Stanley Park

This page contains updates for Stanley Park events that may affect Lakewood Village.  The most recent reports are first.

Stanley Park Update - 1/2025

Background

For those who are new to the neighborhood, Stanley Park fronts on Brendel Lake on the North Shore on the east end of the lake. The park was the Brendel Lake Campground and was owned by the Stanley Pollack family. White Lake Township purchased the 57-acre property in December of 2019 using a Michigan DNR Trust Fund Grant and 25% matching funds from the Township. The property will remain a park in perpetuity.

COVID slowed things down, but in 2021 a 3-phase development plan was completed. A Land & Water Grant was awarded for the first phase of development. Phase 1 was determined to be installing the road and a walking trail down to the lake from Elizabeth Lake Rd, removing the existing boat ramp, and installing an observation/fishing pier. The full plan can be found on the Township website. lwcf_application.pdf The layout of the Phase 1 development can be found on Page 110.

Current Status

The Land & Water Grant was awarded in 2022, and the project went out for bids anticipating the start of construction in 2023. The bidding process went through delays and in the meantime, high inflation was eating into what could be done for the estimated budget, so it went out for a rebid. Finally, in early 2024, a contract was awarded to begin Phase 1 construction in the summer of 2024. Alas, now the Civic Center project was in full swing, and Elizabeth Lake Road was closed for the entire summer. The Township and the Contractor were at odds regarding timing and the contract was terminated in September.

The General Contractor for the Civic Center project is McCarthy & Smith. To expedite the construction of Stanley Park Phase 1, McCarthy & Smith will manage the Stanley Park project too. The project went out for another bid in late 2024, and at least 8 bids were received. Interviews will be conducted starting January 18, 2025, and it is expected that a contract will be awarded at the February 18th Township Board meeting.

In addition, at the last WLT Park & Recreation Committee meeting on January 8, 2025, a grant proposal was presented to renovate the existing dilapidated cinder block building into bathrooms and a storage/concession facility. Beckett & Raeder (who also designed Stanley Park) will be working with the Andrew Littman - Township Planner, to submit the grant proposal by April 1st.

Sincerely,

Steve Woodard

2nd VP External Affairs