MONROE — After several years of planning, Main Street Monroe is developing Main Street Park at the northeast corner of the downtown Monroe square.
The 501(c)3 nonprofit, now in its 19th year as an organization, focuses on maintaining and improving all aspects of the downtown district. It is responsible for a variety of annual events, small business assistance and development, tourism, and historic preservation.
The park will further its mission to improve the quality of life for all Monroe residents. It will include green space for programmed activities and fully ADA-compliant public restrooms that will be open all year during business hours.
The project, by adding public restrooms, addresses a critical need downtown — restrooms that are four seasons, open during business hours, and fully accessible to those with mobility issues. Many downtown businesses are located in 19th Century buildings and lack accessible restrooms, not just ADA compliant restrooms.
Jordan Nordby, Main Street Monroe’s executive director, referenced a Monroe Times article from 1902 — 122 years ago — that stated there was a need for public restrooms.
“This is a truly exciting project for us and the community,” Nordby said. “We’ve never done anything like this, but we are continuously working to celebrate downtown Monroe and make it all that it can be. This is that next step.”
The Pocket Park, as it is known, will include a landscaped garden, a pergola for shade, bike racks, an area for programming, benches, and tables for people to take lunch and coffee from downtown restaurants.
It will create an outdoor green space to relax, read and socialize with others, Nordby said, and it should enhance the overall attractiveness of the downtown and be especially important on days when many people come to Monroe, such as the farmers markets and other Main Street Monroe events.
Nordby recognized that this project will further the economic development downtown. He said it will both benefit and be benefited by the preservation-based restoration projects currently taking place on the southwest side of the Square: the White Building and Eugene Hotel.
Main Street Monroe was instrumental in bringing forth and acquiring $250,000 through a state grant for the White Building project. It is expected that another $250,000 grant will be secured for the Eugene Hotel project by the end of this year. These projects and the restoration of the courthouse, along with the Pocket Park, will further downtown’s vibrancy, Nordby said.
Public-Private Partnership
The City of Monroe is joining Main Street Monroe’s efforts in this public-private partnership. The city, with the help of one private donor secured by Main Street and a DNR grant, purchased the land. No city taxes were used for the purchase and none will be used for the development of the park. It will be funded solely by donations and grants apart from the city’s Visitor and Promotion Commission, which collects and disperses hotel room tax dollars, which pledged a gift of $50,000 over three years.
The City will be responsible for maintaining the new park and restrooms. It is expected that annual maintenance will be absorbed into the existing operating expenses of the Parks & Recreation Department. The total cost of the park and restrooms is $950,000; more than $700,000 has already been raised. Main Street Monroe is developing an endowment fund that will be dedicated to programming, park enhancements, and future Main Street projects.
“We are thinking long term about this project. It’s a community defining project. John and Donna Glynn, who have been co-chairs of our Design Committee for a great number of years have been working on this project. We wouldn’t be where we’re at without them,” Nordby said.
He also noted the generosity of the community and the amount of money that has already been raised.
“There have been a number of capital campaign projects in the community just in the last few years. It’s humbling that people are continuing to support and help us grow our downtown,” Nordby said. “We have a fantastic committee making sure we do this and do it right. The city has been amazing to work with. From the alders supporting the project with grant applications to Josh Trame (Parks & Rec), city administrator Brittney Rindy, and Mayor Douglas working behind the scenes.”
Architectural drawings will likely be complete mid-June with civil and landscape drawings following that. The city will open the project up for bids. Main Street is anticipating that the project will be completed in 2025 with work being coordinated so that, while being continually worked on, it will not interfere with Green County Cheese Days or any additional events planned this year.
Recognition opportunities, which can be pledged up to 3 years, are available for many areas in the Park. All donors with gifts of $5,000 or more will be listed on the Donor Wall. A special segment 100 People Who Love Monroe will ask people, businesses and organizations that love the community to make gifts or pledges of $1,000; all names will be listed in a distinct area. Donor names can be up to 16 characters. People can also make a gift to honor or remember someone special; if someone is honored that name will be listed rather than the donor. As a true community project, and emphasizing how Main Street exists as an organization, donations in any amount are being encouraged.
“This project is for the public. We want everyone to take ownership of it because it belongs to everyone,.” Nordby said.
Main Street Monroe is excited about partnering with several Monroe organizations that will provide programming in the park for every age, but with an emphasis on education and children, Nordby added. Specifics of these partnerships will continue to be finalized but letters of support for the project and future programming have been submitted from the Monroe Public Library, Monroe Theatre Guild, the YMCA, Monroe Arts Center, and the School District of Monroe.
For more information or to make a gift, contact Jordan Nordby, Main Street Executive Director at
monroemainstreet@tds.net.