Newly Renovated Heckel Park Opens

Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison, Council President Pro-Tem James Tate, Chief Operating Officer Brad Dick and community residents of the The Eye neighborhood cut the ribbon on May 20 to celebrate the newly renovated Heckel Park. While Heckel Park is the only park in the northwest neighborhood, it previously didn’t offer residents any amenities to serve their recreational needs. As a result, it was selected for a nearly $750,000 upgrade with renovations and improvements funded through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and Wayne County.

Renovations have been years in the making; however, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a delay. Construction officially kicked off in February 2023 and will be wrapping up this month.

Project improvements and renovations include a playground, a basketball course, about a quarter-mile walking loop, a softball field with backstop, horseshoe courts, fitness equipment, a volleyball court on grass and amenities such as trash bins, picnic tables and benches.

About Post Author

Andrea Plaid

Andrea Plaid’s work on race, gender, sex, and sexuality has appeared at Newsweek.com, Vogue.com, The Guardian, In These Times, MadameNoire, HelloBeautiful and Rewire. Her commentary has appeared on MSNBC, Chicago Tribune, and Washington Post. She is writing the forthcoming stylebook, Penning with the People, for The Feminist Wire/University of Arizona Press’ book series. Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Andrea now lives in Corktown.

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