See inside Ann Arbor’s newest park before it opens this weekend

On Sept. 12-Sept.14 the public is invited to help celebrate the opening of Broadway Park West at 841 Broadway St. on the banks of the Huron River, just minutes from downtown Ann Arbor. 

The seven-acre park is the northern part of a 14-acre parcel between the Ann Arbor Amtrak station to the south and the Argo Cascades to the north. It’s the first major project of The Lower Town Riverfront Conservancy (LRTC), a nonprofit aiming to build and maintain community spaces and destinations along the Huron River. LRTC will own, develop, and manage Broadway Park West.

The first phase of the park’s development plan, which will be open as of this weekend, includes trails, a bridge connecting to the Washtenaw County Border-to-Border Trail, river access, and a commons for events.

The second phase of the plan includes an outdoor pavilion with a stage overlooking the river, as well as an indoor space to serve as a centerpiece for the park. Construction is expected to start this fall.

The third phase, called The Ribbon, includes a summer water recreation park and an ice skating rink.

A ribbon cutting will take place at 11 a.m. on Sept. 12, followed by a park opening at noon, Motown DJs from 5-7 p.m., and a DJ party with Joe Hertler from 7-10 p.m.

The park will be open all day Saturday as well. On Sunday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. it will host Ann Arbor’s first ever Bubble Fest, featuring bubble machines, opportunities to make bubbles, and a set of kid-friendly music from DJ Matthew Altruda. Coffee from nearby Lower Town Bar & Cafe and ice cream from Washtenaw Dairy will be available at the event.

The park arises from a complicated environmental history. In 1915 the Huron River was rerouted from the middle of the new park site to accommodate a Michigan Consolidated Gas Company coal gasification plant, which was demolished in the ’50s and replaced with a service center.

The southern part of the parcel will be developed into four six-story buildings with 96 condominiums, a nine-story hotel with 148 rooms, a riverfront restaurant, and a four-story mixed-use building with businesses on the first floor and 22 residential units above. Up to 38 of the units will be reserved for affordable housing.

DTE Energy acquired the property in 2001. Though both the Michigan Consolidated Gas Company and DTE had cleaned up hot spots of pollution remaining from the plant, the parcel was still in need of complete remediation. That process, overseen by LRTC, involved removing 13,000 tons of polluted soil and replacing it with 20,000 tons of clean soil to cap the site between 2023 and 2024.

“Broadway Park West is not just a park — it’s a vibrant new chapter for Ann Arbor’s riverfront,” says LRTC President Marie Klopf.