Sugar Beach in Toronto has urban watefront beach.
One of 21 Detroit finalists for a grant from the Knight Cities Challenge includes the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, which has pitched the idea of a beach on the Detroit River -- minus the swimming.
Robin Runyan of Curbed Detroit reports:
We checked in with Mark Wallace, president and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, to hear more about it.
Wallace say they’ve looked at the Riverfront as a whole, and while it’s a popular destination for families and kids, there’s a gap in the pathway between Chene Park and Stroh River Place. With inspiration from urban beaches in Toronto and Philly (seen below), they’re pitching the idea of Atwater Beach to fill that gap along the river.
To be clear, this is not a beach for swimming (you’ll still have to go to Belle Isle for that). What Wallace envisions is a sandy park with beach furniture, interactive activities for kids, and food and beverage services. Here’s some of the inspiration from other cities to paint the picture of what Atwater Beach could be.
The Knight Cities Challenge will will distribute $5 million in total to organizations to make communities more vibrant to live and work. On Tuesday, it announced 144 finalists nationwide including 21 in Detroit. Winners will be announced in the spring by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, based in Miami.
Its mission is to improve 26 communities where it invests. Sixty-nine Cities Challenge grants were given in 2015-16.
