Published Sept. 25, 2024

State and local officials and community members will join Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, to mark the grand opening of the City of Dearborn’s first Park Equity and Access for Civil Engagement (PEACE) Park. The west Dearborn greenspace is the first of three newly constructed parks to open to the public under the PEACE Project, a $29.2 million grant-funded investment into the city’s public parks, green infrastructure, and existing outdoor facilities. A public celebration is planned for Friday, Sept. 27, from 7 - 9 p.m. at 22271 West Village Dr. 

The City began construction of PEACE Park West at a groundbreaking ceremony in August 2023, repurposing a surface parking lot in the West Downtown Dearborn business district. The park sits across from West Village Commons, a newly built community outdoor space and dining area constructed by the City in spring 2024 in place of a small surface parking lot. The overall investment in several city parks and recreation facilities is part of Mayor Hammoud’s vision for a greener, more connected, and sustainable city.

Mayor Hammoud stated, “A year ago, we embarked on a journey to invest in the most monumental transformation of our city’s natural resource, its green spaces, and broke ground on the PEACE Park West. Today, we celebrate the opening of the first of the three new urban parks, all of which will serve as centerpieces in three of our city’s iconic neighborhoods.”

The opening of the first PEACE Park in the city, coupled with West Village Commons located across West Village Drive, will offer residents, businesses, and visitors modern public amenities including, outdoor seating, shaded walkways, wifi, and state-of-the-art visual and sound tech servicing a grand pavilion, and more outdoor gathering spaces between local restaurants and businesses. In addition to providing a unique, public gathering space, PEACE Park West adds to the city’s permeable surface to help mitigate flooding. Rain gardens, more porous surfaces, and an advanced water management system will enhance these mitigation efforts.

Hammoud added, “I am proud to welcome everyone - Dearborn residents and visitors - to this premiere public space that will enhance our community, environmental sustainability, and economic growth.”

The $29.2 million in grant funding consists of $10 million from the City, $9.6 million from a Wayne County funding grant, $8 million from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a $787,000 MEDC RAP fund grant with a match from the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority totaling $1.5 million, and $100,000 from the West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority. 

Wayne County Deputy Executive Assad Turfe stated, “Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and I are proud to support the City of Dearborn and Mayor Hammoud’s historic grand opening of the city’s first PEACE Park. We are proud to empower and partner with southeast Michigan communities like Dearborn through Wayne County’s grant funds to make integral projects such as Dearborn’s PEACE initiative possible.”

The second PEACE Park is currently under construction at the former site of the Dearborn City Hall on Michigan Ave and Schaefer Rd in east Dearborn. A third PEACE Park location will be erected in Dearborn’s southend neighborhood. Both projects are funded using combined PEACE Project grant funding, which has also been used to facilitate renovations at three of the City’s outdoor pools, to upgrade park amenities and playground equipment at several Dearborn parks, and to fund the completion of renovations at Camp Dearborn in Milford. 

Imagine Design & Build is responsible for the design and build of all new PEACE parks in Dearborn. 

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