Balduck Park Gets a Whole New Look
The rainbow-colored stairway is one of the new features you can find at Balduck Park. Image courtesy of Jim West
New playground equipment at Balduck Park. Image courtesy of Jim West
Children in Morningside and other eastside neighborhoods have spent many happy hours at Balduck Park over the decades. Community Hill, the only sledding hill in the city’s park system, has always been a popular place for winter recreation. Now the hill boasts a rainbow-colored stairway, making the climb back to the top so much easier.
This stairway is just one of the many amenities that have been added to Balduck Park. Here’s what else you’ll find:
Two new dog parks – one for large dogs and one for smaller ones - behind the sledding hill
An expanded area for playing soccer
A new playground and picnic area in the south end of the park near E. Warren
Landscaping improvements including more than 90 new trees
New walkways
Improved signage
Crews are also working hard on infrastructure improvements to mitigate the recurrent flooding at the south end of the park.
Project managers held community meetings over two years to capture residents’ vision for the park. Funding came from an almost $1 million donation from BCBS of Michigan through the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, and an additional $600,000 came from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
In a statement, our District 4 Councilmember Latisha Johnson said, "Balduck Park is a special place for me. It is active year-round and there is something for everyone to do. Before I took office, I worked with the community to get funding to improve the basketball courts. The funders and the city of Detroit's General Services Department have done a marvelous job transforming this park into a jewel of which we can all be proud."
