When calls for urban renewal led to the construction of I-375 in the late 1950s, areas like the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods — once thriving business and cultural communities with predominantly African American populations – were adversely affected.
The State of Michigan and the City of Detroit are embarking on a project – The I-375 Reconnecting Communities Project – everyone says will remedy that negative impact.
The plan replaces the outdated I-375 freeway with an urban boulevard designed to spur economic development and provide easier access between adjacent areas of Detroit.
“There is a lot of history … I-375 being built, the Highways Act and a lot of the housing policies in the United States at that time created an environment where tens of thousands of individuals and thousands of businesses were lost,” said Eric Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, which is working on the project with city and state officials and partners like the Kresge Foundation. “They were displaced, they were relocated, and the real estate obviously was demolished to make way for what is a mile-and-a-half depressed highway down to the river. That was extreme, and a lot of harm was created.
“What we’re really trying to do … is take that into account, think about what we can do to recognize some of those past harms and what can we do to really make sure that whatever is put there not only satisfies the traffic demands, but also becomes much more community responsive and really allows for a better environment,” Larson added.
City officials call the I-375 project a “transformational project” to convert the downtown interstate spur and the Gratiot Connector to a surface boulevard. The conversion, they said, “will address the inherent safety concerns with maintenance of the highway and bridges, the current interchange, and accessibility into surrounding communities and the Riverfront.”
In a posting to the city’s website, officials said the project “requires a greater understanding of the impacts to surrounding communities,” including what they called historic harm of past urban renewal efforts that removed a great center of black culture, commerce, and people; impacts of construction on surrounding communities and businesses and how to mitigate them; and the need to maintain safe connections and access for Detroiters and our visitors.
I-375 cut off the adjacent neighborhood from downtown and led to the demolition of Hastings Street, the last part of the Black Bottom neighborhood. Removing the expressway and replacing it with a boulevard will reconnect city streets in the area. While it won’t bring back Hastings Street, it offers opportunities to honor the area’s history, promote equitable development, enhance cultural spaces, and improve mobility.
“As development has pushed east from downtown and west from Lafayette Park, the barrier that I-375 represents in our city has become even more apparent,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said. ”Removing the freeway ditch and replacing it with a street-level boulevard will unlock enormous development opportunities.
“It was Black residents and Black businesses that were hurt when Black Bottom was wiped out and they were displaced for the construction of this freeway,” Duggan added. “Black businesses today should benefit from the enormous development opportunities this project will create. The equity of who participates will be just as important as how the new boulevard ultimately will look. We can replicate what we did up on Livernois when we worked with neighbors to reimagine that historic business district, which is now the city’s most vibrant and successful Black-owned business corridor.”
The plan calls for replacing the sunken I-375 freeway in downtown Detroit that runs between Interstate 75 and Jefferson Avenue with a six-lane boulevard at city street level and a four-lane boulevard between Jefferson Avenue and Atwater Street. The existing I-75/I-375 interchange would also be rebuilt with a smaller footprint.
The Michigan Department of Transportation did an environmental review process after securing a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), which allowed the project to advance.
“We must build up our state’s infrastructure with equity at the core,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a release. “While we cannot change the past, we must work harder to build a more just future, and that starts with listening to and engaging with the community, and taking deliberate steps to get this done right.”
MDOT Director Paul Ajegba said getting to the point of fixing the problems caused by the creation of I-375 all those years ago took “an extensive amount of listening for many years.”
“Working through issues and concerns raised by community members is key to any successful project,” Ajegba said. “Clearing the environmental hurdle allows MDOT to proceed with further partnering opportunities throughout the design process.”
State Senator Stephanie Chang, a former Lafayette Park resident, said she knows there’s “no way to undo the damage the building of I-375 did to Black communities.
“I am truly glad MDOT recognizes that racial equity work must be done in this area, although we know that the I-375 project won’t be able to address all of the inequities that continue to persist in our communities,” she said. “My hope is that, with the … the project moving forward, the community engagement process will uplift the needs and desires of the local community so that the advancements in connectivity and sustainability also include the prioritization of green space on the excess land as the majority of neighbors desire, not commercial or residential development that is out of financial reach for many Detroiters.”
It’s a concept that’s been talked since 2013, and is finally scheduled to begin in 2025.
“We are doing it with some amazing support from our longtime partners in the philanthropic community, the Kresge Foundation,” Larson said. “We are excited about the opportunity this presents to not only repair and restore some of the past harm, but most importantly really reconnect in a very significant way the core of our city.”
To address public concerns, MDOT added measures to be taken that acknowledge the impacts on residents and business owners in the former Black Bottom and Paradis Valley neighborhoods. These measures included:
- Putting together a process for the community to provide meaningful input that can be incorporated into the final design. The process began with the formation of a new community-based local advisory committee.
- Preparing and implementing a community enhancement plan, land use framework plan and aesthetic design guidelines with the new advisory committee.
- Using the value of the excess property to fund community priorities that will be identified during outreach efforts.
In addition to the I-375 boulevard project, the DDP was also awarded a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Reconnecting Communities” program to explore freeway capping options within the I-75 right-of-way owned by MDOT.
The DDP is co-leading this planning initiative with the City of Detroit and MDOT, which includes hosting community visioning sessions to engage public input and developing an alternative analysis of the cap options to help secure future funding for design and construction.
The DDP recently held one of those community visioning events designed to attract public opinion and input on the upcoming project. Larson was pleased with the turnout.
“We had an amazing turnout and some very, very thoughtful input as to what people would want to see if we were able to provide a park lid over that expressway.”
