DTE Energy today announced Beacon Park, a 1.5-acre public outdoor space located at the corner of Cass and Grand River avenues, will open on July 20. The park will be home to a restaurant, a central lawn, walking paths, multi-use space for outdoor activities, performances, and areas for food truck vendors and bicycle parking.
“The name is fitting,” says Gerry Anderson, DTE Energy’s chairman and CEO. “From the beginning, we envisioned this public space would shine light on the western edge of downtown Detroit, becoming a beacon for development, a beacon to bring more visitors and businesses to Detroit, and a beacon of continued progress for a city in the midst of a revitalization.”
A place for Detroiters and visitors, the Downtown Detroit Partnership has already planned to schedule more than 600 events for the public space in 2017 through a grant from the DTE Energy Foundation. The Partnership expects that the park will draw one million visitors annually.
“Safe and vibrant gathering places are the social and economic heartbeat of a thriving core, and Beacon Park expands the energy of renewal permeating downtown,” says Eric Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. “(We are) thrilled to partner with DTE Energy to add Beacon Park to the portfolio of the great public spaces we program, maintain, and manage.”
DTE Energy and the Partnership will host a grand opening event on July 20, which will feature interactive art exhibits, live music, and other family entertainment. More than 50 additional events are slated throughout the park’s opening weekend. A restaurant by Norm and Bonnie LePage will open at the park in the fall. The couple own Big Rock Chophouse, The Reserve, and Griffin Claw Brewing Co. in Birmingham, and Clubhouse BFD in Rochester Hills.
