Grant could buoy plans for $250,000 Port harbor plaza

It looks like the proposed Heart of the Harbor plaza at the far east end of Main Street in downtown Port Washington will be constructed this fall.

Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven told the Common Council Tuesday that preliminary indications are that the city will receive a $40,000 Wisconsin Coastal Management grant to help finance the project.

A final decision on the grant is expected to be announced on Feb. 11, he said.

The Heart of the Harbor project, which is being spearheaded by Port Main Street Inc., is intended to create a centerpiece in downtown where residents and visitors could linger and enjoy the lakefront, even in cool weather.

It would include benches, bike racks, picnic tables, landscaping, metal sunshades and, at the center, a sculpture with a fire element.

The gas fire feature could be activated by anyone via a switch, running for a set amount of time that organizers have said would likely be 10 or 15 minutes.

Vanden Noven said the $40,000 grant requires a $60,000 match from the city. Port Main Street has already raised more than $40,000 toward that, he said, and is continuing its fundraising.

The city will make an in-kind contribution of labor, he said, primarily work by the street department to install concrete and pavers and landscape the area.

Port Main Street funds will be used for the landscaping supplies, benches, tables and other materials for the project.

Fundraising for the fire sculpture will be separate from that for the rest of the project, Vanden Noven said.

The grant funds won’t be available to the city until July, Vanden Noven said, and work will likely begin on the project this fall.

“It’s a project we’re excited to build and take on,” he said.

When Port Main Street approached the city with plans for the project, it estimated the cost would be about $250,000.

Creating the plaza has been a Main Street goal for many years, although the project was dormant for many years. It was resurrected in 2017, and a year later Main Street representatives brought plans for the plaza to the city for review.

The organization began fundraising for the project last fall.