Milwaukee officials are considering selling a long-vacant South Side building for redevelopment as a barbershop, screen-printing studio and family residence. Enrique Murguia and his son, Enrique H. Murguia, plan to move Boomin' Barbershop and Milwaukee OATS Screen Printing from leased space in Bay View into the 136-year-old building at 2872 S. 8th St. in the Polonia neighborhood, about 1.5 miles to the west.
The city proposes selling the tax-foreclosed property to the father-son team for $75,000, according to Urban Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Common Council is scheduled to consider the sale on September 22. The Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee has voted unanimously to recommend approval. The transaction is formally sponsored under Common Council File #260536 by 14th District Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic and is based on a Land Disposition Report prepared by the city's Department of City Development, according to City of Milwaukee records.
A Vacant Tavern Building Gets a New Purpose
The city took title to the 2,576-square-foot building through property tax foreclosure in 2024, per the same account. Built in 1890, the building was historically used as a tavern with a three-bedroom apartment above it, according to historic newspaper records cited in the report.
Enrique H. Murguia currently leases space for the businesses at 2633 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in Bay View, a storefront Milwaukee OATS opened in July 2023 that has doubled as a commercial printing studio and a retail collective for local artists, and which also houses Boomin' Barbershop. Once the sale closes, he plans to move both businesses into the 8th Street building's first floor and to live on the second floor himself. The first floor is set to include space for screen printing along with eight barber chairs, and Murguia has said the barbers currently working out of the Bay View location have committed to making the move with him.
Turning Rent Into Equity on the South Side
Murguia and his father anticipate investing $190,000 into the project. He has said purchasing the property outright would give the businesses a permanent home, support future service expansion, and let them reinvest directly in the neighborhood and in Milwaukee. The move effectively converts what had been an operating expense in Bay View into ownership and equity in Polonia.
Milwaukee OATS has provided screen printing since 2014, when founder Enrique Murguia launched the business after working in youth-focused nonprofits, choosing OATS as shorthand for “Only A T-Shirt” to highlight how custom apparel can carry social messages and empower young people, according to Impressions Magazine. The elder Murguia started the operation in his parents' basement before growing into warehouse and retail spaces. The company also runs a youth internship program with local high schools and community organizations, paying teens $15 to $17 an hour while teaching them screen printing, graphic design and business management, according to a video report from TMJ4 News.
A Cross-Neighborhood Connection at City Hall
During committee testimony, North Side Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs praised Milwaukee OATS for printing shirts used during Bronzeville Week, the annual North Side festival she created and hosts, which held its 16th edition in August, per Urban Milwaukee. The exchange illustrated how a South Side screen-printing shop has built ties with a historic district on the opposite side of the city.
Polonia was originally settled in the late 19th century by Polish immigrants, who left behind a dense stock of wood-frame homes and “Polish flats” that still shape the neighborhood's look, according to UWM Libraries Digital Collections. The Department of City Development works to return tax-foreclosed properties to private ownership and reviews offers.
What the sale says about tax-foreclosed properties
The sale is part of a legal process rather than a private transfer of an ordinary vacant building. According to the Milwaukee County Treasurer, Wisconsin law allows title to property with delinquent taxes to be transferred, and Milwaukee County uses the in rem foreclosure process. The county guidance cited here does not quantify how often such properties are sold to owner-occupants or small businesses. The available historical background also places the building within Polonia's broader settlement pattern: according to UWM Libraries Digital Collections, most of Milwaukee's early Polish-American residents settled in a four-square-mile area on the South Side known as Polonia. That context helps explain the neighborhood setting for a new commercial use in a building originally constructed in 1890.
If the Common Council approves the sale next week, the Murguias will still need to carry out the $190,000 in planned renovations before the barbershop and print studio can open on 8th Street.
