Ambassador Bridge Owners Reach Agreement To Expand Bridge's Plaza

DETROIT — The owners of the Ambassador Bridge reached an agreement with a local neighborhood group and city officials to expand the bridge's plaza along the Detroit River, according to a news release.

The Bridge Company will donate several proprieties to the Hubbard Richard neighborhood, along with money to help redevelop the properties, in exchange for expanding the Ambassador Bridge's plaza portion along Fort Street to the south, West Lafayette Boulevard to the north, Ste. Anne St. to the west and 18th Street to the east.

The tentative agreement will still need approval from Detroit officials, including City Council. The proposed agreement may also need other government approval too.

"Earlier this year, I promised to the City Council that we would make a beneficial and positive agreement with the community," Chairman of the Ambassador Bridge Matthew Moroun said. "It was important that we kept that promise. This agreement is the result of a lot of hard work, will provide a win-win-win for the HRRA, city and our company."

In the tentative agreement, the Ambassador Bridge will:

• Donate 10 properties it owns in and around Hubbard Richard to the neighborhood along with $20,000 per property to assist in redevelopment.
• Contribute property to the City with the intent that it be incorporated into the City’s Roberto Clemente Recreation Center.
• Demolish the former "Greyhound Building" located at 2300 W. Fort Street, split the property into two parcels, and donate the larger parcel to the neighborhood for non-industrial redevelopment.
• Construct a berm along 16th Street that buffers the neighborhood from industrial uses to the east.
• Build a new 16th Street between West Lafayette and W. Fort Street to improve ingress and egress to the neighborhood.
• The Ambassador Bridge has additionally agreed to restrictions on further property acquisitions in the neighborhood.

The Hubbard Richard Neighborhood agreed to:

• To the expansion of the Ambassador Bridge Plaza within agreed upon areas.
• To design standards including aesthetics, buffering, lighting, and relocation of utilities and sidewalks.

Mayor Mike Duggan said the agreement is "a major turning point for the Hubbard-Richard community and the Bridge Company."

"Their willingness to work together resulted in an agreement to build a badly needed plaza expansion in a way that respects the residential character of the community and provides it some real benefits," Duggan said.