Construction Starts On Long-Awaited Downtown Dog Park

Matt Dorner (left) and Paul Schwartz (far right) break ground on the Downtown Dog Park. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Thursday afternoon featured a who’s who event in the most unlikely of places: a gravel lot under an elevated freeway.

And despite the unusual choice of location, everyone was all smiles, and barks. More than 100 people and dozens of dogs came together to celebrate the start of construction on the Downtown Dog Park.

The proposal was first publicly discussed in 2020, but can be traced back to a 2018 email between Matt Dorner and Paul Schwartz. Dorner, the economic development director at Milwaukee Downtown, Business Improvement District #21, and Schwartz, executive director of Business Improvement District #2 and the Milwaukee Public Market, have spent the past several years hosting fundraisers, strategizing and putting the pieces together to make the project reality.

On Thursday, surrounded by friends, coworkers and project partners, they celebrated their “little pet project” at the corner of N. Plankinton Avenue and W. Clybourn Street.

“This project has been a long time coming, a long time in the making, but we couldn’t be happier to be here today,” said Dorner. “I mentioned this several times and throughout this process, we certainly could write a book about it and its evolution.”

On its face, it seems simple. Take unused land under an elevated freeway, throw some turf down and let the dogs play. But what became a $2 million project is anything but. Runoff needed to be controlled on the sloped, riverfront site, coordination needed to happen for a new riverwalk segment, utilities needed to be navigated, including a large We Energies steam tunnel connection, partnerships with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and Milwaukee County Parks needed to be struck, a city land sale needed to negotiated and care needed to be taken to make sure the park would hold up to potentially thousands of Downtown area dog owners making it a frequent visit.

What was envisioned in 2020 as a $350,000 project that would be done by year’s end grew quickly in complexity. It also gained a significant component.

It was announced in 2022 that Foxtown Brewing would construct a dog-friendly brewery-distillery-restaurant-event venue, Foxtown Landing, on the site immediately south of the dog park. The design of the two would be interconnected. The announcement came with another key component, the Niemann family that owns Foxtown would use the family’s core business, Fromm Family Pet Food, as the naming rights partner for the dog park.

The resulting “Doggy District” is expected to be worth the wait, especially for pet owners that currently need to go at least three miles north or south to find an off-leash facility.

Dorner said it would be “best in class” with separated small and large dog areas on a synthetic surface, enhanced lighting, the new riverwalk connection and the adjoining brewery patio.

“When we make investments like this, this makes people want to choose our city, right?” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “This helps us to grow our city and a stronger, thriving city. It’s not just good for us, it’s good for the region and ultimately, it’s good for the entire state of Wisconsin.”

After a ceremonial dirt toss with gold-painted shovels, music from DJ Shawna and free Pete’s Pops, the party migrated across W. St. Paul Avenue to Explorium Brewpub for a celebratory toast.

The park was designed by GRAEF with support from Berghammer Construction Corporation. It is expected to open later this year. Milwaukee County Parks will administer licensing, which is $32 per dog.

Construction on Foxtown Landing, designed by Stephen Perry Smith Architects, will begin as soon as permitting issues are resolved Nieman told Urban Milwaukee. The intent is for the complex to be finished in fall 2026.

While many donors, BID board members and other partners were praised during the praise, special care was taken to thank Scott Welsh, partner at Colliers International. “It’s arguable that we would not be able to be here without Scott,” said Schwartz. He suggested developing the privately-owned parcel and smaller city-owned parcel to the south at the same time and introduced the project backers to the Nieman family.

The city is funding the riverwalk component with $1.5 million using nearby tax incremental financing districts. The cost of the riverwalk, according to city officials, is higher because of the complexity of connecting to the Clybourn Street bridge. The dog park is being constructed on a county-controlled site at 103-115 W. Clybourn St. The Foxtown complex is being developed on parcels at 406 and 412-420 N. Plankinton Ave.

Another important element for the area, a historical marker for the Black Nite Brawl, was installed earlier this year.

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Dog Park Renderings

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