Miller Engineers & Scientists won a Best of State Award for turning the derelict former Reiss Coal property into a productive piece of land.
The Harbor Centre South Pier District Peninsula, where the Sheboygan River enters Lake Michigan, supported a busy commercial port for more than a century. Perceived environmental impairment and the need for major infrastructure reinvestment had been insurmountable barriers to redevelopment until the city stepped into the lead role. Miller Engineers & Scientists worked for the city and designed many of the features, providing the most public use of the surrounding mile of waterfront and preparing the land for private investment, the first of which was the $54 million Blue Harbor Resort complex.
“The resort part of the project had some very innovative features,” said EEA Judge Bill Stark.
Miller combined normal weight, medium weight and ultra lightweight fill materials to allow the use of conventional structural systems in the construction of the resort complex as well as its indoor water park and the cottage condominiums.
For the resort’s wall system, Miller recommended using modular block retaining walls, in lieu of rigid concrete walls, because of the modular's deformation tolerance. Modular block systems derive their lateral stability from layers of geogrids placed horizontally in the fill behind the wall, and, in this case, it was imperative to use geofoam as the fill. This was the first time both geogrids and geofoam were used together in a project. Miller developed a simple technique to effectively grip geogrid shapes between geofoam blocks.
Aside from the resort complex, restoration of Lake Michigan’s half-mile shoreline included public trails winding among reconstructed dunes planted with native species. Beneath the dunes are revetments that protect development inland but don’t interfere with natural beach dynamics. This system avoids the adverse impact on the lakeshore caused by conventional revetments.
“I liked how they buried the revetments to hide them instead of having them stick out like a sore thumb,” said EEA Judge Larry Jones.
Miller emphasized design in harmony with the physical and aesthetic characteristics of man made and natural environments. The city, together with Miller, has successfully implemented the project, turning this once underutilized piece of property into the focal point of Sheboygan’s revitalized riverfront and lakeshore area. Especially with the development of a resort complex, this former industrial peninsula has become the crown jewel of the community in just 18 months.
