DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy hosted a community meeting Thursday in southwest Detroit to gather input for events and experiences at the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park set to open this fall.
The meeting was held at the Roberto Clemente Recreation Center and the community was eager to hear about updates on construction and programs.
“I’m just excited because it looks so nice from what it was," Terry Holam, who rides his bike along the riverfront, said. "I’m just looking forward to it.”
The park will feature a play garden, basketball courts and a water garden. It’ll host movie nights in the summer and sledding in the winter.
“It is so good to see Detroit come alive. It is so great to see the people and diversity and how the growth is impacting our city in such a beautiful way," Mozell Scovil, who lives along the Detroit Riverfront, said.
The park was set to open last year, but COVID-19 and the former Chief Financial Officer William A. Smith embezzling over $40 million from the organization over a number of years set them back. Ryan Sullivan is the new CEO and addressed this head-on at the meeting.
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“(We'll) put in place changes to make sure that something like this never happens again and we can preserve your trust as a community as we go forward and emerge from these challenging times," Sullivan said at the meeting.
Smith is scheduled to be sentenced April 24 and faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
“I’m just glad they were able to overcome and still succeed because that’s a huge project they have going on," Holam said.
The park is one the final stages of the organization's efforts to revitalize Detroit’s riverfront and leaders say these community meetings seeking input will only continue until opening day.
“Right now with the extension, this will bring almost the full bridge-to-bridge vision that this organization was founded on 20 years ago," Sullivan said.
