There is still work to be done, but a neighborhood park is shaping up to be a destination for families across Bay City.
Maplewood Park sits near other high-profile efforts to improve the downtown neighborhood including the newly-developed
Veterans Workshop and Learning Center, 1009 Madison Ave., and
The Jefferson Project, 409 First St.
A rundown motel was turned into
Lux Off Washington apartments at 1305 Washington Ave. Another developer is tearing down the nearby former Prime Event Center, 1201 Washington Ave., to build housing.
The park – a nearly 10-acre piece of land near Downtown Bay City bounded by First, Third, Sheridan, and Van Buren streets – complements those projects as it undergoes its own transformation from a grassy expanse with dilapidated basketball and tennis courts into the
Maplewood Park Sports Complex.
Right now, the park looks like a construction zone.
For Ali Smith and Rob Clark, who are spearheading the project, this particular construction zone is a thing of beauty. Smith and Clark say the project is at least six years in the making.
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Photo courtesy of Maplewood Park Sports ComplexSeveral different community groups are working together to revitalize Maplewood Park near Downtown Bay CityEven as the construction work continues, people are starting to use the new soccer mini pitches and upgraded basketball courts in Maplewood, says Clark, whose day job is Communications Director for Michigan Sugar.
Clark is thrilled to see people playing in the space, but he points out that the project’s purpose is much larger than developing a playground for kids
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Clark says. “It's about redeveloping a park and redeveloping a part of the community that is so important to us. And it's about neighborhood redevelopment.”
Smith, who works as a real estate agent at Ayre/Rhinehart Bay City, remembers spending childhood days at Maplewood Park.
“I grew up playing basketball at Baytown,” Smith says.
As an adult, he saw the space with different eyes.
“A friend of mine, James Dawkins, who has a basketball training program called Raw Talent Ballers, was training some youth out there one day. I was just happening to be riding a bike and it brought back a lot of memories of me playing out there. The courts were in really bad condition with huge cracks and weeds growing through those cracks, and that prompted me to do something about that.”
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Photo Courtesy of Ali SmithDuring the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, Ali Smith rode his bike past Maplewood Park. He noticed basketball courts had decayed. He decided then that Maplewood Park needed to be better to serve the community. Today, these courts have been replaced.Smith reached out to First Ward Commissioner Jesse Dockett, who connected him to City Manager Dana Muscott. From there, Smith connected with the City Parks and Recreation department.
Eventually, he started hearing that Clark wanted to revitalize the same area.
“Rob and I got together and had a conversation and decided to put our resources together and work as a team on a joint project to revitalize the whole area.”
Once the two of them coordinated their effort, the City of Bay City also stepped up with some funding to expand the project. The Bay Area Soccer Association got behind the effort as well.
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Photo courtesy of Maplewood Park Sports ComplexPads along a walking trail in Maplewood Park will invite walkers to engage in exercises in between getting their steps in.The collaboration between so many diverse groups is one of Clark’s favorite parts of the project.
“When we got rolling, the city was kind of inspired by what we were doing, so they invested some of their (parks) funding into the park as well. When all is said and done, this is just a humble opinion, but I think it’s going to be the nicest parks in Bay City.”
Clark and Smith agree the park provides new opportunities for the community.
“It’s within walking distance of where so many families and kids live, and they’re going to be able to walk to world-class sports facilities,” Clark says.
When he sees kids playing in the soccer fields, he stops to ask where they’re from. He’s learning kids are coming from both sides of the Saginaw River and all over the community.
“That’s exactly what this park is supposed to be doing, bringing the community together,” Clark says.
Bringing the community together is important for Smith as well. He points out the park meets the needs of people who don’t have the resources to get to other places for recreation.
“Transportation is a huge barrier,” Smith says. “You know a lot of the kids that maybe want to play soccer – how do they get from the West Side or Monitor Township if their parents don’t have vehicles?”
For some, it’s not even a question of crossing the river. It’s just over a mile from Baytown at one end of downtown to the Dow Bay Area Family Y at the other. That’s a long walk for a kid.
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Photo courtesy of Bay Area Soccer AssociationWork at Maplewood Park isn't done, but already basketball courts and mini soccer pitches are bringing kids from all over to the Downtown Bay City Park.“You have parents that are in Baytown that are disabled and they’re not able to drive. So it’s good to have places where their kids can go and play right in the neighborhood now,” Smith says.
While the soccer fields and basketball courts are nearly complete, work at the park is far from over.
Clark says the city built a new sports-themed playground in the park.
Eventually, the city plans to build 10-foot-wide walking paths throughout the park. Fitness equipment along the path will encourage people to stop and exercise. The new pathways will connect directly to the existing Railtrail, which is a 17-mile loop for walking and biking.
The city also plans to add portable toilets, a plaza with benches, picnic tables, shade, and water stations.
“That’s a huge part that the city took on that really helped our project,” Clark says.
Support also came from the
NAACP Bay City Branch,
Bay County Realtor Association,
Bay Area Community Foundation and several local foundations including
Kantzler Foundation,
Nickless Family Charitable Foundation, and
Russell H. and Maxine E. Smith Foundation.
“I started writing grants and raising money, and did that through COVID, and coming out of COVID,” Clark says. “We raised just short of $600,000 for the project.”
“We got incredible support from the community foundations and private foundations. We couldn’t have done it without them. We’re very grateful.”
Follow the progress of the Maplewood Park revitalization on
Facebook.
Read more about the beginnings of the park in this
May 11, 2023 Route Bay City article.