Sherman Park 'out of recovery' 3 years after unrest

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood was the epicenter of destructive disturbance. On Monday, July 22, Mayor Tom Barrett said the west side is out of recovery and looking more beautiful than ever.

One-hundred and four homes have been completely renovated thanks to the help of the "Milwaukee Employment Renovation Initiative" or "MARY" for short.

The program granted six developers tax foreclosed properties in exchange for hiring unemployed or underemployed city residents to fix them up.

Together they spent more than 33,000 hours renovating the homes.

"What happened here three years ago, the civil disturbance, was alarming. But I've always had confidence that Sherman Park would rebound from that challenge," said Barrett.

Developers can now sell the properties or offer them as rentals. Mayor Barrett says the project poured nearly $8 million into Sherman Park.