On Broadway: Restoring a neighborhood

“Broadway: Where Green Bay Comes to Life.”

It’s a slogan for the city’s Broadway District, an old part of the downtown area once known as Fort Howard.

The once blighted area has come to life in the last decade-plus with the help of UW-Green Bay, its faculty and students.

Urban and Regional Studies Prof. Marcelo Cruz and his students have partnered with On Broadway, Inc., the community organization that works with residents and businesses in the Broadway District, to revitalize the area.

Students have done countless projects as interns with On Broadway, and, with Cruz, have designed plans for new sidewalks, bus shelters, art pedestals and more.

In 2007, UW-Green Bay students wrote a new comprehensive plan for the Broadway District that is in use today. It later won a state Main Street Award.

Four UW-Green Bay graduates have even gone on to become directors of On Broadway, Inc., including its current director Kelly Czypinski, class of ’06.

“I saw a great opportunity for students to get hands-on experience in the working world when it comes to planning, architecture, urban design and community development,” Cruz said of the working relationship UW-Green Bay has with On Broadway and the District.

The students are often able to put that real-world experience to use at new jobs following graduation.

“It’s going to help me in the long run because it’s going to help with a lot of networking and getting to know my field a lot better than what other students are going to be able to do if they don’t take an internship,” said On Broadway intern Stephanie Hummel.

On Broadway, Inc. was the state’s first Main Street Program developed in a large urban setting. Most Main Street programs are designed for the development of small, rural downtowns, Cruz said.

Since its inception in 1995, the organization, UW-Green Bay faculty and students, and Broadway District residents and business owners have transformed the area in to a vibrant part of the city. Crime is down, employment in the area is up and new businesses line the streets. Thousands visit the area each year for weekly farmers markets and concerts, and for annual events, including Winterfest and Taste.

The comprehensive plan UW-Green Bay students wrote won a state Main Street Award for the best design project in 2008, Cruz said.

On Broadway, Inc. won a 2009 Great American Main Street Award. The awards recognize the top five Main Street programs in the country each year.

“I think you’ve seen a renaissance in the last 20 to 25 years in cities large and small,” Cruz said. “So much effort (is put) in renovating the downtowns because they’ve seen the downtown is the economic nerve of the metropolitan area. And a healthy downtown is a healthy metropolitan area.”

Video Transcript

Kelly Czypinski
Director, On Broadway, Inc. / UW-Green Bay alumna (’06)
The Broadway District, up until about 15 years ago, was really Green Bay’s red-light district. It was a seedy part of town. You would not want your kids coming here ever and you wouldn’t want to come here after dark.

Mary Rydell
Owner, Scanhome Furnishings and Primal Eye
There were some of the nastiest bars in Green Bay. I remember (one establishment) next to Old Fort Square, and truly it was a shocking experience.

Al Buch
Co-Owner, The Gift Itself
We used to have quite a few people going from bar-to-bar down here. In fact, this used to be one of the worst bars right here.

Narrator
But not any more, thanks in part to UW-Green Bay, its faculty and students, who have worked hard to help plan the redevelopment of the Broadway District for more than a decade.

Prof. Marcelo Cruz
Urban and Regional Studies
To be able to transform it, working with the merchants, working with the local neighborhood organizations, and working with On Broadway, we’ve been able to transform what was considered a blighted neighborhood to one that has produced 700 new jobs in the downtown area, it has produced income for the city, it has produced a streetscape that people outside of the neighborhood can come and enjoy.

We’ve had a very, very long relationship, UWGB, the Urban and Regional Studies Department, has had a long relationship with On Broadway, since its very inception… 14 years of generations of students coming in and gaining hands-on experience and using that to go on and get jobs from within Wisconsin and outside Wisconsin.

I saw a great opportunity for students to get hands-on experience in the real working world when it comes to planning, architecture, urban design and community development.

Stephanie Hummel
On Broadway intern, Urban and Regional Studies major
On Broadway has really helped us perform networking and getting the basics of what your field is going to be like. It’s going to help me in the long run because it’s going to help with a lot of networking and getting to know my field a lot better than what other students are going to be able to do if they don’t take an internship.

Kelly Czypinski
Our interns get real life experience. They get to manage a project from start to finish. Many of our interns even stay on after the semester is over to wrap up their projects, but they get to actually manage a project as if they were an employee of On Broadway. We feel it’s critical to give them ownership over the project and not just have them do menial tasks. We hear feedback from the students that it’s a great place to intern because they can put these items on their resume. Before they even leave college they have real-world experience.

Narrator
Cruz and his students helped write an award-winning comprehensive plan for the Broadway District, which is thriving once again.

Mary Rydell
I’m proud of the fact that the district has, kind of, surrounded and actually risen to the occasion. It’s a good feeling to participate in the growth of an area.

Marcelo Cruz
I think you’ve seen a renaissance in the last 20 to 25 years in cities large and small. So much effort (is put) in renovating the downtowns because they’ve seen the downtown is the economic nerve of the metropolitan area. And a healthy downtown is a healthy metropolitan area.

For more on UW-Green Bay’s Urban and Regional Studies program visit www.uwgb.edu/urs

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