candgnews.com JANUARY 23, 2025 Vol. 44, No. 2
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Improvements such as planters, wider sidewalks coming for Park’s Charlevoix business district The Charlevoix Avenue business district in Grosse Pointe Park will be getting a number of streetscape improvements next year. Photo by K. Michelle Moran
BY K. MICHELLE MORAN kmoran@candgnews.com
PARK — Grosse Pointe Park’s business district on Charlevoix Avenue is expected to get a major makeover in the next couple of years. The city’s Tax Increment Finance Authorityheld a Charlevoix streetscape kickoff meeting Jan. 8 at Park City Hall to discuss proposed improvements in the coming years. The district runs from Alter Road to Beaconsfield Avenue. String lights have already been added to the district — they’re similar to the ones in the Park’s Kercheval Avenue business district. But there are other additions officials are also considering, including bike racks, rain gardens, accent brick pavement, artistic fences and planters. Charlevoix streetscape Project Manager Alex Blehm, who works for OHM Advisors, the Park’s engineering firm, said the city was awarded a $1.8 million Transportation Alternatives Plan grant toward the project. Blehm said this is a federal grant that’s administered through the state. OHM is recommending wider sidewalks, shorter crosswalks, sidewalk dining, decorative lighting, and the addition of trees and greenery. Another recommendation is making the district a curbless street, which Blehm explained would involve raising the road to the height of the curb. Areas with curbless streets include Bagley Street in Detroit, State Street in Ann Arbor and Main
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New school board officers elected BY K. MICHELLE MORAN kmoran@candgnews.com
FARMS — A new calendar year and new Grosse Pointe Board of Education is bringing with it a new slate of board officers. During its first meeting in 2025 on Jan. 7 at Brownell Middle School in Grosse Pointe Farms, the board elected its officers for the year. Board member Valarie St. John nominated Colleen Worden to serve as president. “She has the most experience, by far, of anyone up here,” St. John said. Worden, a Grosse Pointe Woods resident and assistant prosecutor in Macomb County, has served on the board since 2020, making her the longest-serving current board member. She was elected board treasurer in 2021 and vice president in 2022. Worden said she “fell in love” with the Grosse Pointe Public School System when her daughter started kindergarten there. “I’m honored and excited to start this new chapter,” Worden said. “I See SCHOOL BOARD on page 14A
See IMPROVEMENTS on page 5A
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