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| An artist's rendering (by Hobbs + Black Architects) of the DNR's Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center, housed in downtown Detroit's historic Globe Building. |
The ceremonies, which were earlier this month, featured presentations by city and state dignitaries, followed by a bike ride along the Dequindre Cut Greenway to Detroit’s Eastern Market.
“The Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center project is an exciting next step in fulfilling a vision for Detroit’s Riverfront and serves as a shining example of what city and state, public and private partnerships and collaboration can achieve,” Gov. Rick Snyder said. “This is what place making is all about. And the project will help generate additional economic development and neighborhood revitalization that are core to Detroit’s and Michigan’s comeback.”
The roughly 42,000-square-foot Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center is a collaboration among the city of Detroit, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) and the DNR. Key partners in the project include the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund and the Roxbury Group, a local developer.
“The goal of everyone involved in this venture is to create a downtown destination where people living in or visiting an urban area can experience the adventure and excitement of Michigan’s great outdoors, gain confidence in participating in outdoor recreation activities, and understand more about protecting our state’s unique natural resources,” said DNR Director Keith Creagh. “We feel the Globe Building project provides the right hub for outdoor experiences and fits that niche perfectly.”
"The renovation and reuse of a historic warehouse as the Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center represents an important transition as we move from an era of Riverfront factories to a new time of homes, shops and parks,” said George W. Jackson, Jr., president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. “This Riverfront was once an important asset that helped Detroit become a great manufacturing center and hub for international trade. For us, it is still an important asset that is helping Detroit re-establish itself as a great place to live, work and play."
The $12.8 million facility will house a ropes challenge course; an archery range; simulated experiences for kayaking, fishing and skeet shooting; and instructional and hands-on areas where visitors can learn lifelong outdoor skills such as pitching a tent or building a campfire.
Other center activities will focus on natural resources management, with sections on tree planting, erosion control, fish hatcheries, biology of a healthy stream, and simulated logging experiences. The intent here is to reach out to Michigan educators with “extended classroom” opportunities, offering integrated natural resources, biology and environmental lessons that will complement teachers’ learning plans.
“The DNR hopes to see the Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center take hold as an outdoor recreation ‘base camp’ that will inspire people to get out and explore Michigan’s woods and waters on their own,” said Ron Olson, chief of the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division.
“This center will be designed to expose people of all ages to new opportunities in outdoor recreation,” Olson explained. “It could be as simple as someone experiencing for the first time what it feels like to maneuver a kayak or as life-changing as considering a career in conservation or wildlife biology.
“It’s all about providing access and opportunity.”
The Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center is one step in a multiphase project involving harbor renovation, park improvements, installation of play equipment and trail development geared toward creating a downtown Detroit destination where more people can learn about Michigan’s diverse natural resources and recreation options.
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