The City of Janesville recently received notice that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has awarded $380,000 to the City to assist in demolition of the downtown parking plaza which straddles the Rock River between Court and Milwaukee Streets. In March 2016 the City applied for Municipal Flood Control Grant funding for the parking plaza removal, as completion of the project will lower flood risks and improve the natural and scenic beauty along this segment of the Rock River.
In addition to the $380,000 in funding from the Wisconsin DNR Municipal Flood Control Grant, the City also received $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant Emergency Assistance Program (CDBG-EAP) funds for the parking plaza removal project in July 2016. The aggressive pursuit of grant funding to complete this project has been successful and will significantly lessen the financial obligation that the City shoulders for this project. City Manager Mark Freitag shares, “The City is pleased to have received more good news as we take on several major projects related to ARISE and downtown revitalization. I am very proud of the hard work of our City staff, particularly the Planning Services Division, for finding creative ways to keep the community moving forward.”
Demolition of the parking plaza is planned to begin in November 2016 and will be completed by early-spring 2017.
