Stretching from McClain Drive to Hyland Street, Oak Park’s
Nine Mile Redesign project broke ground on its first phase in 2019, which included a restructured roadway, back-in street parking, and the creation of new public spaces along the Corridor. Today, the city is continuing to transform their part of Nine Mile into a dynamic and exciting space, making it accessible to bikers, pedestrians and small businesses alike.
Oak Park Deputy City Manager of Community Services Crystal VanVleck.“It's been a complete transformation,” says Agata Craig, owner and director of Ines and Marie Floral Design and Events.
“We started purchasing our building in November of 2022, and even since we started going through the buying process, the road improvement was the first thing that we noticed.”
Craig’s small business is located at the corner of Nine Mile and Oneida Street, near the Nine Mile Connector Park — a linear playscape that was built to give families a place to gather along the Corridor.
“After school time, we’ve noticed so many families walking by our building, which is something that we haven’t seen before,” Craig says. “That type of environment and feel from places like downtown Ferndale is making its way down towards Oak Park, and it’s so exciting to be part of it.”
Acknowledging the need to improve Nine Mile’s deteriorating infrastructure, the City of Oak Park began applying for grants in 2015 to fund an innovative vision for Oak Park’s future. This framework included significant community input and involved public meetings, local surveying and door-to-door conversations to understand and implement the needs of Oak Park residents.
Oak Park City Manager Erik Tungate.“Improving the quality of life in our community by enhancing the built environment is one of our top priorities,” says Erik Tungate, Oak Park city manager. “From the beginning, we wanted to make sure we could maximize our taxpayers’ investment in this project by leveraging all of the available funding sources out there. After conducting many community input sessions and working with the Center for New Urbanism, a linear park [model] came to the top of our list.”
Since the initial planning phase of Oak Park’s Nine Mile Redesign, the city has received more than $1.2 million in grants that they’ve used to make the dream of a future-facing Nine Mile Corridor a reality. The innovation of the project caught the attention of the
Michigan Municipal League, earning Oak Park the status of 2024 finalist in pursuit of the Community Excellence Award.
“It was an honor to be a finalist and get an opportunity to feature Oak Park on such a grand scale,” Tungate says.
“Getting the opportunity to feature what we're doing in Oak Park to the rest of the state was an incredible experience. It was also a good reminder that the work we're doing is having an impact all over. In fact, it has inspired nearby communities to join forces for a larger study focused on even more quality-of-life improvements that includes all of Nine Mile throughout the Metro Detroit region.”
The momentum of the redesign has contributed to an increase in small business ownership within Oak Park, the most recent establishments including Forest Bakery and the official second location of Pie Sci, a specialty pizza shop that originated in Detroit.
“It’s been a sweet summer over here on the corner of Forest and Nine Mile,” Forest Bakery wrote in a recent
Instagram post. “We’ll see ya next year! And the year after that!”
“To date, we have opened four new businesses, including a bakery and a 30-unit transit-oriented housing development,” Tungate confirms.
“I see that trend continuing and even expanding as interest rates settle and new business investment picks up. [The Nine Mile Redesign project has] demonstrated that focused capital improvements and public investment in strategic assets and projects can have a direct effect on the community and can, in fact, propel the private business community to follow suit.”
Now fully completed, the project’s final phase was focused on incorporating aesthetic and interactive elements into the Corridor’s design, including the addition of public art, outdoor seating, landscape improvements and two new children’s play structures. As residents and visitors enjoy the improvements, the City of Oak Park is celebrating the tangible impact of a newly community-centered Nine Mile Road in the heart of Metro Detroit — the result of nearly a decade’s worth of planning, investment and widespread commitment to the history and integrity of Oak Park.
“As with any capital improvement project, bringing this project to fruition was a combination of creativity and grit.” Tungate states.
“The response has been very positive. It serves as a testament to our team members' ability to plow through obstacles and finish strong.”
Photos supplied: Oak Park.
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