There are over a dozen neighborhoods in Milwaukee’s Garden District, but Clayton Crest is one of the few with a major landscape supply store. It makes a noticeable difference: Many of the neighborhood’s roughly 1,500 residents have adorned their front yards with blooming flowers, well-manicured trees, neatly arranged shrubs and whatever else makes for an idyllic home garden.
Like the rest of the Garden District, Clayton Crest experienced a massive housing boom in the decades following World War II. Only a few homes in the neighborhood were built before the war, primarily early-20th-century Tudors with beefy chimneys and elegant stone masonry. The postwar period ushered in dozens of ranch-style homes, some with traditional, linear floor plans while others dabble in midcentury modern design. Split-level homes with vinyl siding and Colonial Revivals are common in the neighborhood, while several variations on the Cape Cod home appear. A few two-story duplexes from the 1970s line Abbott Avenue, and contemporary suburban builds pop up here and there. Turnkey homes generally cost between $200,000 and $500,000, though properties needing a little TLC might go for less.
While some more tucked-away streets aren’t as walkable, sidewalks line most of Clayton Crest’s domestic blocks. Many students in the neighborhood can get to James Fenimore Cooper School on foot or by bicycle — for some, it’s right in their backyard or across the street. Around 450 K-8 students attend Cooper School, which has a B from Niche. It promotes whole-child development through a holistic curriculum and various clubs, including the National Junior Honor Society. Ronald Wilson Reagan College Preparatory High School is only a few blocks north in the Castle Manor neighborhood. Reagan High has an A Niche grade and offers a comprehensive International Baccalaureate curriculum. It is widely considered among the state’s best high schools.
Though directly attached to Cooper School, Cooper Park is open for residents of all ages — not just young scholars — to enjoy. Here, visitors can brush up on their backswing on one of three tennis courts, field a few ground balls on the baseball diamond or get their kicks on the soccer field. Directly south of the neighborhood is Copernicus Park, a 20-acre, heavily forested green space with a well-maintained basketball court and playground. However, the real draw to Copernicus Park is its simple but serene stretch of walking trails leading into a dense, secluded cluster of trees.
Many Clayton Crest residents enjoy creating verdant hideaways at home. Stein’s Garden & Home on South 27th Street helps these green-thumbed locals realize their visions. Customers can get what they need to fill the mulch beds in the front yard, grow vegetables out back or turn the sunroom into a greenhouse. South 27th is also a prominent South Side business corridor. “There is so much shopping there,” says Realtor Beth Jaworski of Shorewest Realtors, a lifelong Milwaukee resident. “Twenty-Seventh Street is a big, busy street with everything you can think of — the big-box retailers, the grocery stores, the fast food, the gas stations, the banks.” Locally owned businesses on the Clayton Crest stretch of South 27th include Benny’s Café, serving up casual American, Mediterranean and Italian dishes from breakfast to dinner in a family-friendly setting. For more grown-up fun, The Edge Sports Bar is the perfect spot to watch the Brewers while enjoying a…well, brew. Locals can enjoy some competition of their own with games of pool and darts at Nicky K’s.
Those wishing to explore downtown Milwaukee can usually get there in about 15 minutes via Interstate 94. Bus stops are available alongside the neighborhood on South 27th and Edgerton Avenue. Long-distance commuters are just across the highway from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, about a 3-mile drive east.
LETS GO! Realty Group*
Keller Williams Realty-Milwaukee Southwest
(262) 956-9082
611 Total Sales
1 in Clayton Crest
$59,900 Price
Kristel Sikora
Shorewest Realtors, Inc.
(262) 947-4510
222 Total Sales
1 in Clayton Crest
$330,000 Price
Christopher Novak
Coldwell Banker HomeSale Realty - New Berlin
(877) 644-4028
67 Total Sales
1 in Clayton Crest
$415,000 Price
Tony Wendorf & Associates Team*
First Weber Inc - Delafield
(262) 912-1849
532 Total Sales
1 in Clayton Crest
$286,000 Price
Andrew Kuehl
Keller Williams Prestige
(262) 384-6633
85 Total Sales
1 in Clayton Crest
$285,000 Price
Jill Mullane
HomeWire Realty
(414) 250-7995
56 Total Sales
1 in Clayton Crest
$402,000 Price
On average, homes in Clayton Crest, Milwaukee sell after 5 days on the market compared to the national average of 53 days. The median sale price for homes in Clayton Crest, Milwaukee over the last 12 months is $400,000, up 12% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
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One of the city's best high schools resides in this small and diverse neighborhood
Access to highly rated high school and a 20-acre park
Midcentury Garden District enclave has the best magnet school in Wisconsin
Rambler-heavy neighborhood that borders Oak Creek near acclaimed public schools
A few blocks of suburban living 10 miles from downtown Milwaukee
Rambler-heavy South Side neighborhood between I-41 and MKE International Airport
