Corktown booms with new condos, apartments as Ford campus takes shape

**royce** · June-26-23, 01:22 AM

Ok, the official opening of Roosevelt Park is this Wednesday, June 28, 2023. Ribbon cutting will take place at 1:00 pm. Food trucks and other activities will be taking place from 1 - 4 pm. For more information go to detroitmi.gov/rooseveltpark.

**Gistok** · June-26-23, 02:26 AM

From the Detroit Parks & Rec page on Facebook....

"We are so excited to celebrate the completion of the historic Roosevelt Park this month with a premiere ribbon cutting and community event on June 28 from 1pm-4pm."

**stasu1213** · June-26-23, 07:20 AM

Originally Posted by royce

Ok, the official opening of Roosevelt Park is this Wednesday, June 28, 2023. Ribbon cutting will take place at 1:00 pm. Food trucks and other activities will be taking place from 1 - 4 pm. For more information go to detroitmi.gov/rooseveltpark.

No worries. I had went yesterday and the whole patrol brigade came out as if I were an invading country. That park is massive. I remember seeing a rendering of the redeveloping of Hart Plaza. It was going to resemble Roosevelt Park. I am glad that Hart Plaza stayed the same.

**stasu1213** · June-26-23, 08:49 AM

It is amazing that Roosevelt Park was redevelop in one year being that it's also in District 6 as well as the Southwest Greenway while the remaining walking path on the former Uniroyal site which is in District 5 still is not completed even after a year when work abruptly ceased on that section of walkway.

**angry_fred** · June-26-23, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

It is amazing that Roosevelt Park was redevelop in one year being that it's also in District 6 as well as the Southwest Greenway while the remaining walking path on the former Uniroyal site which is in District 5 still is not completed even after a year when work abruptly ceased on that section of walkway.

From what I understand it has nothing to do with the district and everything to do with the fact that the Uniroyal site was underfunded [[no big donors aka ford) and an environmental disaster.

Southwest Greenway and Roosevelt park were pretty straightforward. No army corps permits, no remediation, just construction.

**Gistok** · June-26-23, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by angry_fred

From what I understand it has nothing to do with the district and everything to do with the fact that the Uniroyal site was underfunded [[no big donors aka ford) and an environmental disaster.

Southwest Greenway and Roosevelt park were pretty straightforward. No army corps permits, no remediation, just construction.

Apparently ONLY the riverfront Riverwalk portion of the site was remediated [removal of toxic soil]. Most of the site still has the original contamination still in place. I don't ever remember a time in the last 20 years when the entire Uniroyal site was ever dug up [it would have to have been one large excavation site].

https://developmenttracker.detourdet.../uniroyal-site

Most of this property is still a toxic site apparently. I don't understand why [besides lack of Superfund funding] this site has never been completely remediated. Until that happens, I don't see that site just being "capped", i.e. building above the ground.

If condos/apartments were ever built on that site, I would think twice about moving there, if the contamination were still located underground.

**masterblaster** · June-26-23, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by royce

Ok, the official opening of Roosevelt Park is this Wednesday, June 28, 2023. Ribbon cutting will take place at 1:00 pm. Food trucks and other activities will be taking place from 1 - 4 pm. For more information go to detroitmi.gov/rooseveltpark.

Hindsight is 20/20, but I think not putting a multi-level parking garage underneath Roosevelt park is a big miss. It probably would have quadrupled the cost of the park project, but it would have accelerated development of residential and office ringing the park

**royce** · June-26-23, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Apparently ONLY the riverfront Riverwalk portion of the site was remediated [removal of toxic soil]. Most of the site still has the original contamination still in place. I don't ever remember a time in the last 20 years when the entire Uniroyal site was ever dug up [it would have to have been one large excavation site].

https://developmenttracker.detourdet.../uniroyal-site

Most of this property is still a toxic site apparently. I don't understand why [besides lack of Superfund funding] this site has never been completely remediated. Until that happens, I don't see that site just being "capped", i.e. building above the ground.

