Moross Greenway Project Aims to Raise $600K

A large-scale project to improve the aesthetics of Moross Road had entered the second of five phases in which organizers are trying to raise $600,000 to landscape seven islands from Grosse Pointe to I-94.

The Moross Greenway Project started out of a simple discussion by beautification commissioners a few years ago, who randomly began talking about how impressed they were with the landscaping changes made to the islands and area surrounding the building at Mack Avenue and Moross Road.

Sheila O'Hara, a Grosse Pointe Farms resident, was one of those beautification commissioners and the discussion stuck with her. So much so, that she began  working on the project.

She first contacted Wayne County Commissioner Tim Killeen, who represents Harper Woods, the Grosse Pointes and some of Detroit. He was supportive of the idea immediately.

Now she is the president of the board of directors for the project and Killeen is the vice president.

Last summer, Killeen and O'Hara . That was phase one of the project, which has its own website and is classified as a not-for-profit organization, and 190 trees were planted. 

O'Hara said the project began out of a simple conversation but has grown to involve people from several communities, churches and other organizations. There is a core group of about 20 people who are the most active and then another 20 who are involved but less actively at this point, she said.

"It's truly a community building event," O'Hara said. "We all live so close but otherwise we might not see each other. There is no division among the group. It's pretty cool."

A landscape architect donated his time to develop a plan for the islands that are passed by hundreds of motorists daily. The plans call for 500 shrubs and 9,700 perennials, all of which will be native to Michigan. In addition to the plants, the money the organization raises will pay for an irrigation system to help provide long-term care to the plants and limit the manual labor necessary to maintain the area, O'Hara said.

Earlier this year, O'Hara and another representative made presentations before a few of the city councils in the Grosse Pointes to alert them of the fundraising campaign. In Grosse Pointe Farms, one council member said he would be donating to the project as he's excited to see the changes that have begun to the green areas of Moross.

They set a goal to raise the $600,000 by this summer in hopes of planting the  greenery this fall. The money will pay for professionals to install the landscaping utlimately, however, the hope is for the greenery to be low-maintenance. O'Hara said she envisions having once or twice a year a community clean-up day in which volunteers can come to help with trimming, upkeep and weeding.

In addition to enhancing the asthetics, O'Hara said the landscaping will help improve the area that introduces the eastside to motorists.

"It will strengthen the area and make people feel proud," O'Hara said. "I think this project will have a direct impact on the neighborhood."

Killeen has told Patch several times how stable the neighborhoods are surrounding St. John's Hospital are and he believes the project is yet another way to strengthen the east side communities.

The stability of the surrounding neighborhoods has likely been helpful with the project as there are many people involved who live on the greenway or very nearby. Representatives from the following places are involved:

• Cornerstone Neighborhood
• East English Village
• Harper Woods
• the Grosse Pointes
• the churches on Moross

Phase three of the plan is actually reaching the fundraising goal and the planting of the greenery. Phase four includes the installation of decorative street lighting using solar power or other efficiency measures and phase five, O'Hara said, will include incorporating the artwork of Michigan artists in the greenway.

Currently, the group is working to gain some large donors to become involved and spreading the word about the project. In six weeks of fundraising, the group has raised $13,000, she said, noting the goal of $600,000 by this summer was not necessarily a hard timeline. Organizers thought it was better to put a date on it that was sooner than later so it wouldn't be something people intend to support but forget about, she said.

Discussions are also happening with officials from Highland Park regarding a water main that runs under Moross Road--installed years ago by Henry Ford for an automotive plant. The hope is that the project will be able to add taps to the water main, which pulls water from Lake St. Clair for the long-term irrigation of the greenway. In addition to being a lower cost, the untreated and chemical free water will be better for the health of the plants, O'Hara said.

To donate or otherwise get involved, visit the organization's website, www.morossgreenway.org or mail checks made payble to the Moross Greenway Project to 155 W. Congress, Suite 200, Detroit, MI 48226. Donations made on the website are made through Paypal.

The organization will accept any amount of donation and offers an option in which an island can be adopted, which would include some special form of recognition.