Let's Save Michigan

Downtown Pocket Park, Wyandotte

About the Project

The site is used as a pass-through between two existing buildings on the main street in Wyandotte’s Central Business District. The business to the north is a restaurant: Franks Pizza. The businesses to the south are a full-service salon on the first floor (3152 Studio) and a custom invitation studio on the second floor (Elegant Dreams by Sandy). There are many shops and restaurants just north and south of the site and foot-traffic past this site is significant. The space is flanked on the east by a single bench, which has become prime real estate for patrons the visit the shops in the area. There is a public parking lot just west of the building and public parking along Biddle Avenue to the east.

Our goal is to make this space much more than a pass-through or afterthought. We wish to transform this space into a place where people can meet, congregate and explore.

Our vision is to take a “missing tooth” that is currently used as a passageway and create a Downtown Pocket Park in this space. The long, narrow space, (24 feet by 109 feet), illustrated on sheet 2 of our submission, is empty and devoid of life. The space has a few trees, a bike rack and a single bench, which blocks off the space at the east end of the site. There are dumpsters and a parking lot to the west of the site.

Our plan is to remove the bench and bike rack at the east end of the space, and to add more seating: benches, tree benches and chess tables throughout the space. We will also add an additional perennial planter bed and potted annuals. Decorative chimes will encourage “children” of all ages to make music in the space. Hopscotch squares will be added to the existing paver area at the east of the site. The entire space will be further enhanced by a terra-cotta colored acid concrete wash. Decorative screens will serve as a visual barrier from the dumpsters on the west end, without compromising security in the space.

If Pocket Park is created, we anticipate that this space would be utilized greatly during our current event programming: 3rd Fridays, Fridays after 5 mini-concerts, library story time and musical and many street performances for our annual Wyandotte Street Art Fair.

In addition, the Downtown Development Authority is working to implement an outdoor mural program. We anticipate that this space would be the perfect candidate for a mural in the future