Green Space on Prospect Street
GSOPS stands for Green Space on Prospect Street, the project and over two-year-long effort that was the foundation of Green Space Romeo. We are a group of local citizens who worked together to acquire vacant land located at 297 Prospect Street and preserve it in perpetuity as public green space. Despite our best efforts and strong support from community members, our efforts failed and the property was sold for residential development. We stand with our community in support of community open spaces and believe that our human lives are better when touched by nature and wildness. This is the GSOPS story.
The GSOPS project was located at an almost 5-acre area on Prospect Street consisting of three parcels and with an undeveloped street, Thompson Place, running east/west in the northern half of the property. It has been an educational site since the first half of the nineteenth century starting with The Dickinson Institute, followed by Romeo High School, Junior High School and, lastly, Middle School.
Prospect Street Archive
This page documents the history of the Green Space on Prospect Street project. Additional details are available on the following pages:
Early history – the Anishinaabe
The land we call 297 Prospect Street resides on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabe, known as the Three Fires Confederacy, comprised of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi. Evidence of a Native presence on and near this land includes its location along a significant Native trail and an Anishinaabe village that once existed nearby.
Educational History
Prior to any building at 297 Prospect Street, Romeo had already established itself as a leader in education with the Romeo Academy and later the University of Michigan Romeo Branch. Both institutes occupied a building around the corner at 200 Church Street. The Romeo Academy opened in 1835 and transferred over to U of M in 1843. The U of M branch campuses were secondary schools designed to prepare students for the University. The Romeo Branch closed in 1851, but the school building was used by the Romeo Community Schools district until 1901 when it was demolished to build new homes. In 1932, the Romeo Monday Club erected a plaque at 297 Prospect Street honoring the education that took place on these properties – the Romeo Branch of the University of Michigan, as well as the Dickinson Institute, established in 1854.
The Dickinson Institute was the first building on the site now known as 297 Prospect Street. The Institute continued until 1867 and was repurposed as the Union School for a time. The first Romeo High School building was constructed in 1885 to the north of the Institute. The Dickinson Institute building was removed later in 1885. In 1927, a much larger high school building was added onto the original building. The old high school building remained in place until being demolished in 1966, before expanding the facility with additions in 1967. All buildings were removed in 2021.
Project History
297 Prospect Street is owned by Romeo Community Schools Board of Education (BOE). All the buildings on site were demolished in 2021. In 2023, the BOE released a request for proposals (RFP) to sell the property for development and did not accept any of the proposals they received. In response to requests from a group of citizens (later to become the volunteer Green Space on Prospect Street (GSOPS) group), the BOE passed a resolution giving the citizens groups until June 1, 2024, to present a feasible plan for preservation of the property. In May 2024, this resolution was extended to November 1, 2024.
Accomplishments in 2024
In 2024, GSOPS created a shared vision to acquire 297 Prospect Street to create public green space and an arboretum. We celebrated and shared information about the community benefits and opportunities of this green space – ecological, social, wellness, educational and historical. Public green space promotes health, wellness and equity in our community, making it a place where people want to live and visit. The site plan we created proposed planting trees, re-introducing nature and installing low-maintenance improvements to create a space where kids can play and learn, and we can all enjoy nature.
Important partnerships were established in 2024 – a project fund with Four County Community Foundation, bridge financing for the acquisition from Tri-County Bank, as well as collaborative partnerships throughout the community. We gathered more than 400 followers on our email list, with many more on social media and hosted six community meetings and five major events for fundraising and awareness. More than 200 people and organizations either pledged or donated to the acquisition fund, raising $425,000.
At the end of 2024, Green Space Romeo was established as an IRS tax-exempt non-profit corporation ready to receive grants and donations, conduct transactions, own property, and manage the future green space. The mission of Green Space Romeo is to acquire and preserve the property at 297 Prospect Street in Romeo, Michigan as public green space for the benefit of all community members and to promote and support green spaces throughout the region for health and wellness, educational opportunities and improvement to the environment and the quality of life.
Acquisition proposal in 2024
In December 2024, we made an offer to purchase $605,000, based on the money raised plus financing and the ability to sell the two smaller parcels if needed to pay off financing. The offer was not formally considered by BOE and there was no opportunity to negotiate. The information received via attorneys was that the offer was too low, they did not like the consideration of selling the smaller parcels, and any subsequent offer would only be considered via a new RFP process.
Acquisition proposal in 2025
A new RFP was released in February 2025. Sealed bids were due March 14, and the Green Space Romeo Board of Directors submitted a bid for $525,000. This is an amount that was significant but does not endanger the viability of the future green space with lingering debt and a lack of resources for the future.
To accompany our bid, we sought to demonstrate to the BOE the strength of community support for the green space proposal. To this end we are solicited survey results, letters to the Board of Education from community members, a petition drive, and encouraging community members to attend Board of Education meetings. We reiterated to the BOE and the public the valuable opportunities of green space at 297 Prospect Street – ecological, social, wellness, educational and historical. We invited the BOE and district educators to provide input on green space development and its relevance and usefulness to district curriculum.
With an eye to the future, we also sought to demonstrate to the BOE and the public that Green Space Romeo has the skills, expertise and capacity to manage the property – non-profit/tax-exempt status, volunteer structure, professional skillsets. We were ready to oversee arboretum development and certification and organize volunteers who will care for the green space and interact with the public and to team up once again with the Four County Community Foundation to establish a Green Space Romeo endowed fund for stewardship, education and continued improvement of the green space and arboretum.
Board of Education Decision – No Green Space on Prospect Street
Offer to purchase 297 Prospect Street
Green Space Romeo’s submitted proposals are linked below:
- GSR Final and Best Offer April 9, 2025
- GSR Proposal to Purchase March 13, 2025
- GSR Proposal Appendix A: Organizational Structure
- GSR Proposal Appendix B: Community Support
- GSR Proposal Appendix C: Educational Opportunities