It’s an area a little more reserved than one in which neighbor kids run through your kitchen grabbing off a few cookies as they go.
But when Julie Schilz went into serious labor about midnight and her husband, Carl, needed a baby-sitter fast, he called a neighbor and, said Carl, “she ran over in her bathrobe.” Good thing she was fast, because so was Julie. She delivered 30 minutes later.
That’s the kind of neighborhood Carl likes. And, apparently, so do others.
The newly built-up southern edge of South Milwaukee may not have a past that can be included in much of the city’s 100-year-old history being celebrated this year, but the residents seem intent on being the pioneer base for the second 100 years.
They have moved in, staked a claim in school and community, and intend to settle down.
Blakewood School is an anchor and a beacon to the area, basically around the 3500 block of 15th Avenue.
A little farther east is the largest tract of vacant land remaining in South Milwaukee, but construction is expected to begin once developers and city planners work out details.
Most of the homes are fairly new; the home Don and Carlene O’Kray live in on 15th Avenue is 4 years old.
“We had planned on looking around for a comfortable area where our daughter could go to school and where there were other families,” said Carlene. They selected this area “because the school was here and it’s a new development and the taxes are lower.”
Actually, what families seem to like about this area and South Milwaukee in general is the opportunity to get involved in school and community activities.
John Bordak is the treasurer for the Blakewood parent teacher organization, and his wife Pat is a room mother as well as being a trustee for the South Milwaukee library and involved with the Girl Scouts.
It was the Bordaks who told Carl and Julie Schilz that a house on Noel Drive was for sale.
“We looked at Cudahy, Oak Creek, St. Francis,” Carl said. But once they saw this house, they bought.
“I guess I just liked the location to my parents, where I work, the freeway access,” he said. Carl works in St. Francis, a seven-minute trip, even with a “25-miles-an-hour speed, and 10 stop signs.”
What attracted them?
“The newness of the house mainly,” he said. It was 1 year old when they moved in. “But also the school across the street is a nice feature. I like the way the neighborhood is set up. The street we live on doesn’t go anywhere except to the houses.”
“The prices are more in line with what you would buy in Racine, but you don’t have to go to the Racine schools,” he continued. “Land prices are higher than Racine, but lower than Franklin. I would say it’s somewhat more affordable than a new home in Oak Creek or a new home in Franklin.”
City Assessor Dan Walker agrees.
“I think South Milwaukee is one of the biggest bargains around,” he said. “The schools are wonderful there. I think South Milwaukee is one of the untold secrets of the metro area in terms of value for money.”
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He said some of the homes in the area are priced in the low $100,000s, and climb to around $200,000, but most sell in the $140,000-to-$160,000 range.
According to the Metro Multiple Listing Service, about 140 South Milwaukee homes were sold last year for an average price of $105,000.
But Walker warned that the news about South Milwaukee is spreading.
“The affordable housing in South Milwaukee is probably inflating faster than the rest of the county,” he said. “Anything that is affordable and in good condition is a pretty quick sale. I don’t see them hanging around the market.”