May 22, 2025

County Executive Crowley Praises Milwaukee County Board for Approving New Building Bridges Small Business Development Program

The Building Bridges commercial corridor activation program will establish a small business liaison to provide resources to support small businesses across Milwaukee County

MILWAUKEE – Today, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors passed legislation approving Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s new Building Bridges small business development and commercial corridor activation program.

The Building Bridges program will create a new small business liaison position to provide technical support and grants to small businesses across Milwaukee County. The goal is to expand resources to establish or expand brick-and-mortar businesses in Milwaukee County while fueling commercial corridor revitalization.

“During my State of the County address, I called on my administration to build bridges between small businesses, entrepreneurs, small business support organizations, and municipalities seeking to fill commercial corridor spaces. Because through partnership we know we can fuel local economic development,” said County Executive Crowley. “Under my direction, Milwaukee County is taking a stronger approach to supporting small businesses, growing our economy, and creating job opportunities for workers. Thank you to Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson and the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors for approving this new effort that will help build wealth, strengthen our neighborhoods, and uplift small businesses across Milwaukee County.”

Milwaukee County Economic Development was recently awarded $200,000 from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) for this program, which will be used to provide $10,000 grants to qualifying small businesses. A vital part of the Building Bridges program will be the creation of a four-year, limited-term small business liaison position focused on fostering communication, collaboration, and partnerships between municipalities and the local business community. Any additional funds would be utilized for commercial corridor activation, marketing, branding, and website development and maintenance.

The Building Bridges program is led by Celia Benton, Director of Milwaukee County Economic Development. Under Director Benton’s direction, Milwaukee County Economic Development will continue working to implement the Building Bridges program, which includes accepting grant applications from small businesses, administering grants following approval, and hiring a small business liaison to carry out this work.

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