Sterling Heights ― The city of Sterling Heights will soon start building a new park in the southeastern part of the city, featuring six pickleball courts, a dog park, a library kiosk, pathed path and other amenities.
City officials will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the $7 million park Tuesday evening, and it’s expected to open late this year. Red Run Park, which is on Red Run Street, north of East 14 Mile Road and west of Schoenherr Road, is the city’s first new park in decades.
“We’ve heard from a lot of people in that area who are really excited about having the opportunity to get to a new park,” said Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor.
Red Run Park will sit on 15 acres that have been in the city’s “park inventory” for decades, but have sat undeveloped, said Kyle Langlois, the city’s parks and recreation director. He said Sterling Heights wanted to create another park in the southern part of the city, and after another proposed location fell through, it decided to develop Red Run Park.
The park will feature six lighted pickleball courts, a lighted basketball court, a dog park, a trail, a play structure, pavilions, gathering spaces, and a 24-hour library kiosk.
Langlois expects construction to start within the next few weeks and last five to six months. He anticipates the park to open in late October or early November. He said Red Run Park will have a heated restroom and be open in the winter.
Taylor, the mayor, said the southern half of the city is “really, in my opinion, underserved in terms of parks and amenities.”
“Most of what we have is located in the northern half of the city,” he said, “so we’ve been looking at a few different ways to energize and revitalize the southern half and provide more recreational opportunities.”
Taylor said Red Run Park will have the second dog park in the city. The first one is the northwestern quadrant of Sterling Heights. He said the Red Run Drain runs by the park.
“It’s going to be a great spot for people to go fishing, for people to walk their dogs, for people to be active and play sports,” he said.
Red Run Park will also have the first lighted pickleball courts in the city. It will have six.
Langlois said many people love using outdoor pickleball courts in the summer, but the city doesn’t have a facility with a large concentration of outdoor courts in one spot.
“What we’ve tried to do is provide different ways for people, really, to recreate,” Langlois said.
Langlois said the vast majority of the new park is being paid for by the city’s “Pathway to Play and Preservation” millage, which voters passed in 2024. A state grant and American Rescue Plan dollars are also helping to pay for it.
Sterling Heights Councilman Michael Radtke said the park shows that the millage is “coming to fruition and coming to fruition fast.” He said Red Run Park’s play structure will resemble a dinosaur.
“It’s going to be a flagship park that’s going to draw people from across the area,” he said.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Work to begin on new park in southeastern portion of Sterling Heights
Reporting by Anne Snabes, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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