Interim Plaza Program

Now Accepting Applications: 2024 Interim Plaza Grant Program

The City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) will provide up to three (3) grants of up to $30,000 each to eligible organizations to create an interim plaza in the public right of way.

New for the 2024 grant application cycle, the Interim Plaza grant program will accept applications both with and without final site plan design. If a grant is awarded to a project that has not yet completed a site design, then the final award will include an initial Design and Community Engagement phase. During this initial phase, awardees will have access to technical support, either through DPW staff or a consultant designer, to complete a site plan that meets the Interim Plaza guidelines. More information can be found in the 2024 Interim Plaza Grant Program Guidelines, below.

2024 Interim Plaza Grant Program

2024 Interim Plaza Grant Program: Pre-Application

Application Timeline

• August 15, 2024 | Pre-application opens
• August 27, 2024 from 2-3 p.m. | Information session
• September 6, 2024 at 4 p.m. | Pre-application due
• September 20, 2024 at 4 p.m. | Application due
• October 4, 2024 | Awardees notified

A virtual information session was held on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at 2 pm via Microsoft Teams. Click here to view a recording of the information session.

Program Overview

The Interim Plaza Program allows residents, neighborhood groups, or property owners to transform underutilized streets or spaces of streets into public spaces using low-cost materials.

Interim Plaza Program Guidelines

Why Interim Plazas? 

In March 2022, Milwaukee’s Gathering Places Feasibility Study identified several opportunities to grow Milwaukee's network of gathering places; interim plazas were one of those opportunities. 

What is an Interim Plaza? 

• Interim plazas transform underutilized streets or areas of streets into public spaces using low-cost materials, such as paint, movable planters, flexible delineator posts, and seating.
• Interim plazas reconfigure space that might otherwise be underutilized or unnecessary for automobile traffic, or unsafe for people walking. 
• Interim plazas can range in complexity from eliminating a right turn slip lane to completely shutting down a section of a street to through traffic. 
• Interim plazas also serve as low-cost trials to evaluate more permanent changes to streets and right of way. 
• Interim plazas are successful when they are developed in partnership with business improvement districts or community groups in the area. 

2023 Grant Program 

In 2023, DPW awarded interim plaza grants to the following three organizations: 

• Muskego Way Forward at 16th Street & Forest Home Avenue
• East Side Business Improvement District: Ivanhoe Plaza
• Metcalfe Park Community Bridges: Butterfly Park Plaza, to be installed in 2024