New Milwaukee Riverwalk plaza honors late developer Gary Grunau
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — City leaders opened the Gary P. Grunau Memorial Plaza at Highland Avenue and N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Monday, Sept. 28, adding a public space to the Milwaukee Riverwalk.
The city says the plaza will improve pedestrian connections along the river between the Water Street entertainment district, Deer District, and the Old World Third Street entertainment district.
“I think cities are supposed to be places of vibrancy, and life and energy," said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. "A lot of that happens when people have the opportunity to gather in places just like this.”
Gary Grunau
The project was proposed in 2024, and construction began last fall. Before construction, the space was a sloped loading dock with a few parking spots. Now, it serves as an accessible, well-lit gathering space for those exploring Milwaukee's downtown.
"Where we once had an underutilized riverfront, it's since become a vibrant public destination and now connects neighborhoods, businesses, restaurants, cultural attractions and people," described Lafayette Crump, the city's commissioner of city development.
The plaza includes public seating areas and a steel, fully-lit bridge that connects to the riverwalk.
“Working to continue to activate our riverwalk is very important," said Mayor Johnson. "This is an incredible asset, and I want to see it continue to grow.”
Its name honors a Milwaukee real estate developer and civic leader who is often called a visionary.
Gary Grunau helped create the riverwalk and revitalize its surroundings, such as Schlitz Park, the Manpower Group headquarters, the current Spectrum building (formerly the Time Warner Cable regional headquarters), and the Wisconsin Center convention space, now known as the Baird Center.
Grunau's friend and colleague, real estate attorney Bruce Block, said those developments led to the creation of Fiserv Forum and Deer District.
“You can trace a billion dollars' worth of public facilities on the west side of the river, all attributable to his creativity, his effort, and his persistence," Block said Monday. "He could look at what was and see what could be."
Grunau died in 2019 at 80 years old after a battle with brain cancer. Several speakers at Monday's plaza dedication called him a visionary.
City leaders aim to build on his legacy for years to come.
“He loved Milwaukee; it was his home," Block explained. "He would do anything he could to improve a street, a neighborhood, the city as a whole. That’s what he lived for.”
The $4.6 million plaza was funded through a tax incremental financing district and private donations.