SIMPLE Pleasures

Highland Gardens caters to its residents

Highland Gardens

By Sean Ryan

Photo courtesy of Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee

Highland Gardens was built to make people happier.

The residents who enjoy the building's weekly movies, on-site health providers and $8,000 pool table would be hard-pressed finding such opportunities anywhere else.

"This is all about sustaining people's psyches instead of just their physical needs," said Rocky Marcoux, Milwaukee Department of City Development commissioner and former director of development for the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee. "It's sustaining them, and that's the whole point."

The Housing Authority last year tore down its aging Highland Park low-income housing development and is replacing it with a new neighborhood of single-family homes that is centered on the 114-unit, four-story, 120,000-square-foot Highland Gardens on 1.2 acres.

While designing Highland Gardens, Marcoux connected with IndependenceFirst, a Milwaukee nonprofit specializing in building accessibility, to find ways to make the building a comfortable place for people with disabilities. The project team looked into every corner, trying to exceed the mandated accessibility features and create humanity in the details.

he square outdoor tables have only two benches, so people in wheelchairs can reach the tabletop chess boards. The common areas are packed with electrical outlets, so residents can recharge their electric wheelchairs.

The stairways have skylights and were designed so climbers can see people on the flights above them. The idea was to make the stairwells, traditionally a dreary and utilitarian scene, the kind of space residents wouldn't mind using.

	Project Name: Highland Gardens Location: Milwaukee Submitting Company: Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee General Contractor: Reichl Construction Inc., Hales Corners Architect: AG Architecture Inc., Wauwatosa Engineers: AG Architecture Inc., structural engineer; Leedy & Petzold Associates LLC, Elm Grove, electrical engineer; Posko Associates Inc., Waukesha, mechanical engineer Owner: Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee Project Cost: $12 million Start Date: September 2003 Completion Date: November 2004

Every toilet in the place was given a few feet of clearance on each side, which isn't mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Most people in wheelchairs still need help using an ADA-compliant bathroom, Marcoux said, but they won't in Highland Gardens. A few feet of space doesn't mean much in terms of overall design, but the ability to use a toilet independently means a lot to a person.

"They are all part of an overall design, but they are all very subtle and nuanced," Marcoux said. "If they feel what we've tried to imbue in the building, then we were successful."

Highland Gardens is about more than sustaining people. It's also designed to sustain the environment. Freak storms aside, Marcoux said, the building will catch and absorb all the rain that falls on it. It has the Midwest's largest public rooftop garden and two rain gardens in front.

It was built with recycled and sustainable materials. The commons room floor is made from the boards saved from Highland Park's gym. The hallways are paved with cork that is harvested from living trees that survive to grow more.

The masonry structure was built to last 150 years or more, Marcoux said. The building is laid out simply, so it can be converted for new use if it outlives Milwaukee's need for low-income housing.

"The fact that it has been built in universal design principles means that this building could be designed for any use," Marcoux said.