{image1} If you're not old enough to remember the days when Allis-Chalmers was downtown West Allis' biggest tenant, then you might have a cynical view of the West Greenfield Avenue strip that is the heart of the West Side community.

"I used to be the beat cop down here, and I've seen it in its heyday when Allis-Chalmers was going strong," says James D. Mejchar, president of the West Allis Chamber of Commerce. "This was almost like a Southridge shopping mall. We had a JC Penney, a Walgreens, Woolworths."

But when AC packed up and left, things took a turn, Mejchar says.

"We lost, one by one, all of our big tenants, and for a long time we had nine or 10 percent vacancy (rates) and a lot of resale shops and that kind of thing, and it seemed the absentee landlords were willing to rent to anybody."

That led to a profusion of resale shops, tarot card readers and other businesses that hardly made West Allis a destination. Add competition from area malls and things didn't look good. Even the 1980s conversion of some AC buildings into a shopping center wasn't quite enough to get Greenfield Avenue going again.

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But, today, things are changing. Just ask neighborhood resident Stephanie Amundson, who arrived in West Allis about two years ago.

"I am a fairly recent transplant to the area, and I think that West Allis is a great community, but one that could use a slight boost," she says. "I think that many of the positive elements present in communities such as Tosa and Bay View are present in West Allis, but the area suffers from a lack of ability to capitalize on them."

According to Mejchar, these positive elements are starting to come together. For a start, Greenfield Avenue's storefronts are getting a facelift.

"Businesses are buying buildings and relocating to our street," he says enthusiastically. "They're putting money in and fixing things up. One big eyesore (at 72nd Street) has been bought by a Pewaukee investor and is in a state of rehabilitation right now."

Add to that nearly 700 new condos near the Farmer's Market area a few blocks to the northeast, nearly 100 more apartments to the east, across from the popular Crawdaddy's seafood restaurant on 64th and Greenfield, new office space in a pair of reclaimed AC factory buildings -- "they're filling them up as fast as they can make them," Mejchar enthuses -- and West Allis is brimming with expectations.

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Tom Doyle is moving his Milwaukee Inn to the street soon, B&K Bar Supply has fixed up a building and moved in, and Mejchar is eying other retail tenants, too.

"There is so much development going on," he says. "We're always looking, always seeking (new retail)."

That's good news for Amundson, who has some definite ideas about what neighborhood residents would like to see in West Allis.

"Some people feel that there are too many bars and taverns," she says. "That being said, perhaps West Allis could use a couple night spots that are a bit more 'cocktailish' to draw in entertainment seekers from other areas. A movie theater would be nice, too.

"I think that there is a lot of great space to lease (or) rent in West Allis for any number of different enterprises, but businesses won't move in unless they feel that there will be traffic. West Allis needs to start promoting itself and fight the image of a faded manufacturing area."

Unsurprisingly, Mejchar also has a wish list.

"I would like to see a good coffee shop, an ice cream store or a deli, anything of that nature," he says. "Or something trendy like The Gap or Banana Republic. (There's) no interest right now, but as we fix up we're hoping to attract them."

Both Amundson and Mejchar, as you might imagine, are upbeat about West Allis' future.

"It's very bright," says Mejchar succinctly.

Regardless of retail, Amundson thinks her town is something of a well-kept secret.

"This is a friendly, safe and historically rich area of Milwaukee County, but few folks from other areas venture over here."