At the beginning of 2025, Studio GWA partnered with the City of Viroqua to support two community-wide planning efforts focused on outdoor recreation and historic preservation. The City was seeking clear, implementable plans that could guide public investment, strengthen stewardship of existing assets, and support long term decision making. Our role was to help translate local priorities into adopted documents that City staff and elected officials could rely on in the years ahead.

Working closely with City leadership, Studio GWA prepared a Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan and a Historic Preservation Plan through a coordinated process rooted in public input and technical analysis. Both plans were adopted by the City at the end of 2025 and are now actively positioned to inform policy, capital planning, and grant eligibility. Together, they provide Viroqua with a shared framework for managing parks, public spaces, and historic resources in a way that reflects community values and supports practical implementation.

Community Context

Located in Wisconsin’s Driftless Region, Viroqua serves as the county seat and a regional hub for recreation, culture, and commerce. The City offers an extensive network of parks and open spaces alongside a rich collection of historic buildings and districts that define its character.

City leaders recognized that maintaining these assets required more than maintenance alone. They needed planning tools that aligned recreation investment, historic stewardship, grant eligibility, and long-range policy objectives.

Scope of Work

Both plans were developed in coordination with the City’s ongoing comprehensive planning process and were formally adopted by the City at the end of 2025.

The project team was led by Ashley Sarver, AICP, Principal, and Michael Smith, Associate Planner, who worked closely with City staff, elected officials, advisory committees, and community stakeholders throughout the process.

All Parkland in City Boundary - INDD.png

An Integrated Planning Approach

While Outdoor Recreation Plans and Historic Preservation Plans are often prepared independently, Viroqua chose a different path. The City prioritized a coordinated process that acknowledged the interconnected nature of parks, historic places, public investment, and community identity.

By working on both plans at the same time, Studio GWA was able to:

Align goals and recommendations across documents
Use shared engagement efforts to reduce fatigue and increase participation
Ensure consistent data, mapping, and policy language
Create plans that reinforce one another rather than compete for attention or resources

This integrated approach allowed the City to evaluate how historic parks, legacy infrastructure, and cultural landscapes fit into a broader recreation and preservation strategy.

Public Engagement and Local Insight

Meaningful community engagement was central to the success of both plans. From January through September of 2025, Studio GWA facilitated a comprehensive outreach effort that included community surveys, focus groups, pop up engagement, and public meetings.

Residents and stakeholders were asked not only how they use parks and historic places today, but how they want to see them evolve in the future. The engagement process elevated local knowledge and ensured that recommendations reflected lived experience rather than assumptions.

Key themes emerged consistently across engagement efforts:

Strong support for continued investment in parks and trails
A desire for improved access, amenities, and connectivity
Broad recognition of historic buildings and districts as community assets
Interest in preservation as a tool for economic development and placemaking

These themes directly informed plan priorities and implementation strategies.

Outcomes for Outdoor Recreation

The Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan provides the City with a clear framework for managing and improving its park system over the next five years. The plan documents existing parkland, evaluates level of service, and identifies strategic investments focused on accessibility, maintenance, partnerships, and long term sustainability.

Rather than emphasizing expansion alone, the plan focuses on making existing assets work better for residents and visitors. It also preserves the City’s eligibility for state and federal recreation funding, positioning Viroqua to compete effectively for grant opportunities.

Outcomes for Historic Preservation

The Historic Preservation Plan establishes a proactive approach to stewardship over the next decade. It documents historic resources, clarifies the regulatory framework, and outlines strategies for education, incentives, and coordination.

Preservation is framed not as a static exercise, but as an ongoing investment in community vitality. The plan reinforces the role of historic buildings and districts in supporting housing, economic development, tourism, and placemaking. It also strengthens the City’s capacity to pursue grant funding and utilize historic tax credit programs where appropriate.

A Plan Built for Implementation

Both plans prioritize usability. They are designed to support day to day decision making by City staff, align with capital improvement planning, and provide clear direction for elected officials and advisory bodies.

Recommendations are organized, prioritized, and tied to responsible parties so that progress can be tracked over time. The documents are not aspirational visions alone. They are working tools intended to guide real outcomes.

Studio GWA’s Role

As an architecture, planning, and historic tax credit consulting firm, Studio GWA brings an interdisciplinary perspective to municipal planning. For the City of Viroqua, our role included:

Leading a multi plan public engagement process
Conducting technical analysis and mapping
Coordinating with City staff and advisory committees
Translating community input into actionable policy and implementation strategies
Producing adoption ready documents aligned with state and federal requirements

Projects like Viroqua reflect our belief that good planning builds confidence, continuity, and trust.

Looking Ahead

With both plans adopted, the City of Viroqua now has a coordinated framework for investing in its parks, public spaces, and historic resources. The work continues as recommendations move into implementation, but the foundation is firmly in place.

For Studio GWA, the Viroqua project stands as an example of how thoughtful planning can support stewardship, funding readiness, and long-term community goals. It also reflects our commitment to partnering with municipalities to deliver plans that are practical, consensus-based, and grounded in local values.

Viroqua Historic Preservation & Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans