Project Description:
Tooles Contracting Group served as General Contractor on the historic Capitol Park project located in downtown Detroit. The project was a brownfield redevelopment and the scope consisted of earthwork, removal of contaminate soils, all site demolitions, grading and undercutting, irrigation, decorative concrete, pavement, planter renovation and construction, plant materials, furniture, custom lighting , benches, custom bollards and various sculpture relocation and restoration.
In 1905, the remains of Michigan’s first governor, Stevens T. Mason, were transferred from New York City where he died 1843 and interred in Capitol Park. In that time, Capitol Park also served as a historic connection to the Underground Railroad. In 1850, Seymour Finney purchased a plot of land near the park and erected a tavern with a large barn that served as a way station on the pathway to freedom. A State historical marker commemorates Finney’s Barn. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. On the 199th anniversary of his birth, October 27, 2010, Mason was reburied for fourth time in a vault newly-built by Tooles in the pedestal of the bronze statue. Tooles coordinated the exhumation and relocation of the tomb.
Project Highlights:
- Brownfield redevelopment in downtown Detroit
- Earthwork, site work, decorative concrete, and removal of contaminated soils
- Custom lighting, benches, and irrigation
- Sculpture relocation and restoration