Roosevelt Park

Roosevelt Park

IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Due to poor Air Quality, we have postponed the Community Celebration portion of today’s Ribbon Cutting. The health and safety of our residents and guests is always our highest priority. The press conference will still proceed at 1pm with an abbreviated timeline to limit exposure.  Masks will be provided. The Celebration will be rescheduled to a future date under more favorable conditions. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

 

Located in Michigan Ave, most people probably think of Roosevelt Park as the front lawn of Michigan Central Station. Indeed, it is it's own City of Detroit park.  Nestled between two of Detroit's most vibrant neighborhoods, Corktown and Mexicantown in southwest Detroit, the park serves as a bridge between the Mexican and Irish cultures.  Festivals and celebrations regularly took place in the park but as it fell into greater disrepair, programming dwindled.   As renovations began at Michigan Central Station, the City  began planning improvements to Roosevelt Park.  In 2020, the Greater Corktown Framework Plan identified Roosevelt Park as a priority for neighborhood residents.  Furthermore, it specifically recommended rerouting Vernor Hwy away from the center of the park, creating a unified parcel.

 

Thanks to funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act, the General Services Division commenced the Roosevelt Park Improvement Project.  Community outreach was conducted in the Corktown, Mexicantown, and Hubbard-Richard neighborhoods. After months of public input, the design for Roosevelt Park was finalized and construction kicked off in July 2022.  Now, a year later, we can't wait to reintroduce Detroit to its new unified Roosevelt Park. Come experience an old familiar place in a new way.  

 

The formal Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will begin at 1:00pm with Mayor Duggan addressing attendees as well as esteemed speakers from the Corktown and Mexicantown neighborhoods.  A Community Celebration will continue until 4:00pm with face painting, carnival games, live entertainment, food trucks- and MORE! 

 

JUN 28th Roosevelt Park Ribbon Cutting- Parking & Activity Map 

* PLEASE DISREGARD CELEBRATION & ACTIVITY INFORMATION AT THIS TIME

 

Roosevelt Event Map 6/28

 

JOIN US FOR THE ROOSEVELT PARK RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY- WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2023 FROM 1:00 to 4:00 PM!

Click here to add the event to your calendar
Roosevelt Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony July 28, 2023 from 1-4
Roosevelt Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony July 28, 2023 from 1-4

 

Click here to download the images above to share on social media or in print- English & Spanish

 

 

 

 

 

 

MAY 2023 CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Roosevelt Construction Update- May 2023

2022 YEAR IN REVIEW 

Jan 2023 Roosevelt Park Update Page 1
Roosevelt Park Construction Update Jan 2023 2
Roosevelt Park Construction Update Jan 2023 3
Roosevelt Park Construction Update Jan 2023 4

 

 

 

Updates:

Construction has begun on July 19, 2022.  Work should be substantially completed by Spring 2023.   For more information, please contact Shamori Whitt at [email protected].

On Thursday, January 13, 2022, at 6:30 pm, the City presented the final design for Phase 1 of Roosevelt Park.

Click here to view the presentation:

Final Design Presentation for Phase 1 of Roosevelt Park

Click below to view the presentation deck:

Roosevelt Park Final Community Meeting

 Ver la presentación en español:

Reunión comunitaria final de Roosevelt Park

 

On November 18, 2021, over 80 community members met online via Zoom to review the proposed park design for Roosevelt Park.

Click here to watch the presentation:

November 18th, 2021 Roosevelt Park Presentation Video

Click below to view the presentation deck:

Roosevelt Park Presentation Deck

Ver la presentación en español:

Roosevelt Park Presentación

Click to view the proposed design and provide your feedback:

Ver el diseño propuesto y proporcionar comentarios:

Roosevelt Park Feedback Form
Roosevelt Park Detour

 

Download PDF

 

The General Services Department’s Parks & Recreation Division will be undergoing a design and engagement process for Roosevelt Park. The process seeks to understand the adjacent communities' desires for programming and amenities in a newly unified and renovated community park space.  The engagement is expected to kick off this fall and run through the new year, with construction to kick off in spring of 2022.  

Roosevelt Park sits in the center of a vibrant and culturally diverse Detroit community.  In the heart of southwest Detroit’s Hubbard Richard and Corktown Neighborhoods, Roosevelt Park is most well-known as a green space next to the iconic Michigan Central Station. The current park layout supports car traffic but does not provide a public space that serves the community as a welcoming space for all whether on foot, bike or by car.  The plans to reroute Vernor Hwy from the park and move it west to 16th street continues to provide the critical connection for car traffic between communities, and also allows for Roosevelt Park to become green space for all to enjoy. 

The Detroit Parks and Recreation Division is conducting a survey to gather community input on the future design of Roosevelt Park.

Roosevelt Park Renovation Project Background: 

The Greater Corktown Neighborhood Planning Framework, initiated in 2019, included extensive community engagement and recommended a catalytic and unified park.  Roosevelt Park will be undergoing a unification that will re-route Vernor Hwy to 16th street by closing the current one-way roads that currently bisect the park.   The unification will combine the adjacent parcels into one unified community park space.  

The City of Detroit will be closing Vernor Highway through the park on September the 7th, 2021.  This will permanently shift traffic connecting communities to 16th Street.   16th Street is currently being petitioned for a name change to Vernor Hwy to reinforce the improvement.

Ford is also working to improve the landscape is in this neighborhood. They are redeveloping the Michigan Central Station, which includes community benefit provisions through the City’s Community Benefit Ordinance (CBO). Ford is investing in affordable housing, workforce development, and other infrastructure improvements. They will be rebuilding the viaduct in Fall 2021, which will result in temporary road closures.  The closures are expected to last from September 7th 2021 through late October 2021. 

We appreciate your patience during any construction inconveniences, which will result in improved community mobility.