Neighborhood park in Grosse Pointe Woods getting new tot lot, other amenities

GROSSE POINTE WOODS — A Grosse Pointe Woods neighborhood park is about to get a makeover.

Chene-Trombley Park, located on Ridgemont Road near Mack Avenue, is currently closed because it’s undergoing a series of major renovations this summer. These include new lighting and landscaping, the addition of a two-stall family restroom, a shaded pavilion with picnic tables and a walking path. In addition, the park is getting a new, accessible tot lot, the Phyllis A. DeMars Tot Lot, named for a longtime Woods resident and teacher who died in 2022. The tot lot will have a soft, rubberized surface and an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant friendship swing where multiple people can sit facing each other while they use it.

“It’s going to be a very nice project,” City Administrator Frank Schulte said.

At press time, a groundbreaking for the project was slated for 10 a.m. June 24.

The Woods City Council unanimously voted June 5 in favor of bids from a number of contractors to build various aspects of the project. The total project cost is $561,035.31. Of that, $366,300 was budgeted toward this expenditure in the fiscal year 2022-23 budget, while $194,866 is coming from the Grosse Pointe Woods Foundation, grants and donations.

Original bids had been as high as almost twice the anticipated cost, but Schulte and the Public Services Department — led by Director Jim Kowalski — brought those in line by talking to local contractors to see if they could do the work at a lower price. In addition, Schulte said the city’s Department of Public Works staff will be doing some of the work to save money.

“We’re hoping to have it completed by the end of August,” Schulte said.

Schulte said they’ve been researching this project for about a year.

“Kudos to you for pulling together this project,” City Councilman Thomas Vaughn told Schulte. “It’s going to be well used.”

Other city officials also praised Schulte’s creative problem-solving when it came to being able to undertake this project while adhering to the budget.

“I want to compliment … Frank Schulte for realizing there was a way to save a considerable amount of money by the city acting as its own contractor and pulling together the people that he knows in the community that can do the work at a good price,” Mayor Arthur Bryant said after the meeting.