The Detroit People Mover stop that once took Red Wings fans to Joe Louis Arena is undergoing a major update that will close the station for six months.
Over the course of six months, crews will make improvements to enhance functionality of the rail line.
Detroit Transportation Corporation CEO Melia Howard said in a statement the former Joe Louis Arena station, now known as the Water Square station, was previously designed in 1987 for a “very different downtown environment.”
The surrounding riverfront area has been watching another new development, the JW Marriott hotel expected to open in 2027 near Huntington Place. The hotel is on track for a February 2027 opening, which will bring more than 600 hotel rooms and hundreds of new jobs to the area.
“Today, the surrounding area is evolving into a neighborhood where people live, work, visit the riverfront and connect to the rest of downtown,” said Howard, a former deputy mayor under former Mayor Mike Duggan. “We’ve heard that the community wanted upgrades, and the renovation provides an opportunity to demonstrate how existing in public transportation infrastructure can evolve alongside private development.”
During planned, two-day shutdowns, crews will work on interior and exterior lighting, resurfacing, and painting. The DTC says it will provide the public with updated information as the process continues.
Access will be maintained for the public and residents of The Residences Water Square and nearby Riverfront Towers and Condos, the transportation corporation said.
Signs will be posted to show passengers which station amenities and entrances are available during construction.
The agency says it will host public meetings during the construction period to provide information about timelines and access changes.
Howard said the updates are an effort to adapt existing transit infrastructure to a part of a changing downtown.
“Rather than abandoning or relocating a legacy transit asset, DTC is reinvesting in it as part of the district’s next chapter,” Howard said.
Howard’s Detroit Transportation Corporation is currently leading the development of a transit hub at the Michigan Central campus in Corktown. Public polling shows Metro Detroiters are hungry for improved public transit in the city and across the region.
An estimated one in five Detroit households don’t have a vehicle. For those who do, they pay more for car insurance than customers in any other city in the United States.
Metro Detroit voters during the primary election passed a transit millage supporters say will better connect the region. The vote marked the shifting attitudes toward public transportation. More than a dozen Metro Detroit communities previously opted-out of SMART.
