Photo Credit - Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum
Two Rivers residents got another chance to show what they would like to see on the former Hamilton Property.
At the second phase of four Hamilton Property Community Vision meetings, Community Development Director Jeff Sachse shared feedback from a community survey on what residents thought of the Cool City and what they want to see on the property.
Generally, the community sees Two Rivers as a quiet, pleasant place that is struggling and needs a financial boost.
Even the term “dying” appeared in some survey descriptors. Sachse says surveys also showed that residents want to see commercial and residential developments that will attract visitors and support existing residents.
That could include retail, dining, or even housing. Sachse says the city should also focus on public access and recreational spaces to prevent overcrowding.
Following the synopsis, Zoning Administrator Adam Taylor explained why the area would be rezoned to B-1, allowing everything residents want to see on the former Hamilton property.
Residents were then given the chance to use Post-It Notes and markers to draw and create their vision of what they want the property to look like, with large printouts of the property’s area.
Everything that residents said in their survey is what Resident Rich Greenwood added to his diagram.
“We thought for people to enjoy a park area, food trucks,” he explained. “Then restaurants along the river here. Then retail along Jefferson Street and housing in the (former) Eggers’ property.”
Greenwood also said he’s excited to see what could happen when the city gets the property and what it could develop into.
Another resident working with Greenwood explains that he wants to bring more tourists to the Cool City.
“You look at the other cities farther up, heading up to the Sturgeon Bay, we can do that here,” he stated. “But you have to get the people in, and you need something to draw them.”
Jeff Sachse explained that the exercise was for residents to see where things they want to see on the property could go.
But he did say the property has some challenges that could make it tough to deliver some of the things residents want.
Not only are there still soil remediation issues, but the property also slants toward the river.
“The other thing to consider on the site is that it is 14-acres but it’s 14 acres that the northern half is currently divided because of a sanitary and storm sewer easement,” he noted. “On the 18th Street delineation. And on the south part of the property, it’s a gorgeous property, but it’s only two and a half acres. It’s not a really large site.”
Sachse says it’s also a bit of a balancing act for older and newer residents: older residents see a factory, while newer residents haven’t seen anything there for years.
“In having these conversations, what we’re trying to get to is a happy medium of more built environment while still preserving some public access, open space,” he expressed. “So, really reshaping the conversation about, well, this is now waterfront property, so what do you want to see on a waterfront property rather than a former industrial site.”
There will be another chance for residents to participate in creating their vision on paper when Two Rivers hosts a second phase 2 meeting on Saturday (February 28th).
Sachse explains that he hopes to give a presentation to the city council on what they should do if they acquire the property.
