S. 2nd Street Redevelopment Concept Gains Momentum
Jun 29th, 2009 | By Dave Reid | Category: Public Works Committee, Robert Bauman, S. 2nd Street
The June 24th, 2009 Public Works Committee Meeting was a good day for the efforts to rebuild S. 2nd street as a complete street. The Department of Public Works presented three options as possibilities for the rebuilding of S. 2nd Street. The first option was to simply resurface the street, with essentially no pedestrian improvements. The second option would resurface the street at the same width, but would included painted bike lanes, reduced travels lanes, and street trees. The third option was the closest to being a complete street, it included narrowing the roadway with wider sidewalks, a street reconstruct, one travel lane in each direction, bike lanes, and street trees. Clark Wontoch, of the Department of Public Works, indicated the department is open to the complete street option.
The complete street option is valuable, because it takes people in mind when constructing a street, not just automobile traffic, with the thought of creating a livable community, and spurring economic development. Juli Kaufmann, a partner with Pragmatic Construction Co., described the concept saying “it looks at street as, a community, a neighborhood in itself,” and added that “it’s an economic opportunity.” The idea being that a complete street is more than a street, it is a place, where people are comfortable to walk, sit out, chat, and interact. It accomplishes this goal by utilizing street trees to create shade and shelter from the rain, by narrowing streets and minimizing travel lanes to slow traffic and increase pedestrian safety, and with aesthetic improvements to make the overall experience more appealing. Alderman Witkowiak explained that by making these type of improvements “we can have some real quality development, if we treat the street properly.” The idea of utilizing TIF funds if the state wasn’t to support the project was suggested and championed by Alderman Bauman as a way to insure this project moves forward.
Beyond rebuilding the street with people in mind, the investment itself sends a signal to developers and potential entrepreneurs that the City of Milwaukee is willing to invest in this area. For an area of the city that hasn’t seen a lot of public investment, this could be a catalytic project that spurs new private investment and grows the neighborhood. Nathan Bernstein, a property owner on S. 2nd Street, suggested that this plan could accelerate his plans to redevelop his property. Although today it might not be obvious that the potential for economic development along S. 2nd Street is there, it is clear that local property owners and developers see the potential, and that with a push from the city the redevelopment of S. 2nd Street could begin.
To get and idea of the buildings that currently exist along S. 2nd Street, and the potential for redevelopment we’ve provided a photo gallery of the area.
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- INDustry Cafe’s Locatoin
The recently opened Zilber Park is a functional, and useful shared feature of The Brewery project. This park might not strike many people as a park in the Milwaukee sense of the word, meaning it has lots of grass and trees, but this is a creatively designed urban park that respects its location, and creates an outdoor space ready for activation. This park has clearly been planned as a gathering place, will benches and tables to gather around, a small hill to sit with friends, and trees that when mature will provide some shade for park goers. The park utilizes granite rocks that make up the multi-purpose wall which visually screens the parking lot, and delineates the space. Crushed granite is used throughout the park as the walking surface, and a bronze statue of Joseph and Vera Zilber gives thanks to the Zilber family for creating this new urban neighborhood.
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