Public Invited to April 8 Informational Meeting on Dearborn Train Station District

An informational session to give local residents updates on conceptual plans for development of the area surrounding Dearborn's new train station will take place on April 8.

The meeting with be held in Studio A of the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center from 7-9 p.m. and is open to residents, business owners, commuters who work in Dearborn, college and university students, and other Dearborn stakeholders.

The meeting is part of the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) initiative that seeks to capitalize on the new train station’s ability to draw more visitors, businesses and residents to Dearborn’s west downtown. The train station is scheduled to open in early 2014.

Through a grant awarded to the city from a MIPlace Partnership, planners from Michigan State University and experts from the Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority are assisting city staff and stakeholders with creating a vision for the neighborhoods, parkland and business area near the train station.

Although the conceptual designs are not binding, the exercise will help to focus the city’s efforts when considering future development.

Public sessions held in December and January and led by the design team allowed residents and other stakeholders to generate ideas about how they would like the area to be developed. Suggestions focused on creating green space, fostering community involvement, and honoring Dearborn’s heritage.

At the April 8 meeting, the team will return to give community members the opportunity to view and comment on the design recommendations created based on earlier design sessions.

The team will walk participants through various depictions of how the area could be developed, as well as give a summary of their final report on the design concepts.

The event will include the next steps in the process and details about the final TOD community celebration.

For more information, call Liz Hendley in the City Plan Office at 313-943-2171.