Genesee County Will Finally Get Its First State Park Thanks to $26M Plan
I had no idea that Genesee County was the only county in Michigan that didn't have a state park. I knew we didn't have one but I didn't know we were literally the only county in the state. Well, that is about to change thanks to a $26 million plan which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced earlier today during her visit to Flint.
Where will the new state park be located?
The new state park will be located at Chevy Commons, the former site of the Chevrolet plant. Once known as Chevy in the Hole, the new park will sit along the Flint River between Chevrolet Avenue and Grand Traverse Street.
They definitely have big plans for the park as it will feature boat launches that connect to the Flint River, canoe/kayak launch, and possibly even an amphitheater. The park will even connect the University of Michigan-Flint, Kettering University, the Flint Farmers’ Market, the Flint Cultural Center Campus and the Iron Belle Trail. Now, tell me that won't be awesome.
What will the new state park be called?
According to MLive, the city will collect submissions from the community to decide how to name the state park. These will be collected on the city of Flint’s website, through community meetings and a submission box at city hall.
Obviously, something of this magnitude won't come cheap, that's why Gov. Whitmer is proposing that the state uses $26.2 million in federal stimulus dollars to make it happen.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer:
I sat down with the director of the DNR and he was telling me about the 82 state parks in 82 counties. I said, ‘82 counties? We have 83 counties. What’s missing?’ Well, we are going to fix that.