Royal Oak Selects Downtown Park Designer, MKSK

The City of Royal Oak has selected MKSK to design the new two-acre downtown park following a four-month engagement process with feedback from more than 1,500 residents.

MKSK will incorporate citizen feedback and create a ‘central green’ space that promotes the surrounding urban spaces yet provides a gathering place for residents and community events. The organization plans to cater to all Royal Oak’s key audiences while keeping other community resources, such as the Royal Oak Library and Farmers Market, front of mind. MKSK will also address sustainability efforts in its design process.

“Our community resources are the heart of our city and the park will add a central location for residents, visitors and families to gather and enjoy all that downtown Royal Oak has to offer,” said Royal Oak City Community Engagement Specialist Judy Davids. “The feedback that residents provided allowed the city to understand what the park should become, and we can’t wait to make the ideas come to life with the help of MKSK.”

MKSK has worked on countless parks across the Midwest and is familiar with addressing the unique needs of each cities. Recently, the company designed Lawrenceburg Civic Plaza in Lawrenceburg, Indiana that features a stage for concerts, expansive green spaces, a splash pad for children and families and so much more. Other notable parks and community spaces include Livingston Avenue Park in Columbus, Ohio; Liberty Center in Liberty Township, Ohio; and many others.

“We are motivated by Royal Oak’s vision of delivering a “world class” urban park for the community, and we are inspired by the catalytic impact this project and the City Center development will have to the downtown core of Royal Oak,” said MKSK Principle in Charge Andy Knight. “We have recent and highly relevant experience in creating dynamic urban parks and plazas that are sustainably beautiful and embraced by the communities, and we are looking forward to engaging with the Royal Oak community. We are also excited to have Fleis & VandenBrink and de Leon and Primmer Architecture Workshop join our innovative and creative project team. Fleis & VandenBrink will serve as project engineers, and de Leon and Primmer Architecture Workshop will serve as project architects.”

Additional resident engagement sessions will be announced in the summer to further aide MKSK in creating a space for the city.

The park will be constructed where the current City Hall and Police Station exist. Built nearly six decades ago, the buildings were not designed for the uses the city needs today and, in the future. The work required to renovate the space is too extensive to repair according to a study commissioned from Plante Moran CRESA. Construction for both buildings is already underway and both are slated to be completed in 2020. The new Police Station will be located along 11 Mile between Second and Knowles Streets, and the new City Hall, will be located between Third and Troy Streets.

The new downtown park, City Hall and police station are all a part of the Rethink Royal Oak development, as well as a new 11 Mile Parking Garage that is. The garage will bring 581 parking spaces to the area in June 2019. The comprehensive project is 35 percent complete. Learn more information about the project and to download a parking guide, please visit www.rethinkro.com.