City park renovation kicks off next week with ceremony

Groundbreaking events will be held next week and the week after to kick off major renovations to all three of the city’s parks, including Pope Park.

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck’s parks are about to get a total makeover.
A few months ago it was announced that there will be major improvements to the city’s three parks: Veterans Memorial Park, Pope Park and Zussman Park.
The city is now ready to kickoff the work, which will cost a total of $500,000, with two groundbreaking ceremonies.
The first is next Wednesday, July 8, 10 a.m., at Pope Park, located at Jos. Campau and Belmont. After that opening, another ceremony will take place at Zussman Park, which is located across from city hall.
Then on July 14 at 10 a.m., Veterans Park will be the center of attention. That park is located on Jos. Campau, south of Holbrook.
Funding for the park renovations comes from Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) funds, Wayne County Parks millage funds, the Karol Wojtyla Parks Committee, a non-profit group dedicated to the renovation of Pope Park, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Patronicity crowdfunding campaign.
Invited guests include elected and appointed officials from Hamtramck, Wayne County and the state. Residents, of course, are welcomed to attend.
So, what’s in the works? There are two common threads in all of the parks: more greenery in the form of trees, bushes and flowers, and new lighting.
Let’s go park by park.
Pope Park at Jos. Campau and Belmont, which boasts a monument to the late Pope John Paul II – the first-ever Polish-born pope – will have the iron gating ripped out and reused in Veterans Memorial Park.
The brick pavement will also be removed and replaced with a stamped brick pattern. Look for more trees and a lot more benches. The park’s mural will also be cleaned up.
New lighting will be added, making this a destination spot during the day and night.
Zussman Park, which is located across from city hall, will get a dramatic new look featuring amphitheater seating and a pergola-like structure, all tailor-made to host special events and weddings.
The center of the park will be replaced with new concrete work and two additional walkways will be added. Parking will also be increased with the addition of angle parking spaces that will cut a little into the park.
The monument to Lt. Raymond Zussman, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroics in World War II, will be moved to the main entrance of the park and elevated.
New lighting will also be installed.
Plans for the city’s third park, Veterans Memorial, are the most ambitious. It will be good news for families and kids.
Starting at the front, the gating around the memorial will be removed, but iron gating from Pope Park will be repurposed and placed in the front of the park.
The fencing will be interspersed with bushes to create an attractive front, but still low enough for police to monitor the goings-on inside the park.
Just past the monument there will be a play area with new play equipment and fitness stations for adults. On the south side of the park, along the edge and continuing around the bend will be beds of wild flowers.
That will create a buffer to neighboring houses and also educate kids on native species.