• Project includes two new playgrounds, environmental remediation, basketball court, riverwalk replacement, walkways, nature meadow area and more

• Park is adjacent to Community Center at A.B. Ford, that opened in October 2023

Today the City of Detroit and members of the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood celebrated the completion of a $11.9 million improvement project A.B. Ford Park. 

Located on the city’s east side, this riverfront park now features new picnic shelters and pods, two new playgrounds, riverwalk replacement including new concrete and railing along the entire length, a riverfront plaza with "beach" areas, walkways connecting throughout the park, fitness area, basketball court, fitness pad, event patios for the community center, a natural meadow area and lighting expanded along the riverwalk.

(L-R) Councilmember Latisha Johnson (District 4), Mayor Mike Duggan, General Services Director Crystal Perkins, neighborhood resident Brenda Wellons-Watson, Letty Azar VP of Community Government and Affairs for Penske Corporation, and Tyrone Clifton Detroit Building Authority Director in front of one of two new playgrounds at A.B. Ford Park

This major renovation also included environmental remediation of the 34-acre park to address issues from previous uses of the land from decades ago, which included excavation, importing clean soil and grading of the park. That work began in spring of 2024, with work to new park amenities happening later that year. The city is also planting 550 new young trees to replace the 250 trees removed due to the remediation.

“Eight years ago, we took Riverside Park, an empty, contaminated piece of land next to the Ambassador Bridge and turned it into a riverfront jewel for the residents of Southwest Detroit. Today we celebrate a similar transformation for residents of the city’s east side here at A.B. Ford Park,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “Thanks to this beautiful renovation, generations of Detroiters will be able to enjoy this incredible riverfront park free of any concerns about past use.”

During the Cold War, A.B. Ford Park was a site for missile radar towers. To this day, the bases of two towers still stand tall in the park. Detroit City Walls plans to beautify those towers with a mural in Spring 2026.

Photo of historic radar tower in A.B. Ford Park

The A.B. Ford Park Improvement Project was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Strategic Neighborhood Fund. The park is adjacent to Community Center at A.B. Ford, a newly constructed building that opened in October 2023. With construction of the community center complete, this latest construction project focused entirely on outdoor recreation. Construction of the center and park were part of a larger project driven by what residents wanted to see in their neighborhood.

“When the community rises, we all rise,” said Brenda Wellons-Watson who can see the park from her back window. “I’ve lived in the Jefferson Chalmers Neighborhood since 1996. I took my son to A.B. Ford Park to play, and I look forward to taking my grandchildren and great grandchildren here someday.”

In 2019, the City of Detroit Planning & Development Department embarked on the planning process for the Jefferson Chalmers Neighborhood Framework Plan as part of the City's Strategic Neighborhood Fund (SNF) program. Based on citizen input provided in the rigorous planning process, renovation of the former Lenox Center was identified as a "Catalytic Park Project" for the neighborhood. Catalytic projects not only infuse valuable capital into the neighborhood, but they are also intended to spark interest and investment in the more long-term aspects of the economic development strategies described in the Framework Plans.

The building assessment conducted for the renovation of the old Lenox Center revealed that half of the building footprint sat within the updated FEMA flood plain and no longer met current building codes. The city determined that new building construction was the best choice for indoor recreation, and the park would be redesigned to offer more outdoor recreation activity.

Neighborhood residents taking a photo on new swinging benches at A.B. Ford Park

Neighborhood resident using new fitness equipment in the park

“This transformative project is a result of what this neighborhood told us they wanted to see,” said Crystal Perkins, City of Detroit General Services Department Director. “For the last two years, community members have made memories at the new community center and today we celebrate an opportunity to do the same as this new park.”

City of Detroit General Services Department kicked off the project during the pandemic in May 2020. The community engagement process took about a year with a celebration to share the final concept plans for the center and park.