City unveils plans to transform Swing Park on East Side

The City of Milwaukee unveiled a plan to transform the currently closed “Swing Park” — located beneath the Holton Street Bridge near Brady Street on the East Side — into a new community park with more activities and programming.

Known as “The Landing at Tannery Row,” the conceptual plans were released Tuesday.

The redeveloped park’s renderings, from Detroit-based SmithGroup, show an upgraded playground at the section of the park closest to Water Street. As the property slopes down toward the Milwaukee River, there would be a terrace with picnic tables, a set of seat steps, a “River Theater” that could be activated with music and other entertainment, and a stepped stone block edge leading down to the riverbank.

The plans retain the “marsupial bridge” for pedestrians, which runs beneath the Holton Street bridge to connect the East Side to Riverwest.

Swing Park officially opened in 2014 after residents hung swings under the bridge without city permission in 2012. Between 2018 and 2023, multiple shootings occurred near the park. The city closed the park in 2023 as repairs to the Holton Street bridge began; those repairs are supposed to be complete in 2025.

“In the time since (Swing Park opened), a number of local housing developments have grown up around the park,” the website says. “Concerns from local residents over park use and activity led them to mobilize and re-imagine what the park could be and how it could better function for the changing neighborhood. The Holton Bridge project presents an opportunity to explore these possibilities while the park is closed to accommodate construction.”

Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, whose district includes Swing Park, secured $50,000 to start the design process for the new park, “and make preliminary improvements to the space while we seek funding for the larger reconstruction,” according to the city’s website.

The city is seeking feedback on the plans from residents through Sept. 20.

The city-owned parcel is adjacent to a 2.6-acre vacant property that’s currently for sale for $6.5 million, according to a listing from The Barry Co. That property was supposed to be developed into a condominium complex in 2018, but those plans did not move forward.