Wyandotte, Michigan

BASF and the City of Wyandotte collaborated to re-develop a former industrial site as a waterfront park. Approximately 85 acres in size, this site was once used for shipbuilding, steel making and other heavy industrial uses.  The owner, BASF, made it available to the City of Wyandotte for recreational use.  Past uses of the site had left the soils highly toxic and the park design had to respond to the constraints of the contaminated site. The design effort began with a master planning process that called for close coordination of many, varied interest groups including the City, BASF and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR).  Included in the first phase of development, at the north end of the site, is an extensive promenade along the waterfront, woodlots, an amphitheatre, parking, picnicking, jogging paths, and a native meadow garden.  A nine hole golf course has been developed on the southern portion of the site.  The Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio directed both the master planning effort and the phase one development.