DETROIT – After months and months of construction, Beaubien Street in Detroit’s Greektown neighborhood is open again — welcoming both vehicles and pedestrians.
Monroe Street remains closed as crews work to finish a $20 million project that includes updated sidewalks, brick pavers and expanded outdoor seating for restaurants.
Progress on the project
For business owners who have endured more than a year of ripped-up roads and closed streets, the reopening of Beaubien Street marks a turning point. Tasso Teftsis, owner of Astoria Bakery and vice president of the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership, says the transformation is everything the community envisioned.
“When you look at the street, this is what we always wanted. This is what we always wanted,” Teftsis said.
Teftsis says the project carries meaning well beyond new pavement and patio space.
“It’s creating a legacy for myself and some of the other business owners here,” he said.
Impact on local businesses
Bobbie Fowlkes-Davis, owner of Underground Railroad Reading Station — a bookstore located inside Second Baptist Church on Monroe Street — says the ongoing construction has taken a real toll on customer traffic.
“Foot traffic is, you know, gone,” Fowlkes-Davis said.
Detours and roadblocks have kept many potential customers away from the area. Still, Fowlkes-Davis says she sees light at the end of the tunnel, hopeful the $20 million investment will ultimately draw more visitors to the neighborhood she loves.
“It’s going to be beautiful. I can’t wait. More customers… new customers,” she said.
What’s next
No firm completion date has been announced for the Monroe Street portion of the project. Crews continue working toward a finish line that, for Greektown’s business community, cannot come soon enough.