On Monday, May 19, the National Main Street Conference (NMSC) visited Grandmont Rosedale, specifically Grand River Avenue to get a look at how our community stays strong despite many obstacles. The National Main Street Conference is hosted by National Main Street Center Inc., which is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 as a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Based in Chicago, NMSC has visited several communities across the country to encourage economic development while also maintaining the historic integrity of the communities.
This year’s conference theme is “Works in Progress: Making Places, Moving Forward”. The conference came through the Grandmont Rosedale community as part of their tour of Detroit. According to Patrice Frey, President and CEO of NMSC, Grandmont Rosedale offers a great example of the “do-it-yourself spirit…of people [who] come together to save the places they care about.” The conference came to encourage and also to learn. According to Frey, our example of “strong neighborhood organizing and creative economic solutions in a complicated development environment” is one that the NMSC hopes to share with other communities throughout the country: “There are significant lesson that every attendee can take away from their time spent in the Motor City.”
The attendees had a packed itinerary while in Grandmont Rosedale. Some of the highlights were visiting the North Rosedale Park Community House to learn about the NW Detroit Farmers’ Market and the GRDC Home Buyer Program, and Always Brewing Detroit to enjoy coffee and bagels while listening to presentations from CEED, Techtown’s SWOT City Program, and ProsperUS. Attendees also visited the future site of Grand River WorkPlace at 19120 Grand River, which will soon be home to Grandmont Rosedale’s first co-working space.
It’s nice to know that others outside our community notice our hard work and see us an example of how to build community. Hard work really does pay off. Three cheers for Grandmont Rosedale!