Trostel Square — Milwaukee

Development Team
DEVELOPER: Mandel Group Inc., Milwaukee
ARCHITECT: Engberg Anderson Design Partnership Inc., Milwaukee
CIVIL DESIGN AND SURVEYING: National Survey & Engineering, Brookfield, Wis.
PUBLIC ROADWAY DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION: City of Milwaukee
BROWNFIELDS GRANT PROGRAM: State of Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Madison
ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION: State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Southeast District, Milwaukee

Trostel Square is a luxury residential community, including a river walk and dock slips, developed on a former brownfield site.

The site condition required excavated and graded materials be balanced on site. Brookfield, Wis.-based National Survey & Engineering, the site civil designer and land surveyor, dealt with the challenges of managing the depth of cuts and placement of fill.

Even though this project is located in a combined sewer area, the storm sewer and sanitary sewer could not be combined. Storm sewage had to go to the Milwaukee River, and sanitary sewage had to go in the opposite direction.

Because the elevation of the land slopes toward the river, the sanitary sewer became shallow. This created conflict with the storm sewer and water main, which is also typically a shallow utility.

Further complicating the situation, state restrictions did not allow for trench excavations more than 6 ft. deep in some areas of the site.

As a result, the storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water main, as well as the electrical, telephone and cable, were designed to work with each other in a 6-ft.-deep zone.

The jury said, "This project was converted from brownfields. It was a good re-use plan."

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