein/Wilson Architects, Quorum Architects Inc., HGA Architects and Engineers, Engberg Anderson Architects, Miller Architectural Group and American Design Inc. Architects worked with attendees to generate and refine ideas for the commercial corridors at the event, held at the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

The sites were identified based on feedback from a series of focus groups, made up of stakeholders on the Near West Side, including residents, city officials, lenders, developers and business owners.

Near West Side Partners, Inc. is a nonprofit organization working to revitalize the area as a thriving business and residential corridor. It comprises five anchor institutions — Aurora Health Care, Harley-Davidson, Marquette University, MillerCoors and Potawatomi Business Development Corp.