Chelsea Main Street Park project moves forward with $1 million state grant

A Main Street park in the city of Chelsea is one step closer to reality with a grant of $1,012,500 from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) board. In early December, the fund recommended that the Michigan legislature approve 68 recreation development projects and 17 land acquisitions totaling $41.7 million, including the Chelsea project, to be funded in 2025.

The Main Street Park Alliance (MSPA) is a grassroots organization that took ownership of the project. The grant from the MNRTF will allow the city to purchase the property from the group. Then the city can begin brownfield remediation and design of the park at the blighted former Federal Screw Works site at 500 S. Main. 

Chelsea City Manager Martin Colburn says the city and MSPA have now raised about $7 million for the park, including the latest grant. The agreement between the city and MSPA earned them a $1 million grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in late 2023 to perform environmental remediation on the site.

Colburn says a design for the final site plan will go before Chelsea's planning commission later this month. It has changed a fair bit from the original plan after several sessions of community feedback.

"We added a lot of different playscapes, a basketball court, an all-sports-type court, a climbing wall, a hammock area, a fire pit, and a skate park," Colburn says.

He says the city hopes to get most of the park done by the end of 2025, but it will probably be 2026 by the time the grass grows in and amenities are all completed.

"We're excited. It should be a draw from all over the community and the region," Colburn says.

See plans for the park and get updates on its progress here. 

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and editor in Ypsilanti Township and the project manager of On the Ground Ypsilanti. She joined Concentrate as a news writer in early 2017 and is an occasional contributor to other Issue Media Group publications. You may reach her at sarahrigg1@gmail.com.

Rendering courtesy of Main Street Park Alliance.