Placemaking & Public Space
Lakefront Porch Project | Founder | Project Manager | Creative Placemaker
As one of the neighborhood’s only public spaces, the Lakefront Porch provides immense value for connection and respite in a dense urban setting. This project transformed the existing public space into an accessible and vibrant community place.
2020 | It starts with an idea
As a resident of First Settlement Neighborhood in downtown Madison, DeVore defined and initiated The Lakefront Porch project with the goal of enhancing an existing underused public space that was identified in the neighborhood masterplan. Working with the neighborhood association, she applied and received a city grant, which kick started a 5 year and nearly half a million dollar transformation project.
With the city grant in hand, DeVore designed outreach materials (a website, postcard, site poster, and flyers), then facilitated four community engagement sessions and an online survey to envision and prioritize what over 60 resident representatives wanted for the public space. By empowering residents to create change in their neighborhood, the visioning sessions gave way to a core volunteer committee that formed to begin the implementation process.
2021 | Partnerships & Masterplan
In 2021, DeVore led the volunteer committee in a process to clearly define the goals of the placemaking project, develop the structure of the committee, and build relationships with community partners that could help leverage the resources and expertise to implement the community’s vision.
While continuing to work with Madison Planning Division, Madison Parks Division, Madison Water Utility, Capitol Neighborhoods Inc., and the district Alder, DeVore sought and developed additional partnerships across a variety of disciplines, including public art professionals, downtown businesses, urban design advocates, and local organizations working toward improved quality of life in downtown Madison.
By collaborating with these stakeholders, the team determined a roadmap for the project and hired Saiki Design to translate the community ideas into a masterplan that showcased the neighborhood’s unique character.
Watch the Downtown Madison Happenings podcast where Jason Ilstrup talks with Emily DeVore about The Lakefront Porch project.
2022 | Fundraising
Using an estimated budget based on the completed masterplan, the volunteer committee began a capital fundraising campaign to realize the entire masterplan vision for the site. Enlisting the help of a local fundraising consultant and graphic designer, the team created a new website, outreach materials and campaign metrics and milestones.
Over the course of the year, the group hosted many community events to build awareness of the project and garner support from residents, businesses, local organizations and foundations. DeVore represented the project and the community’s vision to various audiences through media interviews, local podcast episodes, event presentations, and other meetings. These appearances helped attract additional committee members whose knowledge of the local fundraising scene was instrumental in meeting the campaign goals. Writing grant applications and forming relationships at the local, regional, and state level brought in funds at multiple scales, resulting in a total of over $460,000 raised.
2023-24 | Design & Implementation
As the fundraising campaign neared the target goal, DeVore collaborated with Saiki Design (Landscape Design) and Findorff (GC) to finalize the site design and cost estimates to meet donor feedback and expectations. Working through a series of city approval processes, collaboration and creativity were key to finding alternative solutions to solve concerns brought to light by various disciplines. DeVore helped ensure that zoning codes and urban design considerations were met, while maintaining the core community priorities and building consensus between the volunteer committee, numerous city divisions and commissions, donors, and many other diverse stakeholders at every step.
In the summer of 2023, the site - which sits atop a working city well - officially became a city park, with a unique agreement between Madison Water Utility and Madison Parks Division.
By managing funds from many separate private and public entities, the team was able to implement the vision. Planning and overseeing the installation process alongside Findorff, Saiki Design, and the City, DeVore helped ensure the successful completion of the site in fall of 2024. A ribbon cutting and grand opening event were hosted on the site to bring the community together to celebrate this new city park.
“There are folks from all over the community who came together during the height of the pandemic with this great vision for what we’re officially opening today. Emily DeVore is the reason why we have a Lakefront Porch Park today.”
— District 4 Alder Mike Verveer
“Thank you to all of our partners - this really could not have happened without the support of all of these city leaders. I'm really grateful to live in a community that knows the value of our parks, has the infrastructure set up to support that and then has the energy and willingness to step behind people who have ideas to make our public spaces better. I think that's really unique and I love that about Madison. This was truly a community-wide effort and as you all know, parks are integral to the quality of life of people in our city, so I want to thank everyone because there are so many people in the community that made this park happen."
Emily DeVore - Lakefront Porch Ribbon Cutting Ceremony