By: K. Michelle Moran | Grosse Pointe Times | Published April 23, 2024
GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Pickleball players in Grosse Pointe Farms will likely be happy to hear that progress is being made toward the construction of pickleball courts at Pier Park.
The Grosse Pointe Farms City Council voted unanimously April 8 in favor of a low bid from Best Asphalt Inc. to build the courts for $262,225.
“We received (only) two bids, despite really lobbying for more bids,” City Manager Shane Reeside said.
Reeside said Best Asphalt “met the bid requirements” established by the city.
“It is understood that the Grosse Pointe Farms Foundation committed $100,000 towards this project,” City Councilman Lev Wood said.
The remainder of the cost will be covered by the city.
During a Dec. 11, 2023, meeting, the council unanimously voted in favor of a proposal that would add four pickleball courts to the tennis court area. This plan, which was the most popular option at a public meeting last fall, includes the elimination of a walkway adjacent to the courts to reduce the loss of green space.
The project also includes restriping and resurfacing the remaining two permanent tennis courts.
Wood asked Reeside about the anticipated construction date for the courts.
Reeside said they were having a preconstruction meeting that week.
“We want them to get started as soon as they can,” Reeside said.
He said the completion date, at press time, was slated to be June 26, which is just before the heavily used weekend around the July 4th holiday.
“We’re optimistic if things go well, it could be (done) sooner than that,” Reeside told the council.
However, he cautioned that the reverse could also be true, if bad weather delays construction.
While this project had support from pickleball players, as well as data from the Farms Parks and Recreation Department demonstrating the demand for pickleball based on reservations for the temporary courts the city had been using, that support wasn’t universal. Tennis players were concerned about the loss of court space, noting the longstanding use of these courts and the fact that high school tennis players can qualify for tennis scholarships for college — something that’s not true for pickleball.