SmithGroup Will Design Harbor District Riverwalk
Survey underway to solicit community feedback.
The City of Milwaukee selected SmithGroup to design the largest one-time addition to the Milwaukee RiverWalk.
The 4,300-foot segment will border the eastern edge of the $285 million Komatsu Mining South Harbor Campus, running along Milwaukee’s inner harbor.
The new riverwalk segment is expected to more closely resemble a multi-use trail. It will run from Harbor View Plaza at the east end of E. Greenfield Ave. south to S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
“We feel confident that SmithGroup going forward will give us what we want and, more importantly, what the neighborhood really wants,” said Remington. An online community survey is currently underway.
“We are excited to see what they come up with for a concept,” said Remington. She said the company has been requested to come up with multiple initial design concepts. But one thing has already been discussed: a potential futsal court south of the Komatsu office building in a 90-foot-long area. Futsal is similar to soccer, but played on a smaller field that is often a hard surface.
The city normally covers up to 70% of the cost of building privately-owned riverwalk segments in exchange for a public easement. But the new inner harbor segment is different in many ways. One, it’s much longer. A normal segment is only 300 feet. Two, the city will own it. The city and a subsidiary of We Energies own the underlying land.
It will be the first segment constructed under the riverwalk design standards adopted for the Harbor District in May 2020. Under the standards, the riverwalk should be a 15-foot-wide corridor with a mix of hardscape pavement and natural features. The standards also call for at least one tree every 40 feet and only native plants, with at least 10 percent of the total square footage reserved for landscaping elements. Pavement is required to slope away from the water to prevent runoff.
The design standards also require at least one “upland habitat” or “aquatic habitat” item in each segment. That includes doubling the amount of landscaping, adding pollinator gardens, bat boxes or birdhouses for upland items or adding “fish habitat hotels” (underwater structures to support fish migration), waterside planters, waterfowl connections between land and water, perforated dock walls or a naturalized edge.
It would be built on a formerly city-owned parcel at 401 E. Greenfield Ave., where a 170,000-square-foot office building is rising. The former Solvay Coke parcel is nearby at 311 E. Greenfield Ave. The Komatsu manufacturing building is being constructed there. The two properties, totaling 59 acres, form a triangular shape bordering E. Greenfield Ave. to the north, the inner harbor to the southeast and the Canadian Pacific rail line on the west.
Officials from Harbor District, Inc. and Komatsu joined city officials on the selection committee.
“This is super exciting,” said RACM board member Monique Charlier. “I can’t wait to see what this evolves into.”
“You have worked your whole career for this,” said board member Frances Hardrick to Remington.
The city, as part of a tax incremental financing district, allocated $15 million for the Komatsu segment project, including design and contingency costs. The construction budget for the riverwalk segment is $11 million.
The design is to be completed within six months of the contract award according to the RFP. Construction would then commence. Komatsu expects to complete its work by spring 2022.
Riverwalk Design Standards
South Harbor Campus Renderings
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
More about the Komatsu South Harbor Campus
- Eyes on Milwaukee: City Expands Vision For Harbor District Riverwalk - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 16th, 2022
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Inside Komatsu Mining’s Massive New Harbor District Campus - Jeramey Jannene - Jun 27th, 2022
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Planned Riverwalk Lets You Touch the Water - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 22nd, 2021
- Friday Photos: South Harbor Campus Rising Over Inner Harbor - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 30th, 2021
- Eyes on Milwaukee: SmithGroup Will Design Harbor District Riverwalk - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 30th, 2021
- Transportation: State To Fund Road, Rails for Komatsu - Jeramey Jannene - Mar 9th, 2021
- Eyes on Milwaukee: Who Wants To Design Harbor Riverwalk? - Jeramey Jannene - Mar 2nd, 2021
- Transportation: Railroad Expansion in the Harbor District - Jeramey Jannene - Feb 17th, 2021
- Friday Photos: Komatsu Mining Campus Takes Shape - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 6th, 2020
- Friday Photos: Construction Underway on Largest New Urban Manufacturing Plant in US - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 4th, 2020
Read more about Komatsu South Harbor Campus here
Eyes on Milwaukee
-
Church, Cupid Partner On Affordable Housing
Dec 4th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene -
Downtown Building Sells For Nearly Twice Its Assessed Value
Nov 12th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene -
Immigration Office Moving To 310W Building
Oct 25th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene