dte energy plaza.jpg

A rendering of the DTE Energy Plaza at Shed 5 in Eastern Market.

(Rendering from Eastern Market Corporation)

DETROIT, MI - A 200-seat social gathering place is being built in Shed 5 at Eastern Market thanks to a $750,000 grant from DTE Energy Foundation.

Shed 5, where renovations are ongoing, is also where Eastern Market Corporaton is building a community kitchen for start-up food ventures. The $3.9 million upgrade is being funded by the City of Detroit, the W.K. Kellogg, Kresge, Ford and Erb Family foundations, and Whole Foods Market.

The outdoor, social gathering place being built with the $750,000 grant will be called DTE Energy Plaza.

“DTE has joined this public-private collaboration because the Shed 5 project is about so much more than bricks and mortar,” Gerry Anderson, chairman, president and CEO of DTE, said in a statement. “The transformation of Eastern Market is part of a larger Detroit renaissance taking place from the riverfront to downtown to Midtown to the city’s neighborhoods.”

The renovations to Shed 5 are expected to be completed in June 2014.

Dan Carmody, president of Eastern Market Corporation, added, "The DTE Energy Plaza will serve as a convivial gathering place to create a stronger market and we are very grateful for the DTE Energy Foundation's generous support and naming of this new

community asset,The DTE Energy Plaza will be a welcoming place where people will gather to enjoy each other and the bounty of Eastern Market."

David Muller is the business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.