Photo via Homes.com
McGovern Park Community Building Sign
The sign for the community building and senior center at McGovern Park
In Milwaukee County, we affirm the dignity and value of older adults in our community. We know the population of older adults within Milwaukee County is growing, and soon enough, we will be home to the most diverse group of aging residents that our region has ever seen.
That’s why access to programs, services, and social activities for seniors is critical in the years ahead. Milwaukee County’s senior centers provide this connection, community, engagement, and resources to our older adults. It’s why AARP named Milwaukee County an “Age-Friendly Community” and it’s why we continue to walk the walk.
Photo via Hunger Task Force
McGovern Park Senior Center Stockbox Group - Hunger Task Force
Volunteers with Hunger Task Force's Stockbox program smile for a photo at McGovern Park Senior Center
Milwaukee County is very fortunate to have been offered a unique, once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunity to rebuild one of these critical hubs: McGovern Park Senior Center. This effort is part of the “Reimaging Senior Centers” project to address long-standing community needs, including the fiscal unsustainability of maintaining aging county-owned facilities, the desire for a purpose-built community center in the northwest side of the county, and the need to address the shortage of safe, accessible, and affordable housing for older adults.
The proposed facility will build on everything that is great about the center now, without taking away from any of its special features. It will also include affordable housing to help provide older adults in the community an inclusive offering of amenities and services. The new facility won’t take up any additional land, yet it will expand the center with new amenities and programming for not just older adults, but people of all ages, providing an even greater benefit for all county residents. We are working with Jewish Family Services (JFS), a hands-on, mission-oriented, nonprofit developer of affordable housing, on this endeavor.
Here's the deal: The County does not have the capacity to renovate the existing senior center or build a new senior center alone. If we don’t take action through the proposed development and partnership with JFS, the existing building will continue to suffer and will inevitably become a blight upon McGovern Park.
We’ve heard feedback from neighbors and residents through a robust community outreach effort. As this project moves through the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors’ public input process, there are a number of misconceptions that must be addressed so the community fully understands what the project is all about:
- The County does not intend to sell parkland to a private developer. Rather, the County will enter into a long-term ground-lease and development agreement with the nonprofit organization JFS.
- The proposed development will not add significantly to the portion of the parkland that is developed. The development will predominantly fit within the footprint of the existing senior center and parking lot at McGovern Park. The residences will sit on top of the senior center and will not add significantly to the footprint of the new building.
- A busy park is a safe park. The inclusion of housing means there will be more people in McGovern Park throughout all hours of the day, especially in evenings, and more "eyes on the street" to deter crime and keep the neighborhood safer for everyone.
- The proposed development will improve the park experience for visitors by creating better public access to the southeastern edge of the lagoon. This edge of the lagoon is presently occupied by the back of the senior center and includes an exposed dumpster, meters, and pavement along with a fishing pier. As part of the proposed project, we will work with Milwaukee County Parks staff to envision and create a new waterfront amenity that honors and enhances this prominent site.
- The public approval process places the County in full control over any proposed development on County parkland. While it is true that "every developer in town" may wish to develop parkland, we are not proposing a wave of development at the parks. This is about McGovern Park and McGovern Park only.
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For these reasons, I am urging the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to support this project. It will be a significant investment in services, programming, and amenities for the community, especially older adults who live near McGovern Park.
With no funding available to address the existing and increasing maintenance issues, the current facility will continue to fall in disrepair. This is truly the only opportunity we have to make generational improvements to the McGovern Park Senior Center. The time to act for our seniors is now.
Read Milwaukee resident Pat Small's argument against the proposal here.
