Outagamie County proceeds with $1.5 million dog park near Brewster Village in Grand Chute

Outagamie County will have a new 10-acre dog park by Memorial Day if all goes according to plan.

The low bid for the earthwork and construction of the dog park totaled $1,494,052 and was awarded to Relyco Plus of De Pere. The park will be built on county-owned land at 3302 W. Brewster St. in Grand Chute. The property is located immediately west of Brewster Village, the county’s short-term rehabilitation and long-term care facility.

The county budgeted $1.4 million for the project. Parks Director Justin Schumacher said he will pursue a grant from the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau to cover the $94,052 overrun because the park will be used by visitors staying in nearby hotels.

The Brewster Dog Park, as it’s called in technical documents, will include a 6.5-acre large-dog area, a 1-acre small-dog area and a 2.25-acre agility area. It will have year-round restrooms, a dog washing area and a 47-stall paved parking lot with lights. Walking trails will be built inside the fenced areas and along the perimeter to connect to the Old Stone Bridge Trail, which links to Fox Valley Technical College.

“Especially around the urban area, people just don’t have the yards to let their dogs run, like they do in the country,” Schumacher told the Appleton Post-Crescent. “Putting something like this right near (Interstate) 41, with the hotel area of Grand Chute, we thought it would be a great location that can serve both locals and people who are traveling.”

A ground-breaking ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. July 17 at the site.

The Parks Department is also working with the Veterans Service Office to create a memorial for military working dogs, Schumacher said.

In addition, the master plan for the area shows a multigenerational playground with shade structures, benches and picnic areas situated between the dog park and Brewster Village.

“With the dog park next door, you can bring your whole family — the dogs, the kids, mom and dad and grandpa and grandma; everyone in one place,” Schumacher said.

The multigenerational playground, though, is a future project and is not part of the dog park contract.

After the new dog park opens in 2026, Outagamie County will close its Northland Dog Park at 2830 French Road in Little Chute. That land is needed by Outagamie County Recycling & Solid Waste for the expansion of its landfill operations and is part of a three-way land swap.

Recycling & Solid Waste will take land on French Road from the Parks Department, the Parks Department will take land on Brewster Street from the Highway Department, and the Highway Department will take land on Holland Road from Recycling & Solid Waste.

“Everyone got what they needed out of it,” Schumacher said.

Outagamie County’s new dog park, like its existing dog park, is expected to attract widespread use, in part because the City of Appleton, with more than 75,000 people, has no dog park or dog exercise area.

Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @DukeBehnke.

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