Goins going the distance for Bronzeville projects

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For Melissa Goins, new vice president of development at J. Jeffers & Co., this year brought the culmination of various projects that are expected to prompt further change in Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood, the historic economic center of the city’s African-American community.

Goins was among those who celebrated the completion of a mixed-use project providing a new home to America’s Black Holocaust Museum. That work came as part of a redevelopment of the Griot Apartments, a project that complements another one she had a big part in: the Historic Garfield Apartments.

The $17.7 million Griot project, which opened this summer in a ceremony that was attended by actor Danny Glover, was the first big project in Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood since the city began planning for its redevelopment in 2005.

Goins led both projects through Maures Development, a firm she founded in 2006, and worked with Jeffers on the project before joining the company earlier this year. Goins, who holds an MBA from Marquette University, has much experience in the real estate industry, having worked on projects worth more than $75 million.

In addition to adding commercial space and 71 apartments, the Bronzeville project provided a new home for America’s Black Holocaust Museum, which closed its physical location during the Great Recession in 2008 and moved its exhibits online.

The museum was founded in 1984 by James Cameron, a lynching survivor, in a Bronzeville boxing gym, and was pioneering for its stark portrayal of injustice. The museum plans to re-open in the space this fall.

“Melissa is a driving force behind the revival of Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood,” according to her nomination from Greenfire Management Services. “She is dedicated to improving her community, and is seen as a shining star in Milwaukee’s commercial real estate world.”