Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative launches crowdfunding campaign for Greenway Friendly Bus Stop

$10,000 goal to secure matching grant through MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places initiative

Lansing, Mich. – The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative today announced a new crowdfunding campaign through Michigan-based crowdfunding platform Patronicity. The campaign will support a makeover for a busy bus stop at Gratiot and Conner on Detroit’s eastside. 

If the Greenway Friendly Bus Stop project attains its crowdfunding goal of $10,000 by June 5, MEDC will provide a $10,000 matching grant. For project details and to donate, please visit: https://www.patronicity.com/project/greenway_friendly_bus_stop#/. 

Money raised will provide low-maintenance landscaping like trees, flowering shrubs, buffalo juniper, and switchgrass, a new walkway, bench, and trash receptacle. 

“We don’t often think of transit stops as important public places, but they can really be focal points in a community,” said MEDC Community Development Director Katharine Czarnecki. “An area like this will promote interaction of residents and give users a safe and inviting place to wait for the bus.”

The current bus stop, used by thousands year-round, is basically an overgrown triangle of grass with no amenities for visitors. 

"DECC and the community have made great strides in making improvements to the Conner Creek Greenway but the Gratiot triangle has always been a challenge,” said Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative Executive Director Alex Allen. “This is an opportunity to transform it into a place that can really link the Greenway, a place that can be special for not only the users of the greenway, but all the folks in the neighborhood who use this bus stop to connect to all the great places in the city.”

Public Spaces Community Places is a collaborative effort of the MEDC, the Michigan Municipal League, and Patronicity where local residents can use crowdfunding to be part of the development of strategic projects in their communities and be backed with a matching grant from MEDC. Communities, non-profits and other business entities can apply at https://patronicity.com/puremichigan. 

Pure Michigan is a brand representing business, talent and tourism initiatives across Michigan. These efforts are driven by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which serves as the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business growth, jobs and opportunity with a focus on helping grow Michigan’s economy.

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and Twitter.