Renovation of the historic Tushiyah United Hebrew School, at 600 and 609 East Kirby in Midtown, is slated to begin by the end of this week, says Richard Hosey, the project’s owner and developer. Originally constructed in 1922, the former school, which sits just east of the College for Creative Studies main campus, near the Detroit Institute of Arts, will be renovated into a 25-unit apartment building.
Financing for the project, which closed last week, was secured through Arlington, Va.-based Capital Impact Partner, which has an office in Ann Arbor; Detroit Invest; Michigan Economic Development Corp.; and the University Cultural Center Association, a subsidiary of Midtown Detroit Inc. Together, the organizations are providing $4.3 million in financing for the project.
“This is really one of the first major historic renovations that’s happened in Detroit in recent years,” says Ian Wiesner, senior loan officer at Capital Impact Partners. “I think the financing that we’ve put together is a model that we will work for other historic rehabs in the area.”
In August, the MEDC awarded 609 East Kirby Lofts LLC a $1 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program performance-based loan for the building’s renovation, which is expected to generate a total capital investment of nearly $6.6 million.
