Rocky Marcoux
Rocky Marcoux is Milwaukee’s Commissioner of the Department of City Development. Mayor Tom Barrett appointed Marcoux as Commissioner in 2004, and in that position he oversees the city’s economic development, real estate, neighborhood improvement, and planning efforts.
Under his direction, Marcoux has led successful efforts to bring new employers to Milwaukee and to increase the attractiveness of city neighborhoods and commercial areas.
He has directed resources to the Menomonee Valley and the 30th Street Corridor, where previously abandoned industrial areas have been brought back to life with new businesses and jobs. He has worked with entrepreneurs and existing Milwaukee employers to strengthen their operations and secure their futures. Marcoux has assisted businesses and developers as they have changed the skyline of downtown Milwaukee.
Under his leadership, the Department of City Development has worked with stakeholders throughout Milwaukee to complete thirteen area plans, covering land use for the entire city. That planning effort identifies goals and catalytic projects and provides a framework for many of the department’s activities. In 2014, the City of Milwaukee adopted a 10-year economic development action agenda entitled, “Growing Prosperity,“ which integrates the City’s economic development efforts with the Milwaukee 7’s regional “Framework for Economic Growth.”
Sometimes referred to as “part bulldog/part evangelist,” Marcoux is an advocate for Milwaukee and a passionate promoter of the city’s assets and opportunities. He previously worked for the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, where he found creative, cost-cutting ways to redevelop superblocks of typical public housing into strong neighborhoods linked with supportive resources.
He is a graduate of Marquette University.
