Detroit’s West Riverfront getting new sport house thanks to $11M donation from William Davidson Foundation

During COVID pandemic Riverwalk saw more people than ever before

DETROIT – The West Riverfront Park in Detroit is going to start taking shape over the next few years.

The Detroit Riverwalk has come a long way, and it’s expected to improve even more over the next few years.

While many places saw fewer people during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Riverwalk saw more people than ever before.

Mark Wallace is the President and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

“We actually saw a 20% increase of people come to the Riverfront, 40% increase on the Dequindre Cut, which is amazing,” Wallace said.

Despite the setbacks that the COVID pandemic provided, the Riverwalk continued to grow.

“Last year we finished two major projects. One is an extension of the Riverfront for the old Joe Louis Arena site over the Riverfront towers and another is a boardwalk through that marina that brings you even closer to here,” Wallace said.

The West Riverfront will soon be home to a new park and the William Davidson Sport House thanks to an $11 million donation provided by the William Davidson Foundation.

“Two full-size basketball courts and those can be programmed for basketball, for kickball, for indoor soccer. All sorts of stuff. Roller skating, we’re really excited about that,” Wallace said.

In the meantime, the West Riverfront will be home to many upcoming fun events like a block party that is set for this weekend.

The conservancy is also excited that in two years the Riverwalk will go from the Ambassador Bridge to the Belle Isle bridge with no breaks.

Read: More local news coverage


About the Authors

You can watch Kim on the morning newscast weekdays from 4:30 to 7 a.m., and frequently doing reports on the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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