Menomonee Valley Community Park
The Menomonee Valley Community Park is near American Family Field on the former site of the Milwaukee Road Shops. The Milwaukee Road Shops were built in the 1880s and were the largest employer in Milwaukee, with tens of thousands of workers. The Shops manufactured rail cars and locomotives for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad.
Spread over 45 acres, there are two miles of trails, restored native prairies, savannas, and forests. The Hank Aaron State Trail runs through the park and connects it to Three Bridges Park and the Silver City neighborhood to the south. It is part of the Menomonee Valley Industrial Center.
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Restoration
After the Milwaukee Road Shops closed in the 1980s, the area turned into 120 acres of abandoned buildings and contaminated land becoming Wisconsin’s largest brownfield.
The rebirth was a result of a public-private partnership. Menomonee Valley Partners (MVP) was created to fill this role with a small team of employees and a diverse board consisting of Valley firms, public officials, representatives from the adjacent neighborhoods, and at-large members. MVP fostered relationships, recruited businesses, and convened stakeholders to shepherd development to benefit the entire community.
In 2020, the Menomonee Valley Industrial Center (MVIC) and Three Bridges Park was certified clean by the DNR.
The Menomonee Valley Industrial Center is now home to more than 1,400 family-supporting jobs, 860,000 square feet of sustainably designed industrial buildings, public access to the Menomonee River, a 2-mile segment of the Hank Aaron State Trail, a sustainable stormwater treatment system, a restored riverbank, greenspace for playing fields, two canoe launches, and 45 acres of native prairie and woodland along the Menomonee River.