The Heidelberg Project has announced the sale of its former headquarters to the Detroit Food Academy, a nonprofit