Today, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and community leaders celebrated the completion of Johnsons Park, a $2 million revitalization initiative in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood. The Johnsons Park Initiative action plan called for nurturing the health and safety of the community by improving the physical and programmatic infrastructure at three adjacent locations: (1) Alice’s Garden – completed in 2010, (2) Brown Street Academy Schoolyard – completed in 2012, and (3) Johnsons Park, the largest renovation project of the initiative – which officially opened to the community with today’s event.

Milwaukee County’s Johnsons Park has been the focus of a private-public partnership that complements other redevelopment efforts underway in Lindsay Heights. Milwaukee County, Center for Resilient Cities, the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, LISC-Milwaukee, and Johnsons Park Neighborhood Association are all partners in this revitalization project.

“Johnsons Park is the only public park in the 110-block Lindsay Heights neighborhood and is critically important to the quality of life for residents,” said Marcia Caton Campbell, executive director of the Center for Resilient Cities. “The completion of the Johnsons Park renovation is a major milestone for the neighborhood made possible by the commitment and dedication of a wide-range of partners in our community.”

Johnsons Park renovations total almost $1.2 million dollars in private funding and $878,000 in public investments and include:

• New pathways that allow easy access to enhanced park features including a new performance stage, sports practice fields for football, soccer and T-ball;
• New pedestrian-height, energy-efficient LED fixtures to light the park’s pathways, playgrounds, and other areas;
• A new picnic shelter and restroom facilities constructed by Milwaukee County Parks to provide space for family activities and community gatherings; and
• A new bioswale (infiltration basin) that mitigates storm water runoff and protects water quality in the Milwaukee River watershed.

Ten local community groups came together to celebrate the park completion and dedicate the new performance stage – including Alice’s Garden, Beckum Stapleton Little League, Brown Street Academy, Boys & Girls Club, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Fondy Food Center, Johnsons Park Neighborhood Association, Marketplace Bid 32, Neu-Life Community Resource Center, Running Rebels, and Walnut Way Conservation Corp. The ceremony included comments from President of Rotary Club Milwaukee Dan Vliet, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, Milwaukee County Parks Director, John Dargle, Jr.,Milwaukee County Supervisor Supreme Moore-Omokunde, WI State Representative David Bowen, and Alderman Russell W. Stamper II.

“The renovation of Johnsons Park would not have been possible without the help of many community groups who stepped up to make this dream a reality and the Rotary Club of Milwaukee is proud to support this initiative. The park will serve as a safe place for children and parents to play, socialize and exercise in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood,” said Dan Vliet, president of Rotary Club of Milwaukee. “We’re excited to officially open the park to local residents today and we look forward to the continued restoration and community support surrounding the Johnsons Park Initiative.”

The ceremony was followed by an evening of entertainment provided by Milwaukee County Parks with A.W.E. Trucks (Artists Working in Education) and the annual concert in the park featuring “Tony TNT Washington and his Explosive Divas.” For more information, visit partner websites at www.resilientcities.org, www.milwaukeerotary.com, and www.countyparks.com or call (414) 257-PARKS (7275).