DETROIT (WXYZ) — For many Detroiters in their mid-50s and younger, I-375 has been nothing more than a freeway. But for others, it’s a reminder of a painful past.
“Many of the people moving to this area now are younger, they don't know that other history,” said Jamon Jordan, official historian for the city of Detroit. "They need to be rooted in this other history to know that a lot of development around the city of Detroit was built on the displacement of African Americans, the discrimination of African Americans."
This area that is now Lafayette Park was once Black Bottom, a neighborhood named after it’s dark nutrient rich soil that became a predominantly African American community by the mid-1900s. The childhood home of Detroiters like Coleman Young, Joe Louis and Jamon’s own father.
“They (father's family) were here when the destruction and demolition occurred, so they were forced out of this neighborhood,” Jordan said.
As part of urban renewal in the 1950s, the neighborhood was torn down. However, the thriving business center was still in tact.
“Most of the residential area is already destroyed by that point but not the main business strip, it’s still thriving,” Jordan said. “Restaurants, theaters, clubs, bars, all of the places that really brought African Americans together and built their economic center was near or on Hastings Street.”
Hastings Street, according to Jordan, was like Woodward Avenue for the Black community. Until just a few years later, that too was demolished to make way for I-375.
"That puts a seal on Black Bottom and begins the destruction of the Black business district known as Paradise Valley,” Jordan said.
“We cannot change the past, but what we can do is work together to build an equitable future,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said during a press conference in September. She was accompanied by Mayor Mike Duggan and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as they announced $105 million in federal funding for the project.
With history in mind, plans were recently announced to return this roughly mile-long freeway into a six-lane street level boulevard.
“It’s a monumental project — it really does involve a lot of moving parts,” said MDOT spokesperson Rob Morosi. “Replacing a freeway with a boulevard is going to open up a lot of space."
Morosi says the road will be half the width of the current highway. They want input from the public on what to do with the extra space as they begin designing the project, roughly two years before construction begins in 2025.
“We haven't had a public meeting on this project since two years ago... it's time to engage the public," Morosi said. "It could be mixed-use development, it could be businesses, it could be green space, it could be a combination of it all.”
MDOT and the city are hosting an open house this week, which Jordan will be apart of. He's hoping this time input from everyone will be heard.
"I don't think we could ever recreate Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, but it would be great if African American businesses have a first shot (at development on the road),” Jordan said.
The open house will take place Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. inside Shed 3 at Eastern Market. MDOT is welcoming public input on the reconnecting communities project. Comments can be submitted via an online comment form, e-mail, phone at 313-230-1024 and in person at the public meeting.
