Plans for the old Northville Downs site once called for 650 homes and no green space, Mayor Brian Turnbull said at the park's opening in June. The first part of the $350 million Hunter Pasteur and Toll Brothers redevelopment to open to the public wasn't a house. It was a river that had been under cement since the 1960s.
Most coverage of the opening treated River Park as a finished amenity, but the City sees it differently. In its August 18 newsletter, the City called the park "the first of 5 river walk sections that will be completed throughout Northville in the near future." Much of the fencing, lane closures and torn-up curb you'll still see downtown this October is the other four sections, and the streets that connect them, being built. Once you know that, a fall walk through the Downs makes more sense, and so does the construction around it.
The first finished piece at the Downs is a river
Downs River Park covers 10 acres and has pedestrian bridges, walking and cycling trails, drinking fountains and bike stations, all connected to downtown. It cost $19.6 million. Beyond city and developer money, the river cleanup and daylighting drew millions in American Rescue Plan dollars from Wayne County plus funding from EGLE, the state environmental agency.
The City dedicated the park on June 17. Its June 2026 status tracker says construction was substantially complete and the property had transferred to the City, though contractors still owed some work and landscape maintenance. Some finishing work is still happening there, even though the park is open.
The park's design reaches well beyond its own fence line. Two 5-acre bioswales and a floodplain pond take in water from four upstream waterways: the Upper Rouge, the Middle Rouge, Randolph Drain and Johnson Creek. Those are the same four waterways the City's newsletter credits with powering Northville in the 1800s.
Nancy Darga is a licensed landscape architect, a founding member of Friends of the Rouge and chair of the City's River Restoration Task Force. Here is how she described the river at the park's June opening:
"Look at it now. It has sinuosity. It has ripple pools. It has root balls that are anchoring the shores in a natural way. It has riparian plants, 9 species of fish already."
In its September 1 newsletter, the City calls River Park "award-winning" and points to the stream, the historic log cabin and the view of the City as its main features. If you've only driven past on Center Street or Sheldon, the log cabin and the view back toward downtown are the two things to walk in and see.
One section of five
The City describes the full riverwalk running from Mill Race Village to Cass Benton Park, with the pathways tying City, Township, County and State parks together. River Park already connects to the Hines Drive pathway system. At the opening, Turnbull said the restoration links regional pathways north toward Mackinac City, south toward Ohio, and east-west through Wayne and Oakland counties, including Maybury State Park and Hines Drive.
That long-range network depends on pieces that don't exist yet. WXYZ's June 17 report listed the work planned over the next one to two years:
- Two more riverwalk sections north of the park, with partners including DTE and SEMCOG
- A link to Oakland County's new 9 Mile pathway project
- Parallel parking, drainage improvements and $1.6 million in better park access
- More residential construction, at reduced density, with access through new roundabouts
Turnbull counted about 2.5 miles of walking space in and around the park, counting the sidewalks and walkways together. That's a good walk today. It's also a small share of what the City says the system will cover once the northern sections and the outside trail links are done.
The City's newsletter says the Downs development as a whole sets aside 31% of its land as green space, with both the Rouge and Johnson Creek running through it. Not all of that green space has opened yet, which leads to the most common question about the site right now.
What the fences are still building
Central Park is the second public green space inside the Downs, and its timing has moved more than once. The City's August 18 newsletter said it would be complete "in late fall." A week later, the August 25 newsletter said it would open "next spring." The September 1 newsletter only says the park "continues to take shape close to the River Park" and gives no date. As of early October, there's no firm opening date to plan around.
Here's where the nearby projects stood in the most recent public updates I could find:
| Project | Latest status | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Downs River Park | Open; dedicated June 17 | City tracker, June 2026 |
| Central Park | "Continues to take shape"; earlier forecasts said late fall, then next spring | City newsletters, Aug. 18 to Sept. 1, 2026 |
| Center/Sheldon/7 Mile roundabout | Complete; ribbon cutting June 12 | City tracker, June 2026 |
| Main Street, Center to Hutton | Reopened to traffic June 22 | Detroit Free Press, June 23, 2026 |
| Griswold water main and street | Intermittent lane closures "done soon" | City newsletter, Sept. 1, 2026 |
| Linden Street | Completion estimated in October | City newsletter, Sept. 1, 2026 |
| River Street | Drainage, street, utility pole and parking work, "Late Fall/Spring" | City newsletter, Sept. 1, 2026 |
| Cady Street stair and walkway to Town Square | Grant secured; design proposals sought | City tracker, June 2026 |
| 178-unit apartment and retail building, 200 E. Cady | Opening forecast for late spring 2027 | Hometownlife, Dec. 3, 2025 |
The Cady Street connection matters most for walking between downtown and the park. In February, Hometownlife reported that the Downtown Development Authority planned an ADA-accessible stair-and-walkway link on Cady between Town Square and the Downs, starting in fall 2026 and continuing into summer 2027. The City's June tracker still listed it as in design. I haven't found anything newer confirming that construction has started. A separate proposal to reroute Cady Street remained on hold as of June.
River Street is the other one to watch. The City's June tracker listed a full River Street reconstruction in fiscal year 2027, with curb, storm drain and water main work. The September newsletter describes River Street infrastructure as underway, with the work timed for late fall into spring. The parallel parking Turnbull described next to the park is also still on the list. If parking near the park seems tight this fall, that's because the permanent parking hasn't been built yet.
Fitting the park into an October weekend
The farmers' market already brings people to the Downs side of town. Turnbull said it draws 3,000 people every Thursday, and that the park now gives them somewhere to spend time once they're done shopping. The City's September 1 newsletter lists the Chamber's Farmers' Market on Thursdays and the car show on the second Saturday of each month. If that schedule holds, the next car show is Saturday, October 10.
Here's what downtown has on the calendar for the rest of the month:
- Skeletons Are Alive, through October 31. The Downtown Northville schedule lists the displays throughout downtown all month. The launch party was Friday, October 2.
- Streets of Treats, Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m. to noon. The City's event listing describes it as less-scary trick-or-treating at downtown businesses and vendors, held rain or shine.
- Ford Field's new entry. The City says the Hutton Street sunrise gateway plaza is nearly finished, along with an ADA entryway and paths, Serenity Point, and a new fence at the waterfall area.
- Main Street. It reopened June 22 after reconstruction between Center and Hutton, so this is the first October with the rebuilt street in place.
If you have a dog with you, the City lists Cady Street Park on Cady Street as one of Northville's dog parks, along with Marv Gans Dog Park on Beck Road.
On the residential side, Hometownlife reported last December that a Griswold Townhome model at Cady and Griswold was open for private tours, and that sales had started on the first 14 for-sale homes. River Park is still the only part of the Downs I can confirm is generally open to the public.
What the timeline means for next year
The City says it wants the whole riverwalk system "ready in the near-term." WXYZ's report put the two northern sections at one to two years out. Northville's bicentennial is in 2027, and the City is already planning a central art monument at Ford Field's Serenity Point featuring 200 local families. If the current forecasts hold, Central Park, the Cady Street connector, the River Street rebuild and the 200 E. Cady building could all reach completion around that same year. Each of those dates comes from a different update, and Central Park's has already moved once. Treat them as forecasts, not promises.
For now, the walkable part of the site is the 10-acre park with the river, the bridges, the log cabin and the Hines Drive connection. The rest of the system is still coming together around it.
I keep up with these City updates because they affect how people get around and use downtown Northville. If you have questions about what the Downs construction means for your street or your plans, or you'd just like an update on what's opened since this post, reach out to me at Sold Buy Eddie LLC. Let's Connect.
