Officials from the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, the City of Detroit Planning & Development Department, and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation announced the details of a plan that will preserve more riverfront land for public use, generate greater community access to the Detroit River, and spur investment along the East Riverfront. The strategic framework plan, developed by a team led by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), forges new connections between the East Riverfront and surrounding neighborhoods, expands green space, and makes pedestrian-friendly streetscape improvements.
The strategic framework plan was realized after an intensive six-month program of community meetings, workshops, tours, and interviews. Under the plan, the East Riverfront area will continue to be transformed from a formerly blighted, industrial area into a vibrant public waterfront accessible to all Detroit residents. The plan outlines the addition of eight acres of park space to the East Riverfront and envisions keeping significant portions of the waterfront free from private development in perpetuity. The Beltline, a new greenway, will directly connect inland neighborhoods to the Detroit River, while the existing Joseph Campau Greenway will receive new lighting, paving, and landscaping. Improvements along Jefferson Avenue will reduce vehicular accidents, improve walkability, and beautify the corridor—improvements that are designed to boost local businesses and facilitate safer access to the waterfront.
Project stakeholders aim to make significant enhancements to the riverfront over the next several years: The Detroit RiverFront Conservancy is slated to break ground this year on a promenade that will connect the RiverWalk from Mt. Elliott Park to the Belle Isle Bridge along a 30-acre former Uniroyal site. Improvements to Jefferson Avenue will begin in 2017 with the redesign and beautification of the street between Rivard Street and East Grand Boulevard.
New York-based HR&A Advisors provided real estate and economic consulting services, and landscape design concepts were created by Paris-based Michel Desvigne and Inessa Hansch. Six local firms—McIntosh Poris, Birmingham; Giffels Webster, Detroit; Kraemer Design Group, Detroit; AKT Peerless, Detroit; Rich & Associates, Southfield; and E. Austell Associates, West Bloomfield—provided significant consulting and advisory roles during the planning stages.