Downtown Dog Park Seeks Support

Without getting off your couch, you can help make a proposed downtown dog park a reality.

The park, to be built on a vacant lot under Interstate 794, is one of 30 finalists for PetSafe’s Bark for Your Park contest. The five proposals receiving the most online votes will receive $25,000 each while five runner-ups will receive $5,000 each.

“This much-needed community amenity will enhance downtown’s quality of life, as well as beautify one of downtown’s busiest gateways. I encourage the community to log on and vote,” said Milwaukee Downtown, Business Improvement District #21 economic development director Matt Dorner in a statement.

You can vote for the park once a day through August 31 on the PetSafe website. An email address is the only information required and an opt-in to PetSafe’s marketing email is not required.

It would be the first public dog park located in Downtown. The nearest dog parks are approximately three miles away, either to the north in Riverwest or south in Bay View.

Milwaukee Downtown and the Historic Third Ward Business Improvement District #2 would jointly own the park, with the Third Ward BID maintaining and cleaning the facility.

The park will be constructed on state-owned land underneath the freeway between W. Clybourn St., W. St. Paul Ave., the Milwaukee River and N. Plankinton Ave. in Westown. The city will extend the Milwaukee RiverWalk south from W. Clybourn St. towards W. St. Paul Ave., a 320-foot segment, as part of the proposal.

The project, as of its 2020 introduction, was expected to cost between $300,000 and $350,000 with an additional $200,000 coming from a tax incremental financing district for the riverwalk extension.

The park, 103 W. Clybourn St., would have a 12,000-square-foot dog run with separated small and large dog areas and irrigated, synthetic turf.

The project partners expect to launch a project website in the coming days to solicit additional donations. A presenting sponsor is also being sought.

GRAEF, whose offices are a few blocks to the north in The Avenue, designed a conceptual layout for the park.

A series of other under-freeway projects were recently completed or underway. To the west, on the site of the former tent city, a green infrastructure project is being installed. Across the river to the east, a pickleball court was completed earlier this year and the Brighten the Passage project added light and art to a series of concrete pillars.

For more on the proposal, and a potential gas station to the south, see our 2020 coverage.

Site Photos

Renderings