Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and his family have settled in Washington Heights after recently leaving the home in the Concordia neighborhood on the city’s Near West Side that they purchased a little more than three years ago.
The Johnsons had previously lived in the Capitol Heights neighborhood on North 63rd Street prior to the move to Concordia. The couple purchased the Tudor Revival-style Concordia home, built in 1902, in 2022 for $350,000. It recently sold for $441,000.
Johnson says he bought the Concordia property with the thought that his wife Dominique’s grandmother would eventually move in with them, but medical issues required her to be moved to an assisted living facility.
“So, we decided to right-size, or downsize a little bit, and that’s exactly what we did,” Johnson says. “But we love Concordia. The people are incredible.”
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Johnson says he also strongly considered moving to the Concordia neighborhood, between 27th to 35th street and Wisconsin Avenue to Highland Boulevard.
“It’s centrally located and all that, but we ended up needing to make a change,” he says. “We looked for another house in Concordia but couldn’t find one that was the size that we needed, so we ended up moving about five minutes away.”
The Johnsons purchased a four-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,440-square-foot home on the eastern edge of Washington Heights, a couple blocks from the western portion of Washington Park. They paid $450,000 for the home, according to state records.
Why Is Mayor Johnson Moving to Washington Heights?
“We like the Heights a lot,” says Johnson, who became acting mayor in late 2021 before winning a special election in 2022 that made him the city’s first elected Black mayor. He won re-election to a full four-year term in April 2024.
Johnson said he, his wife and three children are also looking forward to being in their new neighborhood for the Washington Heights Neighborhood Association’s Spooktacular Halloween celebration. “It’s one of the best Halloween traditions we have in the city,” he says.
Washington Heights’ central location in the city appeals to the Mayor as well. “For somebody like me who has to be all over the place, it’s nice to have a landing spot somewhere in the middle,” he says. “I also like the bookends of North Avenue and Vliet Street and all the local shopping. There’s also a very organized neighborhood association.”
Bounded by Wisconsin Hwy. 175 on the east, 60th street on the west, North Avenue on the north and Vliet Street on the south, Washington Heights is home to about 7,200 residents. St. Sebastian Catholic Church is among the neighborhood’s most notable landmarks.
Businesses include Highland Lanes, Times Cinema, McBob’s Pub and Grill, Wy’east Pizza, Valentine Coffee Co., Vennture Brew Co., The Neighborhood Draft, Rainbow Booksellers for Children, Ruby’s Bagels, Charles E. Fromage and Swoon, among a host of other restaurants, bars and retailers.
Popular events include the Boulevard Bash, the spring and fall Art Walk, and Bastille Day West.
Washington Heights is also the long-time home of former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who has resided for more than 25 years on Washington Boulevard, just a few blocks from Johnson’s new home. Johnson, who was Common Council president at the time, became acting mayor in December 2021 when Barrett was confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg.
“I was talking to Tom and I know he has done a lot of walking in the neighborhood,” Johnson says. “I told him we’ll probably see each other because we’ll be out there walking a lot soon, too.”
What Do Washington Heights Residents Think?
“It’s the sense of community that we definitely have that makes this a great neighborhood,” says Steve Roeder, interim president of the Washington Heights Neighborhood Association, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1996. “It’s also safe, diverse and very family oriented. And there’s also the walkability to good restaurants, both in Washington Heights and East Tosa.”
Roeder says Washington Heights residents also benefit from the close proximity to Washington Park on one end of the neighborhood and the picturesque and historic Washington Highlands neighborhood in Wauwatosa on the other. He also noted that nearly 70 percent of the homes in Washington Heights are owner-occupied.
The Johnsons will be welcomed into the neighborhood with open arms, according to Roeder. “We’re thrilled to have them,” he says. “It’s a proud moment for our neighborhood.”
