Before
After
of attracting still more people to visit.
Because the renovation was tied to
utility improvements, the Village
was able to fund part of the project
with grants. Village President Willy
Zevenbergen said the project cost did
not significantly increase because of
the extra work completed to make the
downtown more attractive.
“It has become a destination,” Stoffel
said. “Baldwin has a good variety of
businesses and the downtown has a
nice atmosphere.”
Improvements in Brown Deer
Brown Deer
Population 11,999
Suburb of grea ter Milwaukee
metropolitan area
The oldest part of Brown Deer,
called the Original Village, dates to
the 1800s. The street through the
Original Village began as a wagon and
stage coach path, the main route for
travelers between Milwaukee and
Green Bay.
“It occupies a unique position in the
community,” said Nate Piotrowski,
community development director.
“It’s totally different from the rest of
Brown Deer. It was the uniqueness of
it that endeared it to the community.”
But “unique” does not necessarily
mean “efficient.” The narrow roadway
surface ran literally from the doorstep
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Before
of buildings on one side to the front
entrance of buildings on the other,
and there were no sidewalks. About
eight years ago, Brown Deer and Ayres
Associates started investigating ways
to restore the Original Village to its
earlier luster.
“Brown Deer wanted to encourage
economic development within
the Original Village,” said Kristine
Anderson, the Ayres Associates
engineer who coordinated the project.
“It’s a historic neighborhood. The goal
was to give identity to this community
area and make it a destination.”
After
Theoretically, planning and discussion
could go on forever; meeting storm
sewer requirements could not. Brown
Deer was required to install two storm
water ponds in the Original Village
to bring the storm water system up
to regional standards, a challenge in
an area with valuable real estate and
long-established use patterns.
Along with storm sewer upgrades
came the need for street
improvements, providing an
opportunity for Brown Deer to do
much more than just replace aging
surface materials. To start with, the
community decided the historic
Revamping the Original Village
One portion of Brown Deer stands apart from the rest: the Original
Village. It’s a collection of commercial and residential properties along
what was once a stage coach road between Green Bay and Milwaukee.
Many of the buildings hold historical significance.
In the 1950s and 1960s Brown Deer expanded as increasing
numbers of urban residents moved to the more open suburbs. As the
community expanded, new neighborhoods were built to modern standards
and tastes. Strip malls and larger retail stores moved in to meet the needs
of the expanding population. The Original Village began to fade.
In the 1960s the Wisconsin Department of Transportation rerouted
two major travel routes in Brown Deer, leaving the Original Village
intact but subject to further decline. Discussion of how to renovate the
Original Village began in the 1980s but never seemed to gain momentum.
Community Development Director Nate Piotrowski says the historic area
was “preserved through neglect,” as plans to change or upgrade the area
never materialized.
And then, about eight years ago, Brown Deer began discussions
with Ayres Associates on how to restore the luster of the Original Village
and transform it into a destination. The resulting $3 million streetscaping
project has brought new life to the Original Village.
– Kay Kruse-Stanton
Before
district needed sidewalks. The
roadway was already narrow, and
fitting in sidewalks was a challenge.
“Some of the buildings in the area are
original and for the residents of Brown
Deer they are important. We needed
to preserve their historic character
while modernizing the infrastructure,”
Anderson said. “We worked very
closely with property owners. In some
areas you’ll see steps of buildings
basically up to right-of-way – and
that’s ok. Some property owners have
capitalized on that, to make their
buildings more inviting.”
The renovation included decorative
pavers in some crosswalks, installation
of planters and benches, and a
visitors’ center that explains the
history of the Original Village.
Despite the disruption that
construction invariably brings,
Anderson said the project went
smoothly.
“I’ve never had property owners be
so complimentary of a construction
project,” she said. “Brown Deer did
everything possible to communicate
with people throughout the project.”
Work was completed in April 2014,
and the Village hosted an event
three months later to celebrate the
improvements. The Granville/Brown
Deer Area Chamber of Commerce
presented Ayres Associates with an
award for the work.
After
Before
“The Ayres Associates staff really went
the extra mile to make sure we got
this project completed,” Piotrowski
said. “Taking the neighborhood
back to its true form, restoring the
quaintness and downtown feel that
you can see in the old pictures – this
project helps to restore the original
quality of the area that had been lost
over time.”
Enhancements in Marinette
Marinette
Population: 10,968
Located on the Bay of
Green Bay and the
Menominee River
The City of Marinette welcomed news
that one of the community’s major
employers, Marinette Marine, was
launching a $73 million expansion
and planning a significant increase
in workforce numbers. What the
expansion could do for the community
was easy to see. More difficult to
answer was a parallel question:
what would the expansion do to the
community? What would be the effect
of more than 2,000 people entering
and exiting one portion of the
community at one time?
The City retained Ayres Associates to
determine effects on community traffic
patterns, roadways, and utilities.
“We needed to get everyone to
understand what this expansion
project was going to do to the
After
community,” said Brian Miller,
Marinette’s director of public works.
Once the study was completed,
it was clear, Miller said, that the
project could not be broken down
into a series of smaller efforts to be
completed over time. It was going to
be one large, complex project. That
led to the next challenge: funding the
improvements. The City formed a Tax
Incremental Financing district that
includes Marinette Marine property
and, with the help of grant writers
from Ayres, secured several state and
federal grants to help cover costs.
The size of the project and the
deadlines and guidelines imposed by
funding programs drove the design
phase of the project, led b y Pete
Kolaszewski, the Ayres Associates
engineer who coordinated the project.
“Pete and the folks at the Ayres Green
Bay office really stepped up at the
design phase to meet the demands to
get the plans done,” Miller said.
And the plans were extensive.
Improvements covered about 1.5
miles and involved four major
roadways: Main Street, Ely Street,
Mann Street, and Stanton Street.
The original study included analysis
of traffic impacts for 17 intersections
leading to or located near Marinette
Marine’s plant.
“A complication was that shift changes
at the plant were going to be at about
the same time as when school started
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