RecoveryPark, a multimillion dollar planned community redevelopment tied to food system development, production and aquaculture systems, has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Fred A. & Barbara Erb Family Foundation.
The award, announced April 19, 2012, was made because of the Foundation’s focus on water and the environment, and in the hopes of generating more support for RecoveryPark, Erb officials said.
“While the Foundation has made a couple of other million dollar grants, we consider this to be our largest to date. We view it as seed capital to accelerate a viable land use strategy to improve water quality while meeting social needs and producing economic benefit,” said John Erb, the foundation’s president. “Detroit needs bold efforts that are sensitive to this triple bottom line, and we believe this project is a great demonstration.”
Gary Wozniak, the president of RecoveryPark, said he was grateful for the grant and hopeful that it helps to leverage $15 million needed to help with the project’s economic development plans.
“Besides being ecstatic and grateful, I’m now in overdrive for turning our vision for food system development into reality,” Wozniak said. “That means finding other entities like Erb who believe and support our efforts around land repurposing that creates jobs.”
RecoveryPark is a projected 10-year, multimillion dollar planned community redevelopment project targed for the east side of Detroit. The plan is to develop education, food systems, aquaculture, commercial and housing development in order to help both the area’s residents as well as clients of the Self Help Addiction Recovery (SHAR) program.
RecoveryPark is currently negotiating with City of Detroit and Detroit Public School officials to secure property that could be used for an initial 22-acre farming site, part of a year-round growing system. That site would be integrated into an existing neighborhood.
For more information about RecoveryPark, contact 313.894.1275.
Click here to be introduced to RecoveryPark
Source: RecoveryPark