If condos/apartments were ever built on that site, I would think twice about moving there, if the contamination were still located underground.

I've often wondered if we're being too cautious about the effects of soil contamination. I mean how much of the Uniroyal plant site was affected by contamination? Where were the contaminates concentrated? Workers who drove to work parked in the parking lot. Was the soil under the parking lot contaminated? And if you clear off the top soil so many inches, will the remaining contaminants in the soil reach the surface one day, given the fact you will have foundations for buildings, sidewalks, and streets? Regarding underground piping like that for drinking water, can the contaminants leach into the piping, and if so, is there a way to bring water into residential units without placing the piping in the ground? Can these things be mitigated?

**Gistok** · June-26-23, 07:42 PM

Royce, this website explains the problems with the entire Uniroyal site, including mentioning what industries were there before the 1941 Uniroyal introduction. The site was industrial since the 1860s.

https://www.bridgedetroit.com/after-...th-to-revival/

One specific item caught my eye...

"Several years ago, the state environmental agency took a sample of the sediment from the Detroit River near the Uniroyal site. The sample was put in a clear plastic container. The sediment “eroded” the container, said Sam Noffke, an aquatic biologist for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy."

**Lowell** · June-27-23, 07:30 AM

Since I was meeting up at Nemo's with a friend to go to the ballgame last Wednesday, I arrived early to do some catch up photos of Corktown. Michigan Central was bustling with workers busily laying the sod and doing the landscaping in preparation for the opening of Roosevelt Park.

View of the central walkway.

The recently opened former post office building.

To the east on Michigan Ave. the Perennial Apartment complex rises.

Further east Corktown's Godfrey Hotel, with windows facing the downtown skyline, nears completion.

Cue the crescendo. The long journey back is nearing.

And lest we forget... Michigan Central 20 years ago when it reigned as Detroit's most Fabulous Ruin.

**canuck** · June-27-23, 08:11 AM

Fantastic job of rehabbing this outstanding building. The Park enhancements will help bring it back to its glory days, too.

**southen** · June-27-23, 09:01 AM

Does that lobby facade seem like it still needs a power wash or it is just me?

**K-slice** · June-27-23, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by masterblaster

Hindsight is 20/20, but I think not putting a multi-level parking garage underneath Roosevelt park is a big miss. It probably would have quadrupled the cost of the park project, but it would have accelerated development of residential and office ringing the park

That would have been a great idea! It's ridiculous however that there is no new transit on Michigan with all the new development. Between The Corner, Elton Park, Perennial, Left Field, and the smaller projects Corktown's resident population will have probably doubled, not to mention the new office workers and and hotel guests. Yet there is sill no easy way to get to downtown, midtown, or the East Riverfront...

We need streetcar extensions down every spoke road out to the Blvd.

**stasu1213** · June-27-23, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by angry_fred

From what I understand it has nothing to do with the district and everything to do with the fact that the Uniroyal site was underfunded [[no big donors aka ford) and an environmental disaster.

Southwest Greenway and Roosevelt park were pretty straightforward. No army corps permits, no remediation, just construction.

The fund is there to run the Riverwalk from Mt Elliott Park to Gabriel Richard Park without having to develop the whole site itself. The pathway that the Riverwalk will be had been cleared of contamination. Work resumed last year but ceased abruptly in July with no explanation from the Riverfront Conservancy. A barrier could be constructed shielding the Riverwalk portion from the rest of the site. The Southwest Greenway has a barrier dividing the Greenway from the train track where the train runs to and from Canada through the tunnel.

**Gistok** · June-27-23, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

The fund is there to run the Riverwalk from Mt Elliott Park to Gabriel Richard Park without having to develop the whole site itself. The pathway that the Riverwalk will be had been cleared of contamination. Work resumed last year but ceased abruptly in July with no explanation from the Riverfront Conservancy. A barrier could be constructed shielding the Riverwalk portion from the rest of the site. The Southwest Greenway has a barrier dividing the Greenway from the train track where the train runs to and from Canada through the tunnel.

