AS HE gesticulates on the rooftop terrace of the new Kimpton Hotel, Dennis Klein, a retired property developer, is visibly proud. One of his sons developed the hotel in Milwaukee’s third ward, a project that attracted scepticism from local grandees, who doubted anyone wanted it. Another son developed some of the buildings that are visible below. The third ward was once a dreary part of town filled with warehouses. In 1984 it had only 28 residents, says Mr Klein. Today it has boutiques, cafés, bars and many thousands of oat milk-drinking hipsters.
The Midwest is not monolithic but rather a tale of at least two rustbelts, says John Austin of the Michigan Economic Centre, a think-tank. Bigger old industrial cities such as Minneapolis, which used to live off flour-milling, Pittsburgh, which made steel for the whole country, and Indianapolis, once home to dozens of carmakers, have turned a corner. Not long ago Milwaukee was in decline, like many old...Continue reading
Source: United States https://ift.tt/2O2iy0F
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