Residents living in Phase 2 Solar Neighborhoods approve final landscape designs

• All five Solar Neighborhoods now have resident-approved designs; Phase 1 neighborhoods approved their designs in December
• Residents living in Houston Whittier/Hayes and Greenfield Park/I-75/McNichols neighborhoods designed their own landscaping, which includes a blend of ornamental trees, perennials, and flower or clover meadows

All five of Detroit’s Solar Neighborhoods have now approved landscape designs for their solar arrays, following approval from residents living in the Phase 2 neighborhoods of Greenfield Park and Houston-Whittier, Mayor Mike Duggan announced today.

The neighborhoods were selected in January to provide the final 61 acres of solar array needed to generate enough clean energy to power 127 City of Detroit municipal buildings. In December, the three Phase One neighborhoods – Gratiot/Findlay, Van Dyke/Lynch, and State Fair – revealed their approved designs.

Today, residents in the Phase 2 neighborhoods had their moment in the sun, revealing the landscape designs for their solar arrays.  Land that had been largely vacant and blighted now will be put back to productive use and beautifully landscaped. The exterior designs include attractive exterior fencing, shrubbery, and perennial gardens.  Inside the solar arrays – between and beneath the rows of solar panels – will be meadows filled with flowering clover.  

“These landscape designs have been a completely community-driven process, giving residents in each neighborhood the ability to create the look and feel they want,” said Mayor Duggan. “From the very beginning, we have let residents tell us what they want and what they didn’t want.  That’s why this process has been so successful.”

• Houston Whittier/Hayes will use a combination of decorative fencing, evergreen and ornamental trees along with perennial plantings as a buffer. Flowering trees will include Ace of Heart Redbud and Serviceberry, along with evergreen Arbor Vitae and Green Arrow Cyprus trees. Six Perennial gardens will include a combination of Purple Coneflower, Lavender and Pineleaf Penstemon. Within the solar array itself, resident chose a lush carpet of flower clover as ground cover

• Greenfield Park/I-75/McNichols, which will have two separate solar array areas, also will incorporate decorative fencing and a mix of evergreen and ornamental trees as a buffer. Flowering trees will include Crabapple Coralburt, and Dogwood, along with evergreen Blue Arrow Juniper, White Cedar and Arborvitae. Eight Perennial gardens on prominent street corners will include Lavender, Purple Coneflower, and Crimson Star Columbine. Residents also chose to incorporate a meadow inside both of their arrays that will blend wildflowers and clover. 

Greenfield Park Resident Victoria Hicks has lived in her neighborhood for more than 30 years and is thrilled to be staying in the neighborhood to enjoy the benefits of the Solar Neighborhood program.

“I think the Solar Neighborhoods is a wonderful program and has been a great thing for the neighbors living here. Not only will all of the blighted land and houses be turned into something beautiful and beneficial, the residents who have lived here during the down times also will be receiving upgrades to our homes.”

The Mayor also updated other areas of progress in each of the five Solar Neighborhoods. For Phase One, the City is in possession of all parcels and all occupants have been successfully relocated. Site control will be timely turned over to the developers to allow construction to begin as planned.

Construction of the Phase One solar fields is expected to begin early Fall 2025. Together, those neighborhoods will provide 104 acres of solar fields.

Lightstar Renewables, one of the nation’s leading solar developers, has been selected to build 18.1 acres of solar fields in the Houston Whittier Hates area and were previously selected to build 61 acres of solar fields in the Gratiot/Findlay and State Fair neighborhoods in Phase 1.  DTE Electric Company, which is operating more than 30 solar fields across Michigan – the largest being 250 acres in Lapeer – has been selected to build 42.2 acres of solar fields in Greenfield Park and were previously selected to build the 43-acre solar field in the Van Dyke/Lynch neighborhood.