Detroit has reopened the 34-acre A.B. Ford Park on the east side after a $11.9 million renovation. The project included new picnic shelters, playgrounds, riverwalk improvements, a meadow area, 550 new trees, and environmental cleanup through soil import and regrading, according to the City of Detroit.
New amenities were installed in 2024 following the remediation work. Mayor Mike Duggan said, “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,” as reported by the City of Detroit.
A.B. Ford Park in Detroit is undergoing redevelopment as a “Catalytic Park Project” supported by resident input and the Strategic Neighborhood Fund to help revitalize the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood. Plans include restoring the park’s landscape and adding a mural to former missile radar towers by Spring 2026. Resident Brenda Wellons-Watson, who has lived beside the park since 1996, said, “When the community rises, we all rise.” Crystal Perkins, General Services Department Director for the City of Detroit, said, “This transformative project is a result of what this neighborhood told us they wanted to see.”
