A coalition of city and state officials, alongside private business owners, unveiled its finished Monroe Streetscape Project Wednesday.

The project was a $20-million redesign of Greektown’s Monroe street, closing it to traffic from Brush Street to St. Antoine in order to create a more walkable, community-oriented area.

Detroit mayor Mary Sheffield says she’s been a supporter of this project since her time in city council.

“For, like, the twelve years I served on council, we’ve talked about having the ability to shut down the street and create more walkability, so to see us here today, I know that it’s going to really impact the businesses here in a positive way, and the overall experience of our residents. So excited to be here,” she tells WDET.

In a speech delivered at Wednesday’s ceremony, Sheffield thanked the businesses of Monroe Street for the sacrifices they made during the 19-month construction period, acknowledging the economic difficulties some endured.

One of these business owners is Yanni Dionisopoulos, co-owner of the Golden Fleece, a restaurant which has been owned and operated by his family since 1970. He says that, although the construction and road closure were hard to get through, he supported the vision and is excited now that the project is complete.

Photos by Isaiah Lopez, WDET

“This was one of the toughest ones, but we did see light at the end of the tunnel, that’s all that matters, and we’re ready to go back to work like we say, and do what we know best, is to showcase our heritage, our culture, right here in the city of Detroit,” he says.

Following the ceremony, local stakeholders and officials ceremoniously broke plates and lit fresh saganaki, a traditional Greek dish.