The final touches are going into the downtown Dexter's streetscape project along Mill Creek. And by final touches, we mean the flowers will be in the planters this weekend.
The village spent $831,000 over the last two years rebuilding one square block between Main, Broad, Jeffords and Forrest streets on the west side of downtown, overlooking Mill Creek. The upgrades include new streets, sewers, landscaping, sidewalks, lighting and other amenities.
But the most visible changes are the pedestrian-friendly features, such as new landscaping and sidewalks overlooking the new Mill Creek greenway. It represents the first time the downtown had embraced its waterfront, an asset it has turned its back on for years. Now its capitalizing on it with this project and the still-in-development Mill Creek Park project.
"It's going to get even better when we finish that up," says Donna Dettling, village manager for Dexter. "It will really bring people to the creek."
The current space features the new streetscape infrastructure overlooking a small green slope to the new rapidly running creek. The space was previously a bog area because of a century-old dam underneath the Dexter-Pinckney Road Bridge. That has now grown into a lush green space.
Village leaders plan to cultivate it into a low-impact park area that connects the downtown, creek and new bridge. Construction on that will begin next fall when village workers regrade the area and then build out the park next year.
The bulk of the work will be done next summer," says Allison Bishop, community development director of the village of Dexter
Source: Donna Dettling, village manager for Dexter and Allison Bishop, community development director of the village of Dexter
Writer: Jon Zemke
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