The Kinnickinnic River is getting another RiverWalk section. It's the fourth Harbor District path

• The Kinnickinnic River is getting another public RiverWalk section--this one at Lincoln Playfield.
• The RiverWalk will be the final piece of playfield renovations that have already started. It's to be completed this fall.
• The Lincoln Field walkway will be the fourth such path on the Kinnickinnic River in Milwaukee's Harbor District.

The Kinnickinnic River is getting another public RiverWalk section — the fourth such segment planned for the tributary within Milwaukee's Harbor District.

The paved, 14-foot-wide path will be built on the eastern edge of Lincoln Playfield, a city-owned park at 300 W. Lincoln Ave. Construction is to begin this summer, with completion in late fall.

"There is currently not a way to even see the river from Lincoln Field," said Tia Torhost, CEO of Harbor District Inc., a nonprofit group focused on district revitalization.

"This project will open up the river in a new way and allow the community to grow a greater appreciation for the Kinnickinnic River," Torhost said, in a statement.

The RiverWalk will run around 800 feet — the length of Lincoln Playfield. It will be the final piece of playfield renovations that have already started, said Madison Goldbeck, Department of City Development marketing and communications officer.

Those improvements include a new asphalt walking loop, upgrades to the tennis and basketball courts, and a riverfront restoration that features kayak access, according to a department report.

The RiverWalk is to be funded with $475,000 from a tax incremental financing district centered at the nearby River 1 mixed-use development, 210 W. Becher St. That new funding proposal needs Common Council approval.

The financing district uses property tax revenue from River 1.

That development features an eight-story, 200,000-square-foot office building, anchored by Michels Corp., which opened in 2021, as well as apartments, Bridgewater Modern Grill and Casera Cafe.

River 1's tax financing district paid for a RiverWalk running 1,000 feet alongside that development. It's the Kinnickinnic's first RiverWalk, and is accessible from both West Becher and South First streets.

Also, construction starts this spring on a RiverWalk at the Kinnickinnic's mouth, near Komatsu Mining Corp.'s new corporate campus.

It will run in two segments, separated by railroad tracks, totaling nearly three-quarters of a mile between the end of East Greenfield Avenue and the South Kinnickinnic Avenue bridge.

Finally, a RiverWalk is being developed on the Kinnickinnic River at Boone & Crockett, a tavern, and The Cooperage, an adjacent events space, at 818 S. Water St.

The property owner has applied for building permits to construct the 240-foot path with plans to begin work this year. A public walk way will connect the RiverWalk to the sidewalk along South Water Street at East National Avenue.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram,Bluesky, X and Facebook.