Wednesday, October 19, 2022
On Saturday, Oct. 8, Milwaukee Recreation celebrated the grand reopening of Green Bay Playfield alongside neighbors, community partners, and local leaders.
Green Bay Playfield, first developed in 1928, is located on the north side of Milwaukee (3818 N. 8th St.) and is a central gathering place in the neighborhood. In the summer of 2020, Milwaukee Recreation completed an extensive community engagement process with in-person sessions at the playfield, virtual meetings, and surveys to determine the recreational interests of the neighborhood. The community voted on three design options, and ultimately the Rings & Ripples design was selected as the winner. On June 25, 2021, Milwaukee Recreation broke ground on this project.
“We are excited to welcome the community back to this newly renovated playfield,” Lynn Greb, director of Milwaukee Recreation, said. “The neighborhood residents provided crucial input to help shape the space and ensure it fit the needs of the community. Now, the playfield is a vibrant and welcoming place that children and families will enjoy for years to come.”
Milwaukee Recreation’s renovation to the playfield includes new basketball and tennis courts, a splash pad, upgraded playground equipment, an obstacle course, shade structures, painted play activities, a kickball and football field, new lighting, seating and picnic areas, an outdoor classroom, increased green space with new plantings, and much more.
In addition to the work at Green Bay Playfield, Milwaukee Recreation has completed renovations at seven other locations since 2019, including Burnham Playfield in June 2022. Milwaukee Recreation began construction at Carmen Playfield and Stark Playfield in 2022, and is currently conducting community engagement sessions and online surveys for renovations to the playgrounds at both Emigh Playfield and Wick Playfield. Community engagement sessions and surveys were conducted at Lincoln Playfield and Modrzejewski Playfield in 2021. The renovation work at those two locations is currently in the design phase, with construction scheduled to begin in 2023.
"It is so true that it takes a village to raise and educate a child," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Keith P. Posley said. "We are so happy at Milwaukee Public Schools that we can play a part of this... We know it is important to the community [and] the physical [and] social well-being of our young people. We want to make sure that we are able to pour into that success."
Notably, all of the work to improve the play spaces operated by Milwaukee Recreation is guided by the department’s equity prioritization matrix to ensure improvements are directed to where they are needed most.
"I talk often about the power of partnerships and working together in order to transform neighborhoods [and] address issues at their root to create a stronger, safer, more prosperous community for everybody," Mayor Cavalier Johnson said. "And investments like this, this is how we address issues of equity."
Milwaukee Recreation Recreation is conducting a 2022-23 update to the Equity Prioritization Matrix to expand on the 2016 model to include lessons for equitable open-space assessments from around the country, helping reveal how open space can positively support communities around Milwaukee. The updated plan will guide Milwaukee Recreation’s decision-making. It will include explorations of park access, the existing condition of facilities, an understanding of the people who live around our parks, and conversations about the ways that parks can positively impact individual and community health.
"We are committed to ensuring that everybody in our city has access to a quality play space," Greb said. "Our work is all driven around equity. Green Bay Playfield was one of the locations that rose to the top of our ranking system."
Find more information here on Milwaukee Recreation's mission to renovate 52 playfields throughout the city.