The CityDeck is the heart of a multi-phase redevelopment project along Green Bay's Fox Riverfront, whose aim is to allow for significantly increased access to the river and to diversify social and ecological life along it.
Phase 1 of the project, which includes major portions of the upland as well as one over-river structure, opened to the public in 2009/2010 and has become a new center of civic activity, with a full schedule of dining and arts events, performances, and parades—as well as new restaurants, the Children's Museum, and both living and work spaces.
Phase 2 of the project opened in October 2012, essentially completing the project and establishing the full-on connections down to the river as originally designed. Two new over-water structures perform as informal river amphitheater (with floating stage) and as casual "beach" for hanging out. They also negotiate significant grade changes, folding over existing bulkhead walls and stepping or sloping down to the river's surface. In addition, a series of linear floating docks allows for temporary recreational boat access to downtown and forms a floating pathway all along the city's edge. With these additions, the full impact of the project's folding wood surfaces can be felt, establishing undulating and diverse connections between water and city, and flexibly accommodating people and activities across its charged surfaces.
The design inventively integrates sustainable stormwater, material, and lighting strategies; it reorients downtown to the riverfront; it frames opportunities for new development; and it creates an entirely new image for the City of Green Bay.
Project planning and design involved intense public and stakeholder participation, as well as extensive coordination with local, county, state, and federal agencies.
