Share 
Even with heat wave temperatures stretching into the mid-90s in Downtown Detroit, officials cut the ribbon on the new Gratiot-Randolph Plaza. The 18-month project is located at Randolph Street between Monroe Street and Gratiot Avenue and is part of a $20 million state-funded investment.
The plaza, which is designed as part of a larger Monroe Street streetscape project, features wider sidewalks, curbless streets, expanded outdoor dining patios, public art, and more, improving accessibility and increasing foot traffic to the Hollywood Casino at Greektown.
“(The plaza) makes the district safer, more accessible and more welcoming for residents, workers and visitors alike,” said Ayesha Maxwell, executive director of the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership. “These investments are about much more than infrastructure. They’re about strengthening the long-term economic vitality of Greektown.”
Connecting Downtown to Greektown
The project is intended to do more than improve aesthetics; it is part of a broader ambition in the Greektown Neighborhood Framework Vision Plan to connect with the larger Downtown Detroit area and encourage more foot traffic into Greektown.
According to Melanie Markowicz, executive director of Midtown Detroit Inc., Randolph Street had long served as a barrier between Campus Martius and Greektown, but with the new plaza and the Monroe streetscape, there is a visual, pedestrian connection between downtown and Greektown.
While construction has been a hardship for businesses, many restaurant owners have reported growth after part of the 500 block opened. Business owners and Greektown officials expect increased pedestrian traffic to benefit restaurants, retailers, and the casino once construction concludes.
Hollywood Casino Greektown Welcomes Gratiot-Randolph Plaza Opening
One of the businesses impacted by construction is the Hollywood Casino at Greektown, a Detroit casino, which saw a 3.1% drop in revenue from 2024 to 2025.
But Marvin Beatty, vice president of community and public relations for Hollywood Casino at Greektown and treasurer of the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership board, believes benefits will be realized sooner rather than later.
“I absolutely expect businesses to thrive again once construction is complete,” Beatty said to Crain’s Detroit Business.
This is welcome news to the Hollywood Casino as it competes for market share with the other two Detroit retail casinos: MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino, which captured a larger share of Detroit’s casino revenue in 2025.
With the Gratiot-Randolph Plaza and the 500 block of Monroe now complete, two more blocks (400 and 300) remain under construction, with plans to wrap up by the end of 2026.
