While word of internal layoffs and the closure of a landmark dealership was breaking, Harley-Davidson, Inc. formally unveiled the newly created community park, Davidson Park (“the Park”), at its Juneau Avenue campus in Milwaukee.
“When we started this project, we did so with one main goal, and that was to further connect the Company with our hometown Milwaukee, a place that we’ve been proud to call home for over 120 years,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman, President and CEO, Harley-Davidson. “No matter how fast you move forward, you can never forget where you’ve come from – this project both celebrates our heritage and reinforces the power of the Harley-Davidson brand to be a force for good within our communities.”
The project, pioneered by the Harley-Davidson Foundation, has been created in partnership with Heatherwick Studio who conceived and oversaw an original design to transform the 4-acre parking lot just south of the Company’s 3700 W. Juneau Avenue building. As part of the project team, HGA served as the architect and engineer of record and Greenfire Management Services as the construction partner, with both Milwaukee-based firms partnering with Heatherwick Studio to bring the design vision to life.
“Davidson Park has been an extraordinary collaboration between the studio and local partners, schools, artists and the Forest County Potawatomi community, to transform an uninspiring concrete parking lot into a new public park and events amphitheater for Milwaukee,” claims Thomas Heatherwick, Founder and Director, Heatherwick Studios.
“On behalf of the Harley-Davidson Foundation, we are really excited to formally unveil Davidson Park – we believe that the Park will provide a much-needed greenspace in our local community – but importantly a space that can be shared by all,” adds Tori Termaat, President, The Harley-Davidson Foundation.
As part of the next phase of development, two exciting additions are coming to Juneau Ave – a STEAM Lab and the Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Headquarters. The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) lab will enable H-D to further partner with local organizations and schools to provide students direct access to resources, receive mentoring from our talented employees, experience hands-on learning, and encourage career exploration in STEAM fields.
Racing has been part of H-D history for over 100 years and is a compelling way to bring its brand narrative to life for customers and fans. The H-D Factory Racing Team will move back to where it all began, giving visitors to the historic H-D headquarters an exciting and engaging behind-the-scenes look and enhancing customer-facing experiences in alignment with the Company’s campus strategy.