Of all the perks available to employees of Detroit Edison, which became DTE Energy, membership in the Edison Boat Club might have been the best. Note the past tense. The club notified members Thursday that after more than a century, DTE will close the club on the banks of the Detroit River, on the grounds of its power plant there.
The Edison Boat Club ensign. (Photo: Facebook)
The power plant property went up for redevelopment bids last spring, and Fiat Chrysler will use the site as part of its Jefferson North plant expansion.
In a four-paragraph letter posted on Facebook, the club board stated that members will be able to use the club and its docks through Labor Day, but that it "will transition to a construction zone very soon."
Edison allowed all employees of DTE a place to enjoy boating life on the river. In a Metro Times story last year on the area's boat clubs, Edison was singled out for its distinctive character:
"Egalitarian" is the word member Vince Pardi uses to describe this boat club for current and retired DTE Energy employees and their family members. "I love this club because you can have VP's and presidents and linemen and secretaries and nobody knows or cares," says Pardi.
The letter to members states that DTE will offer "some type of subsidies" to cover members' costs in relocating to other clubs or marinas in the area.
