Work restarts on Saline’s Henne Field

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | Source: Concentrate

Shovels are sprouting up in Saline’s Henne Field this spring as construction workers once again begin to revamp the 8-acre park near downtown.

"We plan to have our construction for this year done by June," says David Rhoads, treasurer of the Friends of Henne Field.

Work to turn the park into Salin's version of a town square began last fall, but ended prematurely because the weather didn’t cooperate. The Friends of Henne Field hope to finish off the first phase for this year for about $600,000. The group then plans to raise the same amount of money over the rest of the year so it can finish the $1.3 million project next summer.

Plans for this summer call for paving the parking lot, building new baseball fields, adding fencing and benches next to the new pathways and sidewalks.

The Friends of Henne Field is quarterbacking the effort to redesign and revitalize the park. The project will create two little league baseball parks, a performance pavilion, walking trails, work-out stations, benches, historic-looking streetlights and a small sledding hill. The idea is to create a community gathering space and help spur more development in Saline’s downtown.

The 60-year-old park is 1.5 blocks from Michigan Avenue, Saline's main drag. It's bordered by Bennett, McKay, North Ann Arbor and Harris. Those streets have traditionally encompassed three baseball fields, some grass and trees.

The field was given to the Saline Area Schools in 1948. It's named after Edward Henne, the son-in-law of the man who established the first telephone system in Saline.

Source: David Rhoads, treasurer of the Friends of Henne Field
Writer: Jon Zemke