Northville's First October With a River Where the Racetrack Used to Be

"Slow down today. Slow down," Mayor Brian Turnbull told the crowd at the Downs River Park ribbon cutting on June 17. "Enjoy it. Notice the attention to detail."

Four months later, the park is having its first October, and downtown Northville is running its fifteenth Skeletons Are Alive. Only one stretch is still missing. The park is open and downtown is busy. The off-street path meant to link them through Ford Field East is still in engineering, permitting and grant review. For now, a trip to the river and a trip to Main Street are two separate outings.

What Opened in June, and What It Replaced

Downs River Park covers 10 acres on the site of the former Northville Downs horse track. Hometown Life reported that it was the first public amenity finished within the 49-acre redevelopment that began when the track closed in 2024.

The park has 2.5 miles of walking and biking trails, pedestrian bridges, native landscaping and more than 1,400 new trees. It also has public art installations through the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The river is the centerpiece. This section of the Rouge ran through an underground culvert from the 1960s until it was daylighted in 2025. In the week the park opened, Turnbull said Friends of the Rouge had visited and found nine species of fish in the restored channel. For about 60 years, there was nothing on that stretch for a fish survey to count.

The historic Mary Gilbert Log Cabin was moved onto the grounds. The plan is for it to become a welcome center eventually. As of the June opening coverage, that was still a future plan.

The City of Northville's opening notice describes the park as turning a once-private area into public space, with river views, pedestrian pathways, open green space and "connections to the community's growing trail network."

The Rest of the Downs Is Still a Job Site

Anyone walking the new trails this fall can hear the construction around them. A July 31 Hometown Life report called the site an active construction zone. Here is where each piece stood in that report:

The apartment building is planned at 178 units. Hometown Life reported in December 2025 that it would have ground-floor retail at 200 East Cady Street. None of the coverage we reviewed names a retail tenant yet. So the river park is the one finished public space inside a project that will take at least three more years to complete.

The Walk From Downtown Is the Unfinished Part

The park works on its own. Linking it to the rest of Northville is the job still underway.

The main link is the Ford Field East riverwalk, a planned 0.2-mile shared-use trail. It would run from downtown to Downs River Park and on to the Hines Park Regional Trail and the 7-Mile Pathway. WHMI reported in November 2025 that the project had been funded. The city's strategic priorities report, last updated in June 2026, says a TAP grant secured $1.2 million for the extension. Permitting, easement negotiations and environmental due diligence were still in progress, though. The city submitted a Natural Resources Trust Fund grant application on May 31 and expected a preliminary score in September.

The second link is a pedestrian one up the hill. In February, the Northville DDA scheduled an ADA-accessible stair and walkway between Town Square and the Downs along Cady Street. It was meant to handle the steep grade between the old downtown and the new development, with work starting in fall 2026 and running into summer 2027. The city's June report still listed that connection as being in design, with a SEMCOG grant secured for a future fiscal year. No source we reviewed confirms whether work has started this fall.

At the ribbon cutting, Turnbull described the park as part of a much larger network. "Going north from here, one can traverse all the way to Mackinaw City and, going south, all the way to Ohio," he said. That long-distance trail network is real. The short path between the park and the Main Street sidewalks is the part still being engineered.

One access project is done. In a July 7 community update, the mayor reported that a new roundabout at Seven Mile and Sheldon had held its ribbon cutting the month before. He described it as part of the Downs effort to improve access.

Downtown's October, From Today Forward

Downtown has a full Halloween calendar this year. The 15th annual Skeletons Are Alive kicked off with a launch party on Friday, October 2. The skeleton displays stay up all month, and the DDA has posted a downloadable skeleton map for a scavenger hunt.

The DDA's October in the 'Ville listing shows the rest of the month. Starting today, October 10:

1. Today, October 10. Victorian Fashions Tea at Mill Race Village, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., and the Great Fall Festival at Maybury Farm, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2. October 15. Witch's Night Out downtown, 4 to 9 p.m., then Movies in the Park showing Hotel Transylvania at dusk.
3. October 17. Fall Lantern Festival at Mill Race Village, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
4. October 18. Boo Bash at First Presbyterian Church of Northville, 2 to 4 p.m.
5. October 22. Alive in Spirit, a Day of the Dead celebration at the Northville Community Center, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
6. October 23. Mini Monster Mash at the Northville District Library, 10:30 to 11:15 a.m., and Halloween Bingo at the Community Center, 1 to 2:30 p.m.
7. October 24. Streets of Treats downtown, 10 a.m. to noon.
8. October 26. Full Moon Flow Yoga at the Community Center, 6 to 7:15 p.m.
9. October 31. Preschool Playdate: Stumpkin at Northville Art House, 10 to 11 a.m., then City of Northville trick-or-treating, 6 to 8 p.m.

Most of this calendar runs on downtown streets, at Mill Race Village, the Community Center and the Art House. None of the listings is set at Downs River Park. That matches the map. The park opened this summer, and the routes that would put it a few steps from Town Square are still on the city's project list.

Main Street Is New This Fall, Too

The Main Street those trick-or-treaters walk on is also new. Barricades came down on June 22, and traffic returned to the rebuilt section between Center and Hutton streets. The Detroit Free Press reported that the reopening marked the end of that construction phase.

The way downtown handles closures has also changed. For summer 2026, the city council approved closing only Main Street on weekends, from Friday at 3 p.m. to Monday at 7 a.m. Center Street stayed open except during larger festivals. Under the 2025 court ruling, Main and Center stay open to vehicles except for festivals, parades and special events. Under that ruling, any vehicle closure downtown this fall depends on a festival, parade or special event.

After Halloween

Mill Race Village has already set its first big date of the holiday season. The 47th annual Children's Christmas Workshop is on December 5, 2026, and registration is in person on November 6 at 6 p.m. The DDA had not posted 2026 dates for the holiday parade, tree lighting or Christmas Walk on the pages we reviewed. Those are worth checking with the DDA in early November.

There are also two things to watch for at the park. One is preliminary scoring on the Ford Field East trust fund grant, which the city expected in September. The other is any start of work on the Cady Street stair and walkway. Either one would mean less walking on streets between the river and downtown.

If you own a home near the Downs, a new public park and a construction site on the same block can make it hard to read what your home is worth this year. Helm & Associates will build a free home value report (CMA) around what has actually opened and what is still on the schedule, and you can talk with our broker directly. Start with a home valuation, or read more about the area on our Wayne County page.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.