Harbor District’s first waterfront park space to be named Harbor View Plaza

Harbor District, Inc. and Rockwell Automation recently announced that Harbor View Plaza has been selected as the name for the Harbor District’s first waterfront park.

Harbor View Plaza is under development at the east end of Greenfield Avenue and will be the first waterfront public park within the nine miles of waterfront in the Harbor District. The Plaza includes a canoe and kayak launch and a play structure for children and families. Construction on Harbor View Plaza will begin with a groundbreaking event scheduled for August 24 at the plaza site, 600 E. Greenfield Avenue.

“Harbor View Plaza is a step forward in a balanced approach to connect Milwaukee residents to the port area,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “Historically, land around the port was exclusively industrial, but the future will include additional access, like Harbor View Plaza, for recreation.”

Rockwell Automation donated $600,000 to the plaza and, as naming sponsor, conducted an internal naming process with their employees. The name immediately conveys the main attraction of the plaza, a fantastic view of Milwaukee’s harbor and port. The plaza will be the go-to destination for Milwaukee residents and visitors interested in watching Lakers and Salties load and unload at Jones Island.

“Rockwell Automation has a rich company history in the community and our immediate neighborhood,” said Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO, Rockwell Automation. “This plaza will provide a unique recreational and educational destination for our employees, members of the Greater Milwaukee community and region.”

Harbor View Plaza will provide a relaxing place to sit, eat lunch, or bring your children to play and experience Milwaukee’s working waterfront. With a lack of public park and green space on the near south side, Harbor View Plaza provides a new place for families to recreate and will connect south side residents to the waterways only blocks from their neighborhood.

In addition to the significant Rockwell Automation contribution, financial support for the plaza has come from Brico Fund, the Bloomberg Award for Partners for Places – a project of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, Prairie Springs – Paul Fleckenstein Charitable Trust, the Walter and Olive Stiemke Fund at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Fund for Lake Michigan, Herb Kohl Philanthropies, the Brookby Foundation, and the Zilber Family Foundation.

To date, Harbor District, Inc, has raised almost $1.2 million dollars towards the $1.5 million needed to complete construction of the plaza. A public fundraising campaign was recently launched with a number of private donations already being made.