Bedrock and Quicken Loans Commit $1M to the City’s $9M Plan to Revitalize Breithaupt School

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Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District, and officials from Quicken Loans and Bedrock today announced a $1 million investment in the Breithaupt Career and Technical School.

The investment begins the city’s efforts to raise $9 million to revitalize the school’s training programs and infrastructure over the next three years. Breithaupt, which is located at 9300 Hubbell St., trains students in culinary arts; retail and hospitality; automotive service and collision repair; and mechatronics and welding. The school has 450 students and expects to grow to more than 650 as a result of the investment. Breithaupt is expected to serve more than 2,000 youth and adults over the next three years.

“Employment opportunities are continuing to expand in Detroit, and we need to make sure every Detroit has access to job training and career pathways,” says Duggan. “That’s why I am so excited about this investment in Breithaupt and in the city’s other career technical education centers. Thanks to Quicken Loans’ and Bedrock’s generous contribution, we are off to a great start on revitalizing these critical programs.”

The $1 million investment is the first contribution to the project, which is a partnership between the district, Detroit Employment Solutions Corp., the city, and Duggan’s Workforce Development Board.

“Detroit’s long-term growth depends on job creation,” says Bill Emerson, vice chairman of Quicken Loans. “We are proud to be part of an initiative that is training Detroit residents for the thousands of opportunities emerging around the city. We remain committed to ensuring that employment opportunities for Detroiters develop as the city grows. Programs like Breithaupt are a critical element of that equation.”

Breithaupt will be the second of Detroit’s career technical education schools to be revitalized after Randolph CTE center underwent a similar $10 million renovation. Randolph offers training in electrical, plumbing, and masonry and serves more than 600 high school students and adults.

“Working together, we want to bring new life to Breithaupt through the perfect mix of private and public partnerships, as we did for Randolph,” says David Meador, vice chairman and chief administrative officer at DTE Energy. Meador also serves as the co-chairman of Duggan’s Workforce Development Board. “There are more career opportunities available to Detroiters than there have been in decades, so it’s important to ensure the next generation have the skills they need to get good, quality jobs.”

Since the investment at Randolph, enrollment has increased. The same is expected for Breithaupt.

“The transformation of Randolph and the district’s ability to collaborate and implement effectively with business partners has inspired new projects and opportunities for schools, students, and economic development,” says Vitti. “The most recent evidence of this is now at Breithaupt, where the investment in new facilities will position the district to offer unique automotive, culinary, and cosmetology programming to accelerate our expansion of college and work-ready pathways for students. Detroit is seeing unprecedented cooperation between the district, city, and business community to develop the next generation of talented employees.”

Quicken Loans and Bedrock will also help the city and Breithaupt work with community and industry experts to curriculum to industries.

“Our tenants have a strong need for people who have culinary arts, retail and hospitality skills, and Bedrock’s investment in Breithaupt will help build a pipeline of talent for Detroit’s growing economy,” says Jim Ketai, CEO of Bedrock. “Our company is investing billions in transformational development projects that will generate tens of thousands of permanent and construction jobs in Detroit. Every tenant in our portfolio will benefit from gaining access to job candidates like those that graduate from Breithaupt.”

The efforts are part of Duggan’s Detroit at Work program, which connects Detroiters to jobs and training programs. There are more than 5,000 jobs and 100 training programs listed on the program’s website.

DTE Energy, Penske Corp., General Motors Co., and Ford Motor Co. are expected to join as partners.