Menomonee Valley Partners, the City of Milwaukee, and UWM’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning’s Community Design Solutions revealed a vision to transform more than 40 acres of land remaining in the heart of the Menomonee Valley during an event today at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Design concepts are the culmination of the Menomonee Valley Design Charette and lay out a vision for sustainable development on five vacant or underutilized riverfront sites as well as streetscaping for the St. Paul Avenue corridor. Concepts highlight potential for the next phase of Menomonee Valley revitalization, including new businesses, an extension of the RiverWalk along the Menomonee River, and physical connections to adjacent neighborhoods.
“The two most important factors in the transformation of the Menomonee Valley have been vision and collaboration. That is why I have been enthusiastic about the forward-looking design work that so many stakeholders have contributed to,” said Mayor Barrett.
The Menomonee Valley Design Charette, held January 31, 2018, was a full day public planning session with six local architecture firms matched to each of the sites. Using the Valley 2.0 Plan, extensive research, and focus group discussions, the firms created innovative design concepts for high-quality, sustainable, job creating development.
“These designs show the next generation of development in the Menomonee Valley, development that will bring jobs, activate the Menomonee River, and restore the environment,” said Rocky Marcoux, Commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development. “What the Menomonee Valley has become, given its history, is nothing short of extraordinary. However, these design concepts suggest that the best days of the Valley are still ahead of it.”
“With the Menomonee Valley Industrial Center as our precedent, we believe the development of these sites could generate up to 800 jobs as well as transform the Menomonee River into a new front door to the Valley,” said Corey Zetts, Executive Director of Menomonee Valley Partners. “The firms who worked on the charette succeeded in demonstrating the potential of strong design to connect people to jobs, to nature, and to each other.”
