@DetroitRvrfrnt Final phase of the Detroit East Riverwalk projects under way #TellUsDetroit
July 23, 2012 Leave a comment
The surprise presentation was a $15 million check from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund presented to the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy that will be used to support the organization’s perpetual stewardship role of operation, maintenance and programing of the riverfront. (Photo by Thomas Richardson/Tell Us Detroit)
By Karen Hudson Samuels, National Deputy Editor
DETROIT (Tell Us Det) – Detroit’s East Riverfront is getting a $44 million dollar facelift thanks to $29 million in Federal Highway funds and a $15 million dollar investment by the Michigan Resources Trust Fund.
“This is a significant milestone in the most ambitious public-private development in the city’s history,” said Faye Nelson, President and CEO of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy.
The makeover will connect the RiverWalk from Joe Louis Arena to the Belle Isle Bridge and include major improvements to Gabriel Richard Park and the Mt. Elliott Park and Pavilion.
LED lighting, ornamental trees and shrubs, and a playscape with wind chimes and interactive water features are several of the construction projects planned for Mt Elliott Park, with designs that ensure universal access by all.
For the under-utilized Gabriel Richard Park there will be a pedestrian-bicycle pathway connecting the riverfront to Jefferson Avenue, a. new parking lot and pathways to improve access to the park.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy leadership, Mayor Dave Bing, Governor Rick Snyder and other key stakeholders turned out Monday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony to announce that work begins immediately on the construction projects that will complete the east riverfront development.
Senator Carl Levin, who was in attendance, and instrumental in securing the $29 million in federal funds, said “We are to celebrate another milestone in the effort to give Detroit a riverfront worthy of our city, worthy of people, worth of our history.”
Providing the public access to the Detroit River has been the mission of the Riverfront Conservancy since it was established in 2003. It has succeeded in creating a popular go-to summer spot to walk, bike, and jog along the city’s international waterway. The new projects will span five-and-a-half miles of riverfront property that have gone from industrial waste land to recreational space.
