2023 Fall Issue of Urban Land - 117

to obtain now. The BEDI grant program is
no longer active, and earmarks are no longer
available.
Federal grants were also received through
the EPA for a brownfield cleanup program
and from the U.S. Economic Development
Administration for roads and utilities.
Most of the remaining money for remediation
and site preparation came from state
funds, including $3.2 million from the WDNR
in brownfield development grants and $2.2
million from the Wisconsin Department of
Commerce for road and soil management
costs.
Three Bridges Park
The total cost of the park, trail extension,
and community center was $25 million. This
included $2.3 million to extend the Hank
Aaron State Trail six miles through the area,
$7.7 million for the bridges and tunnel, and
$5.3 million to recycle an old tavern into a
new sustainable branch of the Urban Ecology
Center and provide five years of programming.
Preparation included considerable work
to reclaim the riverbanks and restore the land
as a natural park at a cost of $7.38 million.
Park financing also included an endowment of
$1.75 million to support ongoing landscaping
and maintenance of the park.
The greatest source of funds for the park
was the U.S. Department of Transportation,
which provided 11 grants totaling $10 million,
most through CMAQ for the purposes
of improving air quality and providing alternate
methods of transportation. The WDNR
provided $3.8 million from its Stewardship
Fund, a very significant investment for such
an urban area. WDNR's Stewardship Grants
are for expanding opportunities for outdoor
recreation. Government-sourced grants flowed
mostly through WisDOT, as the developer of
the park.
To raise money from private sources for
the park, MVP and the Urban Ecology Center
formed a partnership, UEC-MVP Inc., in 2010.
Many private organizations from within the
valley were highly supportive of the project
and contributed about $2 million to the park.
Contributions from many smaller donors in
the $1,000 to $10,000 range amounted to an
additional $2 million.
The multipronged visions that informed
park development helped the partners raise
money from a wide variety of sources. These
included funding for education, ecosystem
restoration, and families and health. For example,
the Burke Foundation, which supports
early urban education in Wisconsin, donated
$2.3 million because of the Urban Ecology
Center's ecological education programs for
children. The Herzfeld Foundation's $500,000
contribution was based on its commitment to
civic projects, such as parks and recreation,
that improve the quality of life in Milwaukee.
Contributions for fish and wildlife restoration
came from the Great Lakes Basin Fish Habitat
Partnership. According to Corey Zetts, they
" knocked on a lot of doors, " and everyone
brought different connections and ideas. The
diverse boards of MVP and the Urban Ecology
Center reached out to a great number
of private donors. Complete funding took not
only many years of pushing the overarching
campaign for the park concept, but also many
minicampaigns that focused on jobs, alternative
transportation, education, and the restoration
of native plants and animals.
Some fundraising efforts were fun and
engaging for the community. For example,
many people contributed $10 each to " buy a
tree " for planting efforts in the park. A neighborhood
person otherwise unrelated to the
effort started a crowdfunding campaign for
the park in the very early days of such fundraising
technology. If people could not contribute
money, they gave their time to planting
in the park. Zetts indicates all these efforts
created a sense of ownership across a large
part of the community.
As various phases of the project continued,
MVP became a trusted entity, known for being
independent of political influence. It became
a high-performing nonprofit with a reputation
for being able to get things done and therefore
continues to be strongly supported by
foundations and funders.
Other financing activities
Beyond the subject project, about $125 million
of private development funds have been
invested by new businesses in the MVIC. Most
of these received loans through the Milwaukee
Economic Development Corporation, which is
a city-sponsored lending entity that finances
small companies. Private manufacturers also
took advantage of the U.S. Department of the
Treasury's New Markets Tax Credit Program,
FALL 2023
URBAN LAND
117
Some
fundraising
efforts were
fun and
engaging
for the
community.
For example,
many people
contributed
$10 each to
'buy a tree'
for planting
efforts in the
park.
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2023 Fall Issue of Urban Land

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