Downtown Milwaukee’s first public dog park, located underneath the elevated I-794 freeway in between North Plankinton Avenue and the Milwaukee River, is officially open.
Officials, community members and dog owners gathered at the park, dogs in tow, on Wednesday afternoon for its grand opening.
The park, which took roughly four years to complete, features a space for large dogs to roam freely and a dedicated space within it for smaller dogs.
The $2 million project was funded by a collection of private donations from local companies including Mequon-based Fromm Family Pet Foods, the Milwaukee Admirals, 333 Water, Veolia, and St. Paul’s Fish Company, among several others.
“Like generations before us, we invest back into the community because it’s the right thing to do,” said Tom Neiman, owner of Fromm Nieman Brands, the parent company of Fromm Family Pet Foods and Foxtown Brewing.
The park’s title sponsor is Fromm Family Pet Foods, whose affiliate Foxtown Brewing, is developing a 28,000-square-foot complex called Foxtown Landing just south of the dog park at St. Paul and Plankinton avenues along the Milwaukee River. The park and building will make up what the project’s developers, the downtown Milwaukee business improvement district and the Historic Third Ward business improvement district, are calling Milwaukee’s Dog District.
FoxTown Landing is currently under construction and will feature a three-story building with a restaurant, tap room, distillery, and outdoor seating.
