DETROIT – Detroit neighborhoods are receiving a record $35 million for development and physical improvements, Mayor Mike Duggan announced Monday.
Seven companies contributed $5 million each to fund improvements to the neighborhoods and affordable housing. The companies are AAM, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Chemical Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Flagstar Bank, Huntington Bank and Penske Corporation.
It's the largest corporate donation to neighborhood development in the city's history, Duggan said. It's expected to leverage another $70 million in private investment.
"Today, we are seeing a major shift within the corporate community toward investment to our neighborhoods, and residents can expect real, physical changes coming in the next few years," Duggan said. "With the help of our partners and this record-breaking commitment, we are taking the strategy that worked in Midtown and scaling it citywide to bring more development to neighborhoods across our city."
Physical improvements
City officials said there will be park improvements, including the creation of new parks and renovations to existing parks, based on the needs of residents.
There will be commercial development to fill vacant stores and lots, with mixed-use and multifamily projects along the corridors, Duggan said.
Streets and sidewalks will be revamped and redesigned to make the neighborhoods more walkable and attractive to businesses, Duggan said.
Existing vacant houses will be renovated as an initiative to create affordable housing and stabilize single-family homes.
Affordable housing developments will also fight displacement where there is growth, Duggan said.
Neighborhood developments
City officials will drive the developments based on a model in the first three Strategic Neighborhood Fund areas: the Livernois and McNichols area, Southwest Detroit and the Islandview and Greater Villages area.
The new 2.5-acre Ella Fitzgerald Park is already being renovated in the Fitzgerald neighborhood of the Livernois and McNichols area.
Crews have already added 12 new units of housing on a vacant lot as part of the Coe development in the Islandview and Greater Villages area, including 30 percent affordable housing, Duggan said.
There's also new and improved lighting and planned improvements to Clark Park in Southwest Detroit, according to Duggan.
With the $35 million commitment, work will be expanded from three areas to 10 areas. Over the next five years, similar improvements will be brought to the following areas:
- Grand River Northwest
- Jefferson Chalmers
- Russell Woods/Nardin Park
- Campau/Banglatown
- Warrendale/Cody-Rouge
- Gratiot/7-Mile
- East Warren/Cadieux
Each of those areas is made up of clusters of neighborhoods. The effort will bring development to more than 70 individual neighborhoods across Detroit, Duggan said.