Centennial Commons Downtown Park Royal Oak, Michigan

Services Provided

Urban Design
Public Realm Design
Documentation

People Involved

Andy Knight
Casey Elmer
Haley Wolfe
Ryan Blume

Awards

2023 KY ASLA Honor Award
2020 Michigan Association of Planning Outstanding Planning Project - Urban Design

Creating a community’s world-class urban park

The new Centennial Commons Downtown Park fills a much-needed void as the only downtown open space planned and designed for the community as a social and cultural destination. The park serves as resilient ecological infrastructure by reducing the urban heat island effect, providing green storage for increasing rainfall events, and functioning as the lungs of the city while cleansing the air and ventilating the city.

The park provides a link between multiple downtown destinations and increases connectivity for pedestrian and non-motorized transportation. By connecting Main Street with the local indoor Farmer’s Market facility, the park embraces these experiences and serves as an extension of each, promoting the economy and socialization of the downtown community.

MKSK worked closely with city leadership to engage the community by hosting public outreach events at the local Farmer’s Market, facilitating multiple stakeholder meetings with local business and community leaders, and on-line social media engagement.

The new Downtown Park also establishes a direct connection to the Royal Oak Public Library, promoting a layer of library programming for children and families to utilize the park for outdoor education and activities, and expose children to nature, discovery, and adventure.

Designed as a “Glade” within the developed urban landscape, the new downtown park is designed to not only serve as a daily destination for downtown residents and the general working population, it also will serve as a venue for a variety of events. A large event lawn in the center of the park allows crowds to gather comfortably, while also serving as a destination for spontaneous recreation and outdoor groups to gather on a regular basis. A perimeter pathway is reflective of the outer ring of the Royal Oak tree, the namesake for the town. This pathway meanders through familiar and native landscapes like the Oak Grove and the community gardens, revealing the stories and history of the Native Americans in the area and the evolution of the City of Royal Oak.