SPRING LAKE, Mich. — The village of Spring Lake has big plans to open the smallest park in Michigan and you could help pick the record-breaking park’s name.
Officials with Spring Lake’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) announced plans for the park Friday morning.
Spring Lake DDA Director Stefanie Herder said they’ve been looking for ways to create more common spaces within its social district. During the pandemic, the village was awarded a grant to purchase a concrete cornhole set, which is located on South Jackson Street. Herder said they were looking at ways to enhance the space, and that’s how the idea to make the area the state’s smallest park was born.
According to the village, Herder started researching small parks across the country and found the smallest park in the U.S. was located in Portland, Oregon, with a total area of 452 square inches, but couldn’t find any information about the smallest park in Michigan.
“There wasn’t much out there about an official, smallest park in Michigan. I took this information and tied it in with our goals for more gathering spaces in our Social District. Why not create a new common space AND make it Michigan’s Smallest Park?” said Herder.
Herder says they plan to put the park on the east side of South Jackson Street.
This new park will include seating, plants and planters, and shade. The DDA says there are two parallel parking spaces located along the space, which could be used for a food truck to set up.
As far as the name for Michigan’s smallest park, the DDA says it is looking for suggestions from residents and visitors.
“I love how Mill End’s Park in Portland is so small, but it still has a name and a sign. We are encouraging folks to share their name ideas on our social media posts about the proposed park,” said Herder.
Herder says she hopes the new park will become a destination for visitors of West Michigan.
“We have over 20,000 cars that drive through the Village every day. The biggest question for decades has been ‘How do we get them to stop in the Village?’. The new developments in the Village over the past 5 years have been a big help. I’d love to see visitors stop to visit the new park, take a selfie, grab a bite to eat, enjoy a social district drink, or shop.”
The village DDA says they are hoping to begin work on the new park this summer.
More information about the proposed park is available on the village’s website.
