Beacon Park will open downtown July 20

Last summer, DTE Energy broke ground on a new park near the Grand Army of the Republic Building. They hope it will be like a second Campus Martius on the west side of downtown. Now we have a name — Beacon Park — and a date. The park will open with a Grand Opening celebration on July 20.

The park will be 1.5 acres, with a restaurant, a big central lawn, walking paths, a performance space, areas for outdoor activities, and food truck and bike parking.

The Grand Opening weekend July 20-23 will have live music (including Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Thornetta Davis, plus indie band Lord Huron), a beer garden, fitness activities, a family day, a night market, a gospel brunch, light activations, and a screening of “Back to the Future” with a Delorean for photo ops.

The Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) is expecting that the park will draw 1 million visitors a year and already, 600 events are being planned this year through the DDP and DTE.