Oak Creek City Attorney Larry Haskin addresses members of the NRB and press at the future home of Lake Vista Park.

The DNR’s Natural Resources Board (NRB) had a chance to see several brownfield sites in the southeast region of the state during its recent tour of Oak Creek. The tour was part of the members’ activities in the Milwaukee area the day before the Board held its August meeting. Members got a walking tour of Oak Creek’s Drexel Town Square, previously the site of Delco Electronics, learning about its remediation and stormwater management features.  From there, it was on to a tour of Lake Vista Park, part of the city’s formerly industrial lakefront, which wrapped up the Oak Creek portion of the tour.

The group then visited Milwaukee’s Harbor District, including the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences and Milwaukee’s inner harbor. They heard from RR Program staff about remediation and redevelopment projects in the area, including The Freshwater Plaza project.  The tour concluded at Erie Street Plaza, a small urban park built in 2010 in near the confluence of the Milwaukee and Kinnickinnic rivers, featuring native grasses and illuminated benches.