DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit leaders, business owners, and neighbors gathered to celebrate the opening of the new Gratiot-Randolph Plaza, a redesigned public space at the gateway to Greektown aimed at bringing more people together while honoring the neighborhood's history.
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Ayesha Maxwell, Executive Director of the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership, welcomed the new plaza to a committee of community members and business owners.
"It was a very, very big day," Maxwell said.
Maxwell said the goal is for Greektown to be a destination, not just a pass-through.
"We are wanting people to see Greektown as this place that they don't just have to pass through, that they can actually come and hang out," Maxwell said. "Preserving the cultural aspect of things and preserving what people remember Greektown to be."
Business owner Yanni Dionisopoulos said plans for the plaza had been in motion for years, and he takes immense pride in seeing it finally finished.
"A lot of families have been here for over 50 years," Dionisopoulos said. "My father has memories of Randolph Plaza, the street, from another time, and when I first got here, I have memories of another time, and now we're pretty much in a different time."
He said the plaza's completion reflects the continued momentum of the broader downtown area.
"Greektown is still here. It's part of the momentum of downtown Detroit," Dionisopoulos said.
Athina Papas, a legacy business owner and Greektown Neighborhood Partnership Board Chair, said the space has long served as a beacon for visitors from across the country.
"Greektown has always stood tall as one of those beacons of light for folks," Papas said.
Papas said she is excited to see the plaza serve as a gathering place that connects people to the rest of the city.
"To just be in Detroit, in the city and enjoy it," Papas said.
Landscape architect Lori Singleton said she saw the space as full of potential from the start.
"It's a huge transformation," Singleton said. "It was just a great big sidewalk with a lot of potential, and now it's a great and wide public space."
The space was designed to feel cozy and comfortable, with plants and flowers acting as a buffer between cars and traffic, allowing people to sit on a bench and feel safe among the greenery.
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"We expect this to be a much more vibrant during the evening and throughout the year," Singleton said.
Detroiters Desmond Butler and Danilia Williams said the new plaza stirred up memories of growing up in the city.
"As a youth, we used to run around downtown in the city all the time," Butler said.
"We can just see what we used to do back in the day. We're super excited. It's like going on a tour in our own city," Williams said. "I am in love with my city all over again.
Butler said the heart of Detroit has always been its people.
"The people are what really make Detroit," Butler said.
The plaza is kicking off with a soft opening this weekend, with events continuing into July and throughout the summer. Plans already in the works could include movies and small festival-style events for friends and families.
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