GMAR has announced the awarding of $28,000 in local Placemaking Grants. These grants go directly to community organizations and local governments looking to revitalize and reimagine public spaces.   

“REALTORS® live, work and volunteer in their communities and take immense pride in our work to make metro Detroit neighborhoods better places to live, work and raise a family,” said Nathan Boji, President of GMAR. “This grant gives us a tangible, immediate opportunity to identify and address areas in the tri-county area that are in need of enhancement and revitalization and can be used for the greater good. Placemaking can help foster healthier, more social and economically viable communities, and creates places where people feel a strong stake in their neighborhoods and are committed to making things better.”  

“As the Detroit area becomes more attractive and welcoming, nearby properties will also increase in value,” said Boji.   

GMAR Grant Recipients 

Heidelberg Lot: 

This project is supported by the Detroit Vacant Land & Community Development Organization. The project will utilize outside funding to beautify several connecting lots in the Heidelberg Neighborhood. Additionally, the group is looking to reclaim an abandoned lot in the vicinity and work it into the project. At its completion this project will clean up and beautify 6 lots in the Heidelberg neighborhood.  

Unity Skatepark:  

This project is in Northville Township and is supported by the Dominic Duhn Memorial Foundation and Northville Township. This project was spurred when Dominic Duhn was killed by a hit and run driver while skateboarding. The project is supported by the Township and GMAR’s money will be used to create a rest area outside of the skatepark. The area will include benches and shade structures.  

Southfield Arts: 

The Nine Mile Connectivity, Placemaking and Recreation Corridor for Health & Wellness Project is meant to incentivize investment and renewal while bringing walkable/bike-able pathways, recreational opportunities, and vibrant streetscapes to this thoroughfare. Southfield, along with Hazel Park, Ferndale, Oak Park, Farmington Hills, and Farmington, have begun this initiative that will connect paths from I-75 to I-275. The Friends of Southfield Public Arts and the Southfield Public Arts Commission have identified seven locations for public art in the Phase I area on private and public properties along Nine Mile.   

Macomb Township Bark Park Art:  

The Macomb Twp. Bark Park Art will create a signature outdoor destination for families to comingle with their pets in a safe outdoor setting. The new Pitchford Park, and the Bark Park contained within, is a key component of the Township’s 10-year strategic recreation plan adopted by the Township this past January. REALTOR® money will be used to procure decorative murals, cut from aluminum, to be placed along the dog park fencing.   

Troy Community Pavilion: 

The City of Troy, Michigan, continually receives a desire for a public gathering space for its residents and businesses as it lacks a traditional downtown. The Civic Center Campus has been recognized as an opportunity to provide this desired space. The proposed large pavilion would satisfy this desire by creating space in the Civic Center Campus, which will be a place to host community events through all of Michigan’s seasons.  

Northfield Community Park:  

Northfield Township Community Park, as envisioned, will serve as the heart of Whitmore Lake (an unincorporated, census-designated place) and Northfield Township. The park currently has approximately twelve acres of vacant land with frontage on Main Street and Whitmore Lake (a 667-acre all-sports lake) and an access point on Barker Road has a unique downtown location easily accessible to residents and businesses. The Park plan is to incorporate walking trails, access to Whitmore Lake frontage with a boardwalk, pavilion and picnic area, playgrounds, community events, farmers market events, and inter-community trails.  The GMAR Placemaking Grant would provide a short-term solution by helping to construct a visually striking shade structure(s) that would provide focal points for the park. A colorful shade structure will be visible from Main Street and provide the perfect place to hold ribbon-cutting festivities for the park and a central location for the Whitmore Lake Farmers Market.  

Redford Veterans Memorial: 

Veteran's Memorial Park is a popular, non-motorized facility which was created to honor Redford Townships Veterans that served in the armed forces of the United States. Currently the park does not have adequate screening to separate it from surrounding commercial buildings. This project will start the process of separating the park from neighboring buildings and providing a better space for reflection and remembrance. Fencing will be added first to screen the park from nearby utility boxes.