MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Service’s data shows that there are more than 2,000 vacant lots in the city.
Michael Emem is building homes on those lots, hoping to create more homeownership opportunities.
Emem is the president and CEO of Emem Group. Emem Group is a real estate developer in both single-family housing and commercial development. They also work with other developers and nonprofit organizations to develop commercial buildings, affordable apartment complexes, commercial office buildings and more.
The latest home project the group is working on is in the Josey Heights and Walnut Circle subdivisions on Milwaukee’s north side. There were a total of 63 lots in the subdivisions.
They have been vacant for more than a decade.
The development project started in 2020. It was part of an initiative where the city of Milwaukee was selling plots of land for $1, hoping to encourage new homeownership.
Emem said the premise of the project is to develop market-rate single-family housing in the inner city.
“We saw a need for a different product that has not been offered for decades in the inner city,” said Emem. “We have a multi-year plan to continue building on these lots.”
Emem Group partnered with the City of Milwaukee to subsidize the homes to get initial buyers interested. He said they are also developing affordable housing that is geared toward long-term homeownership.
As someone who designed his own home at age 19, he said he takes pride in leading this initiative.
“It’s less work for me and more of passion,” he said. “Passion for real-estate, but also passion as a Black American to build in Black communities and help us overcome disparities that we’ve seen.”
Rudy Rodriguez is the construction assistant at Emem Group. He’s in school for architecture and helping build the homes.
He said being a part of Emem Group helps him give back to the community in more ways than one.
“Working here has changed my outlook on development as a whole,” said Rodriguez. “I wanted to go into real estate development, however, the responsible manner that Michael does it in fosters community and represents people of color very well.”
To date, they’ve built nine homes between the two subdivisions. Emem said they are housing working professionals like lawyers, nurses and business executives.
He said this project is helping close the gap of homeownership by providing new opportunities to people in Milwaukee.
“It’s important to develop real estate in the communities, specifically blighted properties and vacant lots,” he said. “We want to have communities and neighborhoods where they’re vibrant and thriving. When they’re residing in this community, they believe in those communities and they invest in those communities.”
He said building these homes also provides an economic benefit for both the homeowners who are investing in their homes and for the city.
“Home equity is the cornerstone for economic prosperity in America,” said Emem.
The home models are named after civil rights leaders. There are the Rosa, Malcolm and Martin models.
“We like to have our homes built on the foundations that they really represented as leaders,” said Rodriguez.
As the Emem Group continues its work in the community, Emem said they’re hoping to bring about positive change — one home at a time.