Downtown Detroit Partnership wins international honor for its I-375 community work

The Downtown Detroit Partnership has won a top annual honor from the International Downtown Association for the way it pulled community voices into the redesign of I-375.

The prize, the Downtown Achievement Pinnacle Award, went to the partnership in the Policy and Advocacy category at the IDA's 72nd Annual Conference & Marketplace. The winning entry carried the title "A New Standard for Community-Driven Engagement: Repairing the Past and Shaping the Future."

It grew out of an independent peer review of the I-375 corridor, backed by a grant from The Kresge Foundation. The partnership's review brought in residents, business leaders, institutional partners, and visitor perspectives.

What those voices are shaping is a big piece of downtown's next decade. The I-375 Reconnecting Communities Project, led by the Michigan Department of Transportation and the city, will convert the sunken freeway and the Gratiot Connector into a surface road, opening up parcels for future development and open space. The City of Detroit puts the construction budget at roughly $300 million, funded through federal and state sources.

The stakes run deeper than traffic. The corridor cuts through what was once Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, and the city says the redesign will "capture the historic narrative and individual stories to honor and celebrate the past and connect to the future" for those communities and others affected by I-375.

"The Pinnacle Award is a tremendous honor for the Downtown Detroit Partnership and our partners which affirms the depth of our efforts to ensure a community-driven process that respects Detroit's past while shaping its future," said Eric B. Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership.

"The I-375 Peer Review demonstrates what is possible when we listen to the community and work together toward a shared vision," Larson said.

The timeline is already moving. Pre-construction was scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2025, with heavy construction scheduled from 2026 to 2028. Detroiters who want to weigh in can still do so: the city's I-375 project page at detroitmi.gov lays out the design and timeline.