In our series on the 2025 Community Excellence Award applicants, we visit three Michigan municipalities that strengthened community bonds through revitalized third spaces. Big Rapids and Milford breathed new life into aging downtown parks, and Mt. Pleasant turned an unpopular parking lot into a thriving new town square. 

Big Rapids “Plays Big” With Hemlock Park

2025 Community Excellence Award Entries: Third Spaces

Hemlock Park, nestled against the Muskegon River in downtown Big Rapids, needed some attention. The year was 2022, and the wooden, castle-style playscape that had been in place since 1996 had reached the end of its lifespan.

While looking into replacing the play structure, the City was approached by community members hoping the also-aging tennis courts could get a little love, too. “We said, ‘Okay, let’s try and do something,’” says Steve Gove, Public Relations Coordinator for the City of Big Rapids. And thus, the Hemlock Park Improvement Project was born.

Ideas for improvements and refurbishments snowballed. The new and improved Hemlock Park would boast new tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, a splash pad, a refurbished basketball court, and an ADA-accessible kayak and canoe launch on the river. Come Memorial Day 2025, the makeover was complete, and “Partners in Play: The Hemlock Park Project” is the City of Big Rapids’ submission for the 2025 Community Excellence Award.

“To make this big cohesive project, it had to happen in phases,” says Gove. “Phase one was the basketball courts, the pickleball courts, the kayak canoe launch, and the tennis courts.” This was funded with $600,000 raised through a grassroots, community-led campaign. Phase two would focus on the new playground and splash pad, the funding for which included a Community Development Block Grant from MEDC and a grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund.

The project “was really, really community driven,” says Megan Eppley, grant coordinator for the City. One of its biggest fundraising champions was local resident Jon Coles, a Grand Valley State University professor and former assistant AD at Ferris State University. Coles “was the one going door-to-door, to different businesses, to the hospitals, Ferris State University, Big Rapids Public Schools—getting those donations,” says Gove.

“He just kept the fire going,” says Eppley.

For the project committee, a major motivator was getting people—especially young people—moving again. “Coming out of COVID, there was not a lot of movement,” says Eppley. “One of the motivating factors was to get kids playing and doing things.” The community seized on a slogan: Play Big.

The park abuts Big Rapids Middle School, and students there can take advantage of the improved athletic facilities during the school day. The sporting lives of adults have been improved, as well. The new pickleball courts meant that the local tennis and pickleball communities (the cats and dogs of the racquet sport world) no longer needed to share and could play to their hearts’ content, with no need for a negotiated schedule.

The old wooden castle structure had been a staple of the community and was much beloved. “There’s a lot of history there,” says Gove. “When we first initially were taking it down, people were not happy with it …. But once we actually got the playground installed and kids started using it, there have been nothing but positive comments.” The new, accessible playground boasts inclusive swings, a four-person teeter-totter, what Gove describes as a “spinny apparatus,” and a quiet area if kids want to get away from the action for a bit.

Especially popular is the new splash pad. And it’s not just any splash pad. “One unique feature—we have a huge bucket that dumps a huge amount of water; I think it was like 700 gallons of water,” says Gove. “The kids love that.” A nearby warming station extends the usability of the splash pad into the spring and fall. “It was 50 degrees when we had a ribbon cutting ceremony,” says Gove, “And the kids were just like, ‘whatever, we’re in.’”

For the City, the Hemlock Park improvements represent a long-term investment in public space and community well-being. “I think the city takes real pride in its recreation,” says Gove. “We want people of all abilities to have fun, to come to Big Rapids and enjoy the parks. We cannot wait for people to enjoy them for years to come.”

Message received. Says Eppley: “It is busy every day.”

Milford’s Central Park Gets a Glow-Up

2025 Community Excellence Award Entries: Third Spaces

Milford, a village of about 6,500 residents in southwestern Oakland County, boasts its very own Central Park. The 12 acres of green space on the banks of the Huron River had a ton of potential but needed an overhaul. Bisecting the main downtown district, the park was uninviting and unattractive. There were drainage issues, un-taken-advantage-of river views, and a volleyball court that was more often than not a mud pit. “The front yard of Central Park was one of the most unkempt front yards in the entire village,” admits DDA Director Ann Barnette. Outside of the occasional event at the park’s amphitheater or old pavilion, “it really wasn’t a place you wanted to be.”

“We’d sort of dabbled in the different pieces of Central Park over the last 30 years,” continued Barnette. “It was always a design challenge because every piecemeal project was working around the prior piecemeal project. A project that was poorly designed before—you can’t design your way out of it.”

As luck would have it, in early 2023, after terminating another large project, the Village found itself with a budget for the makeover Central Park desperately needed. Two years later, “Central Park: The Heart of Milford” is the Village’s submission for the 2025 Community Excellence Award.

Approvals and bids were completed in rapid succession through the spring of 2023. Realizing the scope of the project, Barnette and Village Manager Christian Wuerth approached Milford Township for more support. “This was a transformational project,” said Wuerth. “We looked at it as—this is our civic square.”

The Township was on board for construction to start in October 2023, with one caveat: They had one year to build it. Milford Memories, the annual summer festival that attracts a few hundred thousand people, would be taking place in August of 2024—no ifs, ands, or buts.

With the clock ticking, the Village got to work. “We literally worked 10- to 12-hour days for seven days a week until it was done,” says Barnette. The Village restored the unkempt landscaping and great lawn area, addressed drainage and stormwater issues, redesigned walking paths and driveways to maximize river views, planted wildflowers, and added new amenities.

