Downtown Dog Park Announces Opening Date
'Yappy Hour' will launch dog park, which will then be open daily.
April 2025 construction progress at Downtown Milwaukee Dog Park. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A long sought downtown amenity, a dog park, is less than a month from a grand woof-opening.
The Downtown Milwaukee Dog Park will open Aug. 20 with a 3 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony and a 4 p.m. “yappy hour” celebration. The neighboring Foxtown Landing brewpub and distillery will join it in early 2027.
Construction began last fall on the $2 million dog park, located at a riverfront site addressed as 103 W. Clybourn St. Situated almost entirely under an elevated segment of Interstate 794, the property had been an unused gravel lot for decades.
“By transforming an underutilized stretch of riverfront into a welcoming space, we are investing in an amenity that improves quality of life and strengthens connections across the Historic Third Ward and Downtown community, said Paul Schwartz, Historic Third Ward, Business Improvement District #2 executive director, in a statement.
The 23,000-square-foot park includes two fenced, off-leash areas, with one reserved for small dogs. It also includes water stations.
The effort, which publicly started fundraising in 2020, is a joint partnership between Milwaukee Downtown, Business Improvement District #21 and BID #2. It initially began as a $350,000 project, then quickly expanded as the complexity of mitigating utility issues and making the dog park durable grew.
Fromm Family Foods, a Mequon-based pet food maker, signed on as the title sponsor. The Fromm-Nieman family also announced that it would build a Downtown location for its Foxtown Brewing business as part of the agreement and purchased a neighboring vacant parcel. It was described in 2023 as a $12 million project.
“We are incredibly proud to help bring this much-needed resource to Milwaukee’s pet lovers
and community,” said Tom Nieman, CEO of Fromm, in a statement. “It is our hope that the dog park, together with the future Foxtown Landing, will be a vital part of expansion and
enhancement of the downtown area and a place of connection and enjoyment for years to
come.”
Four-legged visitors will need to hold a Milwaukee County dog park license, which is also required to visit any of Milwaukee County Parks‘ six dog parks. An annual pass is $35 for county residents and $39 for nonresidents, with discounts for seniors and multiple dogs. A day pass is $6 regardless of residency.
The dog park will be open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“Not only will our growing residential base enjoy the dog park and expanded Riverwalk access, but so will our Downtown workforce- many of which live downtown,” said Milwaukee Downtown CEO Matt Dorner. “More Downtown offices have also become dog-friendly, which is why this aligns perfectly with our Downtown Employee Appreciation Week celebration. It’s another win for Downtown and all of our stakeholders.”
Dorner and Schwartz, who have attended countless events pubilcly fundraising for the projects, previously said a dog park was a top-requested amenity in surveys.
The city, which is providing nearly $3 million to develop the riverwalk segment next to the dog park and Foxtown from a tax incremental financing district, was also happy to see it developed.
“We’re activating what’s probably the deadest space in downtown Milwaukee,” said area Alderman Robert Bauman during a September 2024 groundbreaking ceremony. He said it was an amenity residents have asked for and would make the city increasingly desirable versus the suburbs.
“When we make investments like this, this makes people want to choose our city, right?” added 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.”
The park was designed by GRAEF and constructed by Berghammer Construction Corporation.
For more on Foxtown Landing, see our May coverage.
April 2025 Photos
Renderings
Dog Park Renderings
Pre-Construction Site Photos
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- February 20, 2016 - Cavalier Johnson received $250 from Robert Bauman
“Woof!!!”