Detroit officials celebrated the reopening of AB Ford Park last fall as a major step forward for the waterfront site.
But months later, residents who live next to the waterfront park say it’s plagued by flooding, dying trees, leftover construction debris, a crumbling parking lot, and missing amenities that were promised to the community.
Among the loudest critics is Durene Brown, the former city of Detroit ombudsman. Her property line borders the east side of the 32-acre park, where standing water has become a recurring problem after rain.
“What the hell is this situation?” Brown says as she walks the site and points to pooled water, discarded fencing, and other materials left behind. “There’s nothing people can do here now.”
The east side of the park looks nothing like what residents were promised. There are no tennis or pickleball courts, the parking lot is marred by cracks, newly planted trees are already dying, and rain turns swaths of the park into a soggy mess. A grassy area where people once played soccer is no longer level and has a noticeable rise in the middle. Fencing and construction materials are scattered around the east side of the park, months after the city’s celebration in October.
“This is awful,” Brown tells Metro Times. “It was better before they messed with it. Back then it didn’t flood.”
Nearby resident Terry Swafford agrees. He used to take his two children to the park almost every day, but he no longer does.
“They took something wonderful and completely ruined it,” Swafford tells Metro Times. “They made it into an awful mess.”
In February 2024, the city announced it was closing the park in the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood to begin renovations after officials said the soil was contaminated with excessive levels of arsenic, mercury, lead, and other harmful chemicals. Many residents were opposed because the city’s plan involved removing 250 trees, some of which were more than 100 years old and were used by bald eagles and other wildlife. The city claimed the best way to protect residents from the contamination was by adding two feet of fresh soil to the park, which officials said would have made it impossible for the older trees to survive.
The city hired contractors to place a tarp between the old soil and a new two-foot layer of clean soil, which was then planted with saplings.
Now, the east side of the park looks barren, except for pools of standing water, leftover construction debris, and saplings that are struggling to survive.
The $11.9 million renovation project, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, was more of a success on the west side of the park, where new features include picnic shelters and pods, two new playgrounds, walkways, fitness area, a basketball court, a natural meadow area, and a riverwalk replacement with lighting.
But on the east side, the soggy conditions have prompted complaints that parts of the park are now unusable.
Brown says she no longer sees the park as a safe or appealing place for neighborhood families.
“I’ve got grandkids,” Brown says. “They will not be playing over here.”
To make matters worse, Brown says crews removed trees from her backyard, including a roughly 45-year-old Asian fir, leaving her “shaking and crying for two days.”
In 2024, residents sued in an effort to stop the removal of the trees and challenge the city’s handling of contamination at the park. The lawsuit never gained traction, but many neighbors are still opposed to the renovations.
“It’s so completely awful,” Swafford says. “I don’t go to the park anymore, nor do a lot of residents because it’s so utterly depressing.”
In a written response to questions from Metro Times, Crystal Perkins, director of the city’s General Services Department, said the contractor is still working on final issues this spring, including “additional grading to take care of the low spots where flooding is occurring.”
“Once the grass and meadow fills in, it will make a big difference with flooding because they will absorb excess water,” Perkins said.
The city also acknowledged that fencing, boulders, and other leftover materials remain on site, but Perkins said they are part of “minor items” that are still being addressed by the contractor and will be finished this spring.
As for the dying trees, the city said the saplings are under a maintenance agreement and will be replaced if they are dead, though officials said it is too early to know for sure because the trees have not fully bloomed.
Metro Times spotted numerous rotting trees.
The city also confirmed that the pickleball and tennis courts were never built, saying money originally set aside for some amenities had to be redirected to “ensuring the infrastructure was sound.” According to Perkins, residents were told about the change during final community meetings and office hours held at the AB Ford Community Center during construction.
On the soccer field, the city said the open lawn area “was specifically graded to include a soccer field” and that goals may be returned in time for the fall season once the grass is established. But it’s unclear how that would happen since there is a noticeable rise in the middle of the field.
The city also acknowledged that one of the parking lots on the east side was never repaved. Perkins said the work was part of the original plan but was deferred because of competing safety-related priorities and budget adjustments. She said the city still hopes to complete the repaving if funding becomes available.
Perkins took issue with claims that the city encroached on the property of adjacent homeowners.
“We had a legal obligation to remediate up to our property line, which meant we had to remove any items in that area between the fence and property line to excavate and replace with clean soil,” Perkins said. “We worked diligently with adjacent property owners to keep them aware of work along the property line by going door-to-door and sending certified letters to property owners to establish communication.”
Brown paid for a land survey and provided Metro Times with a Certificate of Survey that she says proves the city removed trees on her property. Months after the city celebrated the renovations, she says the east side of the park still bears little resemblance to what residents were promised.
“It looks worse than it used to,” Brown says. “It used to be wonderful.”
