The city of Detroit closed a waterfront park on the east side that was undergoing renovations after finding contamination in the soil.
Beginning in March, the city will remove more than 250 trees, some of which are more than a 100 years old and are used by bald eagles, from A.B. Ford Park in the Jefferson Chalmers.
The park, which was closed and blocked off Wednesday, is undergoing $9 million in renovations that will feature walkways, a playground, basketball court, fitness and picnic areas, tennis and pickleball courts, a fishing node, beach, and waterfront plaza.
Even without the contamination, the park was scheduled to close for renovations in late February.
The trees are being removed because officials have to add two feet of fresh soil to the 32-acre park to protect residents from the contamination. The trees, most of which city officials said are in poor condition, won’t survive the extra soil.
The city plans to plant hundreds of new native and flowering trees in their place, according to a city document. The new trees include quaking Aspens, river birch, Princeton elm, Shumard oak, purple beech, sugar maple, bur oak, black gum, eastern redbud, and dogwood.
The plastic and metal contamination was found while officials were conducting environmental testing that was required to demolish the old and abandoned Lenox Center on the site. Metro Times is awaiting more details about the types and levels of plastic and metal found at the site.
To cover the park with two feet of new soil, an average of 20 to 30 heavy trucks will dump the material at the site every weekday from March to September, according to the city’s plans.
As part of the renovations, the city recently built the $7.2 million A.B. Ford Park Community Center, which was funded by Detroit and a donation from the Penske Corp. to the city’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund. The solar-powered building features classrooms, a library area, a community gathering room, and space for indoor sports and parties.
City officials hope to reopen the park in the fall.
City spokesman John Roach tells Metro Times there’s no truth to rumors that an Environmental Protection Agency restoration project will be canceled.
The source of the contamination wasn’t immediately clear. Roach says the soil is non-native and about a century old.
The city plans to soon hold meetings to update residents on the contamination and plans to remediate it.
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