The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores is set to receive a $7 million grant over three years from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to restore its Lake St. Clair shoreline to a more natural condition.
Called the Lower Lake St. Clair Habitat Restoration Project, the Ford House will develop design plans to restore habitat along Lake St. Clair, in an area where nearly all of the lake’s shoreline has been hardened.
Restoration will benefit several native Great Lakes species. It also will reduce impacts from waves and flooding, reduce polluted runoff, increase recreational fishing opportunities, and increase public access to the water.
The first year of the project is expected to cost $500,000, and $7 million over three years.
Ford House officials say in the past, concrete and cement slabs were placed along the shoreline of the estate’s Ford Cove to protect it from erosion. Restoring the shoreline to its natural condition, they say will support local wildlife and provide more sustainable care to the estate and its shoreline.
The concrete will be removed and the plans developed with the grant money will determine what natural elements should be in its place.
“Eleanor and Edsel Ford truly loved their home and this beautiful community,” says Mark Heppner, president and CEO of the Ford House. “It is wonderful knowing that we can continue to serve as stewards of Eleanor’s wishes while having greater impact and relevancy.”
Nationwide, NOAA is recommending more than $265 million in funding for 38 projects through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with funding leveraged from the Inflation Reduction Act. The projects were selected through the Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience funding opportunity.
The projects span a broad range of habitats and restoration techniques. They will reconnect rivers to their historic floodplains, outplant corals to rebuild reefs, and build living shorelines that will protect coasts from erosion and sea level rise.
For more information about the Ford House, visit https://www.fordhouse.org/.