The Conservancy is extremely pleased to have completed the construction of our first riverfront playground, located (immediately north of Rivard Plaza) Rivard Plaza. In conjunction with our partners at KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization dedicated to making playgrounds accessible to all children in urban areas, our funding partners, Bank of America, and the Kresge Foundation, the Conservancy completed construction of the new playground on October 20, 2011.

Despite chilly, rainy weather, more than 150 dedicated volunteers from the Conservancy, our Board of Directors, Bank of America, the United States Coast Guard and the surrounding community came together to construct the playground from start to finish in under four hours.

Built based on designs created by area school children, the playground will serve families with its colorful, interactive swing sets, slides and climbing spaces. In addition to the playground, volunteers built picnic tables, painted with colorful "checkerboards," which will be installed within the playground's footprint and will provide a place upon which families can gather for games. Beautiful one-of-a-kind mosaic tiles were also created by the volunteers, which will add personal and colorful touches to the play area.

We received a great deal of positive press on the project, with print coverage from The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press and video news coverage from WDIV Channel 4 and WXYZ Channel 7. This colorful and creative playground provides another riverfront destination for visitors and families to enjoy.

An "official" ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication will be held in early spring 2012.

CLICK to watch Detroit News video coverage of build day!