BUSINESS

'Old-fashioned' Christmas tree lot opens in Pere Marquette Park in downtown Milwaukee

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Jim Torrez sets up Christmas trees at a new lot in Pere Marquette Park on N. Old World 3rd St. on Wednesday. It's the first time for a tree lot in the park. The lot is one of three in the area operated by Ideal Property Management, a Lannon-based landscaping company.

A Christmas tree lot opened this week in Pere Marquette Park, part of an effort to crank up holiday festivities in downtown Milwaukee.

The lot, operated by Ideal Property Management of Lannon, replaces one the landscaping company operated for several years on E. Kilbourn Ave. and N. Van Buren St.

"We outgrew that lot," said Ideal Property owner Rick Dassow. The new lot has a higher-profile location along N. Old World 3rd St., among the holiday decorations just across the Milwaukee River from the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

Dassow's company gets trees from family members who have a farm near Medford. The lot also sells garland, wreaths and other holiday home trimmings.

Ideal also has lots in Shorewood and Whitefish Bay, and sets up dozens of trees and holiday displays in private homes and businesses.

The move to Pere Marquette Park was under discussion for several years with the Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District, Dassow said.

"They really liked the idea of having an old-fashioned Christmas tree lot in downtown Milwaukee," he said.

The lot will host ice sculptors Dec. 2 and hopes to schedule a visit from live reindeer in the weeks ahead.

Dassow's company pays a small amount of rent to Milwaukee County for use of the park and also pays to cover nearby parking meters so customers don't get tickets. Ideal also donated 150 trees for display in Cathedral Square Park, Dassow said.

Prices range from $45 for a 6- to 7-foot balsam fir to $150 for a 10- to 11-foot fraser fir.