Redevelopment
In 2014, Mayor Dayne Walling announced two separate grants (of $1.6 million and $1.9 million, respectively) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop city-owned Chevy in the Hole into a park.[2][5][7] Genesee County Historical Society president Dave White noted this represents the first time in almost 200 years that the site is not being used for manufacturing or commercial purposes.[2] According to Walling, Chevy Commons was conceived to provide event space and recreational areas as well as recognize the site's automotive and Native American history.[2] He conceived it as "an interesting, natural space right in the heart of the city".[2]
Christina Kelly, of the Genesee County Land Bank, noted that the project was dependent on federal funds, and that redevelopment of the site planned to focus on capping the ground and building up soil on top of it instead of concentrating primarily on decontamination.[6] Prior to the first EPA grant, however, thousands of trees had been planted on the site to help decontaminate it naturally.[1]
The city and Land Bank conceive of Chevy Commons as a "destination park".[8] On April 10, 2014, approximately 70 people expressed strong support for the project at a public meeting.[7] While the plans for Chevy Commons are outlined in the city's master plan, they also interface with Kettering's master plan, as well as its redevelopment of Atwood Stadium.[1]
In March 2015, the 60 acres site began a redevelopment and revitalization process that ultimately transformed it into a park, starting with the removal of wire fencing and work on sewer lines.[4][9] On April 17, the city officially celebrated the start of work on Chevy Commons with a groundbreaking ceremony.[10] The former brownfield was redeveloped into restored grasslands, meadows, and woodlands while walking trails were created on the site.[11] Its design features green spaces, low-maintenance native plants, and wetlands that are intended to control the cost of stormwater management.[7]
The site is being redeveloped in phases, starting with the first phase: planting shrubs, building walking paths, and creating car parking on the southwestern end of the site.[2] The second phase concentrated on connecting the site to county and regional trails, enhancing views of the Flint River, and improving access for fishing.[8] By 2015, millions of dollars had been spent on cleaning up industrial waste on the site, and the next phase of the project commenced: covering the concrete slabs of the site with 2 ft to 10 ft of topsoil, a total of 50,000 yd. Folliowing this, grass and trees were planted, and walking trails created.[12] By June 2015, the first phase of construction of Chevy Commons was well underway. By "fortunate coincidence", it also became the trailhead for the Genesee Valley Trail that was constructed to connect it with Flint Township.[13] Also that month, Chevy Commons entered phase two of its construction, as work on building the green cap continued.[3]
On September 24, 2016, Chevy Commons hosted its first event as a finished park: a children's biking event called Cycling Circles.[14] In May 2017, a pedestrian bridge linking Chevy Commons with Carriage Town and connecting two already-existing segments of the statewide Iron Belle Trail was planned. By that point, both the first and second phases of the project had been completed, with additional third and fourth phases planned as part of the broader Riverfront Restoration Project, which endeavors to naturalize the Flint River and make it more accessible, safer, and easier to use for recreation. The third phase concerns 9 acres of land along Kearsley Street (between Swartz Creek and Stevenson Street) and was expected to be completed by the end of 2017; the fourth phase deals with greening the area along the river on both sides of Stevenson Street in 2018. In total, the creation of Chevy Commons is expected to cost approximately $17.3 million.[15]
By July 2018, the third phase was complete, and the first three phases were open to the public. At that time, the fourth phase was expected to be complete by October 2018, at which point leftover funds and a $315,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will be used to start work on the fifth and final phase. The fifth phase will feature additional walking trails, a parking lot, and possibly also a sledding hill.[16]
In 2021, the state announced plans to develop the site as the county's first state park.[17][18][19]