Opening late summer 2023?

**Gistok** · June-27-23, 08:51 PM

Originally Posted by southen

Does that lobby facade seem like it still needs a power wash or it is just me?

The facade looks like a movie title... "50 Shades of Gray"...

**stasu1213** · June-28-23, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Opening late summer 2023?

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Someone must be reading our comments to come out with a new report on it. Lol. I am aware how tricky it is to build anything on this site. However I always wondered why work stopped exactly one year ago on this small part without explanation especially after the all clear was given to build on the outer edges of this site. There is another area of the Riverwalk that had a fence up for 3 years after completion. That is the part of the Riverwalk behind the River Towers Apartments next to the former Joe Louis site. I had thought at first that that part was going to be privatized to be used only by the occupants of the towers but that would be against public park rules. Many parts of the Riverwalk were developed at snails pace including parts of the Dequindre Cut after Faye Nelson stepped down from the Riverfront Conservancy in around 2013. Excuses from it was too cold to too hot were used for the slowdown in the development of the Dequindre Cut and the eastern part of the Riverwalk which happen to be in District 5. Look how fast the Joe Louis Greenway and the Southwest Greenway had been developed within one year. The contractor working on the eastern part of the Riverwalk had informed me a few weeks ago that they were pulled off completing that part without a reason given.

**southen** · June-28-23, 05:04 PM

Sounds like a conspiracy to me. Or... you aren't made privy to all the issues that go into a building a 5 mile long greenway along industrial sites just like you weren't given a construction schedule on Hudson's when you were concerned that they were never going to put glass up on that middle floor.

**stasu1213** · June-29-23, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by southen

Sounds like a conspiracy to me. Or... you aren't made privy to all the issues that go into a building a 5 mile long greenway along industrial sites just like you weren't given a construction schedule on Hudson's when you were concerned that they were never going to put glass up on that middle floor.

I was also one whom predicted that the tower was not going to be the tallest building in Michigan. Lol. I questioned about the glass not filling in the middle part of the Hudson Block. I had spoken to a contractor on working on the Uniroyal site whom informed me that they were pulled from this project to work on another project with no explanation. The project did slowed down on the east when Nelson stepped down and the DEGC had taken control of it for a while. The Dequindre Cut still hasn't been extended no further north than Mack. It's not conspiracy

**royce** · July-07-23, 02:42 AM

Last week I saw workers working at the front of the Uniroyal site on something that appeared to have nothing to do with the RiverWalk. What was that about?

**JonWylie** · July-07-23, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by royce

Last week I saw workers working at the front of the Uniroyal site on something that appeared to have nothing to do with the RiverWalk. What was that about?

Might have better luck asking in a thread more related to that site.

**gratiotfaced** · July-07-23, 12:18 PM

Maybe this is a hot take, but I'm a little underwhelmed by the new Roosevelt Park.

I think adding some kind of centerpiece -- a sculpture/statue or fountain/reflecting pool -- would just elevate the park into more of a destination. Maybe a small plaza for a cafe or restrooms as well. Right now, it seems like the kind of space you just enjoy as you pass through. It's very barebones in amenities.

Not to sound unappreciative of the project, though. It's a 8/10 in my book and a massive, beautiful improvement over the previous iteration. Thank goodness they removed Vernor Hwy through it as well.

**Satiricalivory** · July-07-23, 01:04 PM

It's pretty obvious that the train station is the centerpiece of the park.

**401don** · July-07-23, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by Satiricalivory

It's pretty obvious that the train station is the centerpiece of the park.

I agree with gratiotfaced. The park deserves better than just a broad expanse of lawn and some benches. Sure it's the front step to the MCS but it's also Corktown's primary park and should be enjoyed by the neighborhood. It could be better activated without things like swing sets that would detract from the station.

**Richard** · July-07-23, 07:11 PM

Something like the Washington monument reflection park would be cool,take your shoes off in the summer and wade and ice skating in the winter.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/488429522078394037/