A glimpse into the neighborhood
The Harbor District , which surrounds the Kinnickinnic River and the Port of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan , finds itself within a mix of active and inactive industrial properties . The area ’ s many brownfields present an unfortunate eyesore , but Adams and his colleagues saw – and continue to see – the promise and potential beyond them .
“ Our organization acts as a convener of sorts , bringing together local government , business owners , property owners , nearby residents , and partner organizations to think about the future of this place and future visioning – and then enacting projects that work toward that vision ,” he said .
BEFORE
In 2015 , HDI embarked on a two-year-long community planning process to collectively chart a course for the area ’ s future vision .
“ It was pretty clear early on in the process that one of the main goals for the surrounding community and for us was to create more public park and greenspace in the area and , specifically , public parks and greenspace with access to the waterfront ,” Adams explained . “ The Harbor District itself has nine miles of waterfront , but , of that nine miles , there was only one small space that was publicly accessible . The rest was all privately owned waterfront or a commercial shipping port .”
The group originally had much grander visions – for bigger public space and waterfront park projects – but conceded those would take years to come together because of the work involved and resources needed . If they could find a smaller space on the waterfront , they knew plans could come together in a much shorter time frame – and likely generate momentum for future development and revitalization of the area .
BEFORE
They considered several sites and settled on one directly outside their offices where the City of Milwaukee had recently rebuilt a street . The end of this roadway – Greenfield Avenue – used to have concrete barriers and a chain-link fence , with a sheet metal dock wall to the water ’ s edge . When the City rebuilt the street , they shortened it a bit , leaving some leftover space between the end of the street and the water ’ s edge .
“ That area was essentially just a little plot of grass , one old beat-up tree , some gravel . … There was one little metal bench and then
BEFORE
20 | TRENDS Ingenuity , Integrity , and Intelligence .