Future Detroit Riverfront Park Sport House to Be Named for Bill Davidson

DETROIT RIVERFRONT CONSERVANCY

The William Davidson Foundation and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy announced that a new Sport House in the future 22-acre park on Detroit’s West Riverfront will be named after Detroit businessman, philanthropist and former NBA Detroit Pistons owner William “Bill” Davidson (1922-2009).

With its most recent commitments to the Conservancy, the William Davidson Foundation has now granted more than $11 million to the ongoing transformation of Detroit’s international riverfront into a beautiful and accessible world-class gathering place for all.

The William Davidson Sport House will add to the public offerings on the Detroit Riverfront and features a raised canopy with skylight that provides two public open-air basketball courts and flexible space for a range of programs and events that will welcome visitors from all walks of life.

Designed by awardwinning Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, who also designed the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the William Davidson Sport House is slated for completion in 2023. The Sport House will be part of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park, also named after a renowned professional sports team owner (NFL’s Buffalo Bills), businessman and philanthropist.

“No project truly connects the region and plays a more central role in Detroit’s resurgence than the revitalization of more than five miles of the Detroit Riverfront from the Ambassador Bridge to Belle Isle,” said Darin McKeever, president and CEO of the William Davidson Foundation.

The Foundation considers the William Davidson Sport House a fitting tribute to its founder, as Davidson owned the Pistons, the WNBA’s Detroit Shock and NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning pro sports franchises and is widely considered a visionary in bringing together sports, venues and the community. His sports honors included election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and selection as an inaugural inductee into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Founded in 2005, the William Davidson Foundation’s grantmaking has accelerated since its founder’s death in March 2009 and today it is among the five largest Michiganbased foundations. The Foundation’s priorities — including its focus on Detroit and Southeast Michigan — reflect Mr. Davidson’s.

“The last year and a half have brought so much of our region’s most critical and under-appreciated assets into sharper focus: our resilient small business owners and entrepreneurs, our inspiring arts and cultural institutions, and the public parks and other gathering places where we have found comfort and connection,” added McKeever. “These are areas the William Davidson Foundation knows well, and we look forward to continuing our work with our grantees and other partners to ensure the success of the people and places Southeast Michigan needs for a bright future.”

In total, the William Davidson Foundation has now committed more than $500 million in grants since its inception in 2005.

MEET THE OLIM

AVIVA ZACKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Julia Weinberg, 34, made aliyah to Israel in July of this year. She came with her husband, Josh, whose grandparents were Benno and Ruth Levi of Oak Park, and their children Sultana, Netanel, Benno and Bella.

JW: I grew up Conservative, and at Hebrew school, we talked about Israel but not in a particularly Zionist way. In the history books that we would read in Hebrew school, we’d learn about the Kotel and a little tidbit about the War of Independence and the Six-Day War.

Our family was very traditional. We always lit candles and celebrated all the holidays, so Israel just went along with that as part of the Jewish theme.

JW: I had been involved in NCSY in high school, and by the time I graduated high school, I was keeping Shabbat and kosher. I went to NCSY’s gap-year program called Michlelet Esther for the year. I loved it so much I was tempted to stay another year, but I had already been accepted to NYU, and I decided to go through with the plan.

While I was in college, I participated in many Israel programs: an internship at Hebrew University, an Israel advocacy training program where we went to Poland and then to Israel, and a social action exchange program where students from NYU were paired up with students in Israel. Both of us love the idea of living in Israel and raising our kids here. We are both very Zionistic and the fact that his whole family (except for one brother) lives in Israel helped with that decision.

JW: We’ve been talking about it since we got married, and we were worried our kids were going to age out. Our oldest daughter is 10, and we felt there was a cut-off age that your kids can take on the accent of a foreign language.

Another factor was the cost of tuition in America. If you want to send your kids to a private Jewish school, it’s outrageously expensive. Michigan is on the lower end of the scale, but we have four kids and that’s $60,000 a year. In Israel, tuition is basically free, so that’s a huge thing. Health insurance is free in Israel, and we all know that in the U.S., that can be very expensive.

Also, we love the style of child-rearing in Israel. The kids have a lot more independence in Israel, and it’s a very family-friendly country. There are parks everywhere, and every Tuesday and Shabbat there are youth group meetings.

It’s a wonderful place to raise kids, and it’s a Jewish-centered life.

JW: We lived in Michigan for 10 years. All my kids started out at Farber, and then when our daughter Sultana was going into kindergarten, we switched her to Bais Yaakov, and when our son, Netanel, was going into second grade, we switched him to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah.

We went to Young Israel of Southfield for shul.

JW: I miss the people. We had the best street, and our neighbors were awesome. My parents literally lived three doors down from us. It was so amazing for my kids to walk to Grandmom and Poppop’s house whenever they wanted to see them. We also had our Uncle Noah and Aunt Cherie Levi, the Gotlibs, the Goniks, the Mendelsons and the Gevaryahus, all with kids our kids’ ages. Plus a few blocks away, we had Josh’s brother and sister-in-law, Ephy and Margi Weinberg, and adorable nieces, and that was hard to give up.

It was also hard for me to move away due to my interior design business, Julia Robin Interiors, which, thank God was, taking off. Luckily, I was able to hire an amazing designer, Miriam Horwitz, to go onsite for my ongoing projects, and I am still working remotely. I plan to continue working in Michigan while opening a new branch in Israel.

JW: If you’re thinking about making aliyah, start the process at least a year in advance because it takes a long time to get all the documents you need. Join Olim or Anglo Facebook groups and follow them. Also, if you’re thinking about buying something in Israel, do it immediately because the prices here are going up.