North Side's Melvina Park is getting a new look. Here's what to expect in the coming months

Melvina Park is getting a makeover.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Ald. Khalif Rainey and several community members were on hand Wednesday for a ceremonial groundbreaking as construction began on the North Side park, located at West Melvina and North 29th streets.

The $2.3 million project will expand the one-acre park to nearly 4 acres. The redeveloped park will include a new play area, community gardens, a multi-play athletic field and an entertainment area. The park is being expanded onto two city-owned lots. The park will be completed this fall.

The park's redevelopment is a public/private partnership between the city of Milwaukee, and Quad, Inc., a marketing company, and the Burke Foundation. Quad and the foundation each donated $500,000 for the project.

Johnson said parks are more than just places where kids can play; they support health, cultural awareness, creative expression and interaction with nature that reduces stress, anxiety and depression.

"Everyone can benefit from the opportunity that parks can provide," Johnson said. "I'm pleased that we are able to come together to support this park's improvement."

Reimagined park part of long-range economic plan

The upgrade to the park is part of the Connecting the Corridor Strategic Action Plan. The plan aims to spur public improvements along the city's North 30th Street corridor.

This is the first substantial improvement for the park since the mid-1990s. In 2018, the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee partnered with MKE Parks, which operates city-owned parks, and Century City Triangle Neighborhood Association to create a resident-led redevelopment plan for Melvina Park.

For Yvonne McCaskill, coordinator of Century City Triangle Neighborhood Association, the hum of construction equipment is music to her ears. It was a far different cry in 1976. That year, the community awoke to the sound of bulldozers razing homes and a school to expand employee parking for A.O. Smith, which formerly manufactured car frames.

Century City Triangle Neighborhood Association was instrumental in stopping the expansion. The result was Melvina Park. But over the years, McCaskill said the park became neglected because of disinvestment.

Thanks to Ald. Rainey for spearheading the park’s redevelopment and the funders, the park will be a welcome space for the neighborhood, especially its annual Arts in the Park program. The event uses art to teach about environmental stewardship.

“This space will stand as a symbol of the positive change and improved quality of life happening in our neighborhood for years to come,” McCaskill said.

The Two-Nine had a rich basketball history

In the park’s heyday, its basketball courts were legendary, Rainey said. The Two Nine, as it was often referred to, had a rich basketball history in the city and some of the most notable players played on these courts.

“There’s a lot of people who love this particular site,” Rainey said.

But this park is coming back better than before, he added. It will be a place for everyone to enjoy and to make new memories, Rainey said. Residents can hold their own basketball tournaments, baby showers, block club meetings, and neighborhood block parties here.

“What we are doing right here is building a space for us to unite and grow closer together as a community,” Rainey said. “That is what this presents to us. That is what I’m excited about.”

Amenities and features for the new Melvina Park

The park will have native plants to restore wildlife, attract pollinators and preserve existing mature trees.

To prevent flooding the park will have bioswales or stormwater catchment systems to reduce basement flooding and capture water runoff from adjacent streets and alleys. McCaskill said the area by the park is in a floodplain.

The park will incorporate nature-based play design, an approach that combines traditional playground equipment with palettes of wood, stone, and plants to bring spaces to life.

The park will have a multi-purpose field to accommodate a variety of sports including volleyball, soccer, rugby, and lacrosse.

It will also have a public gathering and event space to host park programming, concerts, pop-up markets, and neighborhood meetings.

Residents will also have an area to accommodate off-street bike use, skateboarding as well as a dog exercise area.

Henrietta Cloyd, who has lived in the area for 53 years, is excited about the dog park and hopes people remember to bring their pooper scooper. But she is even more excited about the park's new amenities and its larger size, which she said she hopes will have more programming for the elderly.

"It's going to be much like a regular park," Cloyd said. "All through the years, it's been a tot lot. Now it will be a park for the whole community."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Melvina Park in Milwaukee is getting a $2.3 million expansion