Despite a torrential downpour, Chelsea broke ground on Main Street Park, a long-awaited community space years in the making. City leaders, supporters, and donors celebrated the start of construction on the formerly contaminated site.
Photo: Joe Ziolkowski speaks to the crowd as rain pours down during the Main Street Park groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by Doug Marrin
The skies opened with a torrential downpour just as the Main Street Park groundbreaking ceremony began in Chelsea on Wednesday, July 16, but not even heavy rain and wind could dampen the excitement of supporters gathered to celebrate the long-awaited community space.
Attendees huddled under tents, some holding down the canopy as gusts of wind threatened to lift it, while Joe Ziolkowski, project lead and Main Street Park Alliance board member, began the event by thanking a long list of community members and agencies that helped bring the project to life.
“This project would not be possible without everybody here,” Ziolkowski said above the downpour. “We’re grateful for everyone who made this project work.”
A Decade in the Making
The Main Street Park site sat unused and contaminated for years after nearly a century of industrial use. The transformation required persistence, collaboration, and significant environmental remediation.
“This project has been in our queue for over a decade,” said Carrie Dyer of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). “Brownfield projects like this are hard. There’s a reason this site sat vacant for 20 years.”
EGLE granted $1 million toward initial remediation work, which helped kickstart the revitalization effort. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation also provided support, describing the effort as “a grassroots project to revitalize this contaminated property.”
From a Doodle to a Shovel
One of the pivotal early supporters was Coy Vaughn, recently retired director of Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation.
“Like most people in Chelsea, we drove by this site several times a day and accepted that nothing good was going to happen here,” Vaughn said. “When Joe sat down with me with his ‘doodle’ and told me about his vision for a park, my first thought was, ‘What a great idea!’”
Behind the Scenes Work
Kristin Van Reesema, a volunteer liaison between the city and the construction company with a background in project management, explained some of the site preparation work that has already been completed.
“We already did the remediation, dug down four feet and removed all that dirt,” she explained. “We also had to install a huge stormwater retention system so the site can handle a 100-year flood. Sanitary sewer work is done, and the retaining wall has been rebuilt.”
A City-Wide Effort
Mayor Jane Pacheco, who met with Ziolkowski about the project just days after her election in 2021, described the years of behind-the-scenes effort by city staff, council, and consultants.
“There were hundreds of meetings, countless email threads, and lots of questions,” said Pacheco. “But the city’s attitude was, ‘We want to start with yes and figure out the logistics.’ Joe and the Main Street Park Alliance had answers, found answers, or created answers. And here we are today.”
She praised the resilience and community spirit that kept the project moving forward. “The people of this community come together to make Chelsea better,” she said. “It wasn’t fast, and it wasn’t easy, but it worked.”
Moving Forward
As the rain cleared and the sun returned, shovels were handed out and community leaders, donors, and volunteers lined up to break ground officially, symbolically launching construction.
Ziolkowski noted the contributions of John and Anne Mann, whose fundraising and quiet advocacy helped raise millions for the project.
“They never want credit, but they deserve it,” he said. “They’re role models for what it means to be a good community member.”
Despite the soggy start, spirits were high, and the message was clear: this park isn’t just about greenspace. It’s about perseverance, collaboration, and the kind of community that won’t take no for an answer.
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