The park’s ice rink was brightened up—literally—with warm, romantic overhead string lights. “That idea came from the Public Works guys,” says Wuerth. “They were like, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to do this thing?’ and we were like—okay!”

Barnette’s favorite addition is the new pavilion, designed by the firm Dave Peterhans Designs, which had also worked on the park’s amphitheater in 2015. The pavilion is based on Milford’s historic Art Deco Ford Powerhouse station, designed by Albert Kahn in the 1920s. The strikingly modern new building features Adirondack chairs and a large fireplace.

Wuerth is a big fan of the new boardwalk. “We worked with the contractor and the design team, and they came up with these giant porch swings. They’ve pretty much got people on them the entire time.”

“All ages,” interjects Barnette.

“It’s just this magnet that kind of draws everybody,” continued Wuerth. “You can interact with the river there; there’s wildflowers in bloom now. It’s just a neat spot to sit and take it all in. It’s just a beautiful, beautiful space.” On any given day, you might see kids fishing in the river, couples snuggling on the swings, or a wedding taking place.

In the end, Central Park met its one-year deadline, Milford Memories went off without a hitch, and the opening of the park was officially celebrated in fall of 2024. “It was very emotional for a lot of people,” says Wuerth. “You have lifelong residents of the village and township tearing up at the transformation—what it looks like now.”

“Everyone that goes in there, they’re just blown away at how beautiful it is,” he continues.
“For those of us that are in and around it, it’s easy to get used to it. But then you get a text from a friend and they’re like, ‘I was just through Central Park and it’s amazing.’”

Barnette agrees. “It’s just stunning now.”

“Doing A Lot with a Little Bit”: Mt. Pleasant’s Town Center

2025 Community Excellence Award Entries: Third Spaces

The City of Mt. Pleasant has paved a parking lot and put up paradise.

An unusual fan-shaped lot and unnerving curved bypass road at the corner of Main and Broadway Streets has been reimagined as a versatile and accessible downtown third space. Funded by ARPA dollars and a Revitalization and Placemaking (RAP) grant from MEDC and completed late last year, the new Town Center Civic Space Project is Mt. Pleasant’s submission for the 2025 Community Excellence Award.

“We had two city parking lots that were separated by a bisector road [the ‘Mosher Street curve’] that pretty much bypassed downtown,” says Stacie Tewari, city engineer. “People would cut around downtown and drive very quickly. The parking lots were both in very poor condition.”

Do something about the horrible parking lot had been on the city’s to-do list for quite literally decades. “It’s been in almost every planning document for 30-plus years. We finally got it through across the finish line.” says Phil Biscorner, director of parks and public spaces. Once the grant money came through, the City devised a plan for what he described as “a unique event space that can cater to the needs of the community, but also still cater to the needs of the businesses during the week.”

Parking lots, as we all know, are an oddly fraught use of public space. Everyone wants them (for parking), but also no one wants them (because they take up space that could be used for things other than parking). “We had to balance how to keep the parking while still being able to create this multi-use event space,” says Tewari. The City’s solution ended up being simple: Drop the Mosher Street bypass road entirely and add green space to the parklet—five times more than before—while using the space of the former bypass road to add more area.

Simply removing the Mosher Street curve was a revelation. To the west of Town Center is a high rise with subsidized senior housing. With Mosher Street in the way, crossing into downtown had been treacherous for residents. Eliminating it at once made Mt. Pleasant more accessible for them.

In the end, the City added more precious parking: 25 spaces, including six EV charging stations. Oh, and 50 more trees.

But Town Center’s utility goes beyond mere parking and trees. The City installed high-capacity electrical service—six 50-amp plugs and over thirty 20-amp services—designed to power stages, food trucks, sound systems, and the City’s 30-foot artificial Christmas tree (not the 40 feet described in the CEA application, admits Biscorner). Underground stormwater detention manages runoff. Zero-inch curb height transitions and flush sidewalks make Town Center accessible for everyone. Permanent picnic tables and multicolored Adirondack chairs add beauty and gathering space. “I’ve seen people sitting out there playing guitar, eating lunch with their families,” says Tewari.

Since opening in October 2024, Town Center has hosted farmers markets, car shows, an array of art fairs, the Halloween festival, and Mt. Pleasant’s first-ever Christmas laser light show. “That was pretty cool,” says Tewari.

Even cooler? Bathrooms! “That was a huge want in the community,” says Tewari. “There was really no place to go during events or parades.” The new year-round restroom building boasts heat, heavy-duty fixtures, and a water bottle hydration station, plus a storage garage for seasonal decor and other city-owned objects. With an elegant brick edifice, it was designed to match downtown Mt. Pleasant’s look, instead of the parks department’s usual blue or the queasy pastels of portable festival toilets.

Resident feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “You could build the most wonderful thing in the world and still have a few people unhappy,” Biscorner says, “but 80 to 90 percent of residents are ecstatic.”

Tewari agrees: “People were ready for something different—but better.”

“You can do a lot with a little bit,” says Biscorner. “It’s changed the feel of downtown.”

Author

Emily Landau

Emily is the League’s full-time Content Writer, composing emails, articles, blog posts, and press releases. If you need words, she has many. Prior to becoming a word person, she was a restaurant person, handling catering, event management, and marketing; prior still, she was a teaching person, at a private boarding school in Massachusetts. Having earned a master’s degree in Classics from the University of Georgia, Emily is confident that she is the only League employee fluent in Latin. She also enjoys cooking, stand-up comedy, and is an avid gamer, having achieved level 40 on her Steam profile.