City officials and community stakeholders gathered in Rouge Park on Thursday to celebrate the newly revitalized Tireman-Minock Park in Detroit’s Warrendale/Cody Rouge neighborhood.

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Detroit City Councilman for District 7, Fred Durhal, said Thursday that the new park symbolizes something great: “Community ideas,” he said.

“When we go to these community meetings, folks talk about, ‘we need a place to recreate; we need a walking track so we can walk at least a mile; we want to have swing sets; we want to have playscapes for our children so they can stay active; we want a picnic place so we can congregate and even in the summertime hold some of our meetings here,'” Durhal said. “So what you see here today is indicative of that type of thought that you guys put out into the community that we take back to our public-private partnerships and bring all this into fruition.”

The park was funded as part of the city’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund initiative, with additional funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, Huntington Bank and the Gilbert Family Foundation.

The park sits on the former site of Dixon Elementary School on Detroit’s west side. Dr. Patricia Butler, community development manager for the Cody Rouge Community Action Agency, said at the park’s unveiling on Thursday that she has hoped the area would be revitalized ever since the day the school closed. 

“And when I saw the school going down I didn’t get discouraged, because I said when something comes down, something else is going to come up. And out of the ashes came this beautiful park,” said Butler.

The park, located within the bounds of the much larger Rouge Park, features a playground, picnic tables, picnic shelters, walkways, and fitness equipment.  

WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

Other headlines for Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024:

• Detroit Home Accessibility Program applications are now open for Detroit residents who need accessibility modifications made to their homes.
• The Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce is conducting a survey to ask about the potential of developing an LGBTQ+ business district in metro Detroit.
• Metro Detroit is offering a mix of summer music events this weekend, including the annual Ribs and R&B festival at Hart Plaza; The Queens of R&B tour coming to Little Caesars Arena on Friday, headlined by groups Xscape and SWV; and The Lathrup Village Music Festival outside the Southfield Municipal Center, featuring Thornetta Davis, Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale, Paul Hill and more. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.