All submitting firms presented two scenarios – one representing what could be done with a $ 150,000 budget and another illustrating what the site could be with a budget of up to $ 1.5 million . HDI shared the concept designs with potential donors during initial fundraising efforts , and people overwhelmingly preferred the bigger project . Grant funding matched with donations from several Milwaukee-area philanthropic organizations covered $ 150,000 of the costs , with a two-year fundraising campaign netting the remainder .
“ Harbor View Plaza was made possible thanks to the generous donations of Rockwell Automation , Inc ., the City of Milwaukee , Brico Fund , and many others ,” Adams said .
Landscape Architect Bruce Morrow , who co-led the project for Ayres , said the end result accomplishes the original desire of drawing people back down to the harbor .
“ Where there was no harbor access before , there is now – and that ’ s what it does ,” Morrow said . “ There ’ s visual access and then there ’ s physical access with the canoe / kayak landing .”
While the project was small in scale , it wasn ’ t without its challenges , including various site constraints that required creative workarounds . One involved a 60-foot sheet pile wall , much of which was in unstable condition . With no money in the budget for a new seawall , the team had to design around it when determining how best to anchor the handicap-accessible kayak / canoe launch , ultimately using a newer and more stable section of the wall .
A large , underground sewer shallow depth outlet presented another challenge . The stormwater pipe couldn ’ t be moved , and its positioning limited what could be placed on top of it . Since the site also required a fire access road , the team decided to
22 | TRENDS Ingenuity , Integrity , and Intelligence .