Is Shorewood Redeveloping a Neighborhood by Strangling a Small Business Community?

Shorewood Village Trustee Jim Arndorfer described his feelings about how renters should react to the closure of a public parking lot: “People can find a way, if they want. Or they can move someplace else.”¹ Residents attending the Village meeting were stunned by the comment and thought it was only directed to renters living in the 4400 block of North Oakland Avenue in Shorewood. Perhaps the intended recipients of the trustee’s advice also included the 54 small businesses² which also make the North Oakland Avenue neighborhood their home.

Shorewood has approved the sale of a 49-spot public parking lot to accommodate a 19-unit subsidized housing project. The Village and developer have said financial support by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago is a necessary component of the project. Shorewood has aggressively pursued the development by deploying several controversial methods. The parking lot is being sold for about 25% of its likely value; trustees voted to block an outside valuation of the parking lot. No neighborhood outreach was conducted with renters and small business owners; no economic impact study was made. The Village has violated its own official policy which was written to ensure developers don’t receive big giveaways of public funds.

Just recently, a petition signed by 26 small businesses implored Shorewood to “not proceed with the sale and development of the 49-space parking lot.” Every business contacted signed the petition. Sadly, an initial reaction of one trustee was to question if the petition was just a stunt. Trustee Arthur Ircink also wrote to a resident: “I want to note that the businesses do not object to this project.”³ All of this may suggest Shorewood is intentionally removing public parking to strangle these businesses, and to have these properties eventually redeveloped for affordable housing. Affordable Shorewood recently conducted a physical inventory of the North Oakland Avenue neighborhood (between Lake Bluff and East Kensington) and identified 12 properties which focus on business tenants.

By comparison, here is what nearby business districts enjoy for public parking lot support:

·Downer Avenue on Milwaukee’s East Side: 42-spot public surface lot and 130-spot parking garage.

·Whitefish Bay Central Business District: 4 Village-owned lots offering 216 parking spots.

Strangulation of a business district begins by cutting customer access by removing parking options. Customers will simply dine, shop, or pay for services someplace else. With no customers, a business will close. And landlords without business tenants will adapt by selling the property or convert it to housing.

At present, small businesses on North Oakland Avenue are facing the perfect storm with a 10-month road construction period with the loss of all on-street parking. When construction is finished in December 2026, restaurants, bars, shops, and professional offices will then face the anticipated sale of the neighborhood’s only public parking lot.

The sale of the lot comes at the end of a long process that offered better alternatives. Trustees passed on the opportunity for a larger 53-unit housing project at another location, which had a far lower price tag for the Village.⁴ Shorewood also failed to call the owner of a similar-sized empty parcel just a block away from the North Oakland lot.⁵Instead, the trustees voted to sell the only parking lot in a neighborhood with a documented shortage of 378 parking spots.⁶The parking lot was built by Shorewood in 1981 to meet the transportation needs of businesses and residents and ironically funded through a special tax assessment of adjacent businesses and landlords.⁷

“It’s hard to otherwise describe why Shorewood’s trustees have so purposely strived to harm the small business community of North Oakland Avenue,” said Jay Sorensen, who is a volunteer and advocate with Affordable Shorewood. “Perhaps in Wisconsin’s most densely populated community, they have identified a method to convert business-oriented properties into subsidized housing plots. Effectively, Shorewood is surrendering its business community to Milwaukee and Whitefish Bay with the help of Federal money.”

About Affordable Shorewood: Affordable Shorewood is a grassroots initiative of renters, homeowners, families, businesses, and landlords who want Shorewood to remain affordable and livable for all. Committed to preserving Shorewood’s small-town character, the group believes village trustees should prioritize the needs of current residents in all planning decisions.We support affordable housing development that takes a balanced approach to public benefits, neighborhoods and village finances.

Learn more at http://affordableshorewood.org/

Endnotes:

¹ Shorewood Village Board Meeting, 16 March 2026, at the 4-hour point in the meeting.

² Affordable Shorewood physical inventory of the all businesses in the 4400 block of North Oakland Avenue, August 2025.

³ 16 March 2026 email response by Trustee Ircink to a resident opposed to the sale of the parking lot.The email is among the 2,800 reviewed by Affordable Shorewood in an open records request filed April 2026.

⁴ Presentation of development proposals for 3900 North Frederick Avenue, Joint Shorewood Village Board CDA Meeting Minutes, 12 September 2024.

⁵ Affordable Shorewood 08 March 2026 telephone conversation with owner of empty parcel at 4300 North Oakland Avenue.

⁶“Shorewood Violates Wisconsin’s Public Purpose Doctrine in Proposed Parking Lot Sale” article at Patch.com dated 11 March 2026.

⁷ Village of Shorewood, Parking Assessment District Report, October 1981.