The idea behind the I-75 Cap, Larson explained, is to create community-centered public spaces, sustainability and resiliency, equity and opportunity, and “most of all, connectivity and mobility.”
“The ability to create additional public space in the center of our city is always an incredible value,” Larson pointed out. “But the way that the community thought about where that park lid should reside, how big should it be, what kinds of activities would be important to house on top of that parkland? Those were all things that were highlighted (at the visioning event) and came out and at the end we walked away with some very good feedback from the community.”
Expanding their reach over parks
Speaking of parkland, the DDP also recently agreed to what it called a landmark expansion of its stewardship over the City of Detroit’s beloved green public spaces.
The DDP has officially begun the management of 18 parks and public spaces – tripling its previous oversight and reinforcing its pivotal role in shaping the heart of Detroit.
The Partnership had already been managing five parks – including Campus Martius – and the Woodward Esplanade under a previous contract. When the parties gathered to talk about renewing that contract, officials worked out a deal for the Partnership to add two parks – Cadillac Square East and Paradise Valley Park and Plaza – and 10 public spaces to the deal.
“We were in the process of … renewing when the city said, ‘We really do appreciate the relationship. We’ve got a couple other spaces,” Larson said. “I don’t know, quite honestly, that there are many other organizations that go in for a contract renewal and come out with doubling the number of public spaces, but it really is an indication that not only the city, but also the residents, value what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. We’re excited. We’re thrilled because we keep making more investments.”
The expansion underscores the enduring partnership between the Downtown Detroit Partnership and the City of Detroit, following Campus Martius Park’s back-to-back recognition as the No. 1 Public Square by “USA Today” readers.
The newly extended contract, running through 2039, not only reflects the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s track record and expertise, but also its commitment to enhancing urban life for all Detroiters.
“We are honored to be entrusted with an expansion of our long-standing leadership of the downtown parks and public spaces, which have proven to be dynamic centers of activity for our community,” said David Cowan, chief public spaces officer at the Downtown Detroit Partnership. “This expansion allows us to further our mission of creating meaningful, people-first places that have garnered international attention. Each unique park and public space we manage is a testament to our pride in our city.”
The expanded management agreement now includes eight parks, nine public spaces and several monuments and landmarks. These spaces, from the iconic Campus Martius Park to the historic Paradise Valley Park and Plaza, play a critical role in the daily lives of Detroit residents and visitors alike.
“This expansion represents the City of Detroit’s confidence in our collaboration with the Downtown Detroit Partnership regarding the stewardship of public spaces,” said Detroit’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer Jessica Parker. “Thanks to this partnership with the Downtown Detroit Partnership, Detroiters and visitors alike will soon experience an enhanced and consistent level of service across Downtown.”
The following is the complete list of parks and public spaces (new ones in bold) now managed by Downtown Detroit Partnership:
Parks
- Campus Martius Park
- Cadillac Square
- Cadillac Square East
- Grand Circus Park
- Capitol Park
- Beacon Park
- Paradise Valley Park and Plaza
Public Spaces
- Woodward Esplanade
- Third Street Medians and General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Plaza
- Gratiot Avenue Medians
- Washington Blvd Medians
- Jefferson Avenue Medians
- Beaubien Street Medians
- Monroe Street Medians between Woodward and Randolph
- Madison Street Medians
- Broadway Street Medians
- Randolph Street Medians
- Gateway to Freedom International Memorial
Detroit continues its renaissance
All of that comes amid good news reported in the DDP’s 2024 Downtown Detroit Community and Development Update, which shows improvements in the city are coming in brick-and-mortar developments, population increases and other economic advancements.
“The quality of the greater downtown experience continues to improve,” Larson told an enthusiastic crowd at the DDP’s recent “Fall Forum: A Real Estate Update” at the Cambria Hotel.. “The fact is we have great venues that people are now starting to really not only identify with, but also be attracted to.”
The Development Update runs through everything that has happened in the city recently:
- It talks about 54 total projects, including 8 that were completed, 12 that are currently under construction, 14 that are “on the radar” and another 20 that are “in the pipeline.
Among projects completed are the Hotel David Whitney, Autograph Collection on Woodward and the highly anticipated renovation of Michigan Central Station, a $1 billion project expected to bring more than 5,000 new jobs to Corktown.
- Residential developments, including 188 units in Corktown and 500 in The Residences Water Square. Another 682 units (including 272 in the Downtown Business Improvement Zone) are under construction.
- Nearly 1,300 new hotel rooms are also under construction.
Detroit is again becoming a popular destination for visitors. Consider:
- Detroit’s visitors hovered right around 100,000 per month in 2019.
- In February 2020, right before the Covid pandemic struck, Detroit saw some 80,000 visitors. Those numbers plummeted after Covid hit in March 2020.
- By contrast, through July 2024, visitors stayed between 65,000 and about 90,000 per month.
The city’s population has continued to grow, something Larson pointed out as an important piece of the city’s success.
Since 2010, according to the report, the downtown’s population has grown 28%. It also points out that the overall city population grew for the first time.
Downtown population reached 6,759 in 2022, after sitting at 5,287 in 2010.
“We are continuing to talk about the importance of continued growth in our population,” Larson said. “We are continuing to grow population … A lot of that is because additional units are coming online, residential units are coming online.”
The city’s success has been remarkable enough, Larson said, that other cities are starting to emulate some of the things Detroit is doing.
“What we’ve been able to do is leverage the downtown as a platform to try lots of new things, to really test some things that ultimately are replicated in other parts of the city,” Larson said. “And what we’re finding now is these successes … are now being replicated around the country. We are a living laboratory that people are learning from and that’s very exciting.”
