In July, nearly 20,000 bricks were repurposed to maintain one of Detroit’s most historic roads – Virginia Park Street – thanks to the community and DTE Energy volunteers. The replacement bricks, which date back to 1904, were removed from another city street to make way for a new substation project DTE is working on with ITC Holdings.
The bricks were planned for disposal until DTE Energy and ITC Holdings heard about the needed restoration and rerouted them to maintain the street’s beauty and history.
Julie Jozwiak, DTE’s CGA regional manager and Detroit resident, spearheaded the project.
“To have an idea for a project that is important to the community and then watch it come to fruition is an amazing feeling,” Julie shared.
Over the course of two days, many community members and 20 DTE volunteers helped collect the bricks. This was no small feat – each brick weighed 10 pounds, but the efforts of onsite volunteers ensured the job got done and a Detroit gem could be restored.
On Thursday, July 14, four DTE flatbed trucks transported the 20,000 bricks to their new home on Virginia Park Street. The transportation of the bricks was integral to the project due to the weight and number of bricks. As the President of the Virginia Park Historic District Jeff Cowin said, this initiative “could not be done without DTE.”
The restoration effort is part of the Virginia Park Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.