Community Center at A.B. Ford Park

The first completed CLT buidling in the City of Detroit, and Detroit’s first climate resilient community center, the new Community Center at A.B. Ford Park (formerly Lenox Center) aims to be a responsive community space surrounded by an expansive public park that improves access to the waterfront. A main goal is for the completed project to increase economic potential and serve as a genuine extension of the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood’s rich cultural fabric. The new Community Center is a state-of-the-art facility built outside the floodplain and serves as a new community space as well as a sustainable resilience hub during emergencies, where residents can access shelter, power, and supplies. The new center, designed with solar panels and sustainable cross laminated timber (CLT), includes flexible space for indoor youth sports, community events, classrooms, and quiet learning spaces.