As the spine of District Detroit, Columbia Street Corridor brings together three previously fragmented neighborhoods through streetscape design that enhances the public realm, leveraging the city’s rich history, culture, and emerging innovation industry.
Centrally located among entertainment hotspots such as the Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park, and Fox Theatre, Columbia Street Corridor improves accessibility and user experience through the introduction of a pedestrian pathway complemented by art installations and green spaces. The project furthers the goals of the larger urban plan, District Detroit, which creates opportunities for community intervention and programming, developing a distinct sense of place through the delivery of affordable and workforce housing, as well as commercial office, retail, entertainment, and educational spaces.
Spanning three lively intersections that cover different program types, the Columbia Pedestrian Street passes through neighborhood services, lifestyle and residential, and mixed-use and innovation hubs. Beginning at The University of Michigan Center for Innovation and ending in Woodward Plaza and the Comerica Park field, users can enjoy the new Columbia Street Park and retail markets as they stroll through the corridor.
A KPF-designed hotel will overlook Little Caesars Arena, featuring a mixed-use plaza at its base to host attendees before and after events. Additional new construction includes the creation of a commercial district with five new buildings organized around the park, incorporating existing structures such as a church. Among these new-builds is a KPF-designed tower that includes retail, parking, with office above. An overpass across Park Avenue connects the Arena and neighboring Grand Circus Park improving access to the wider area.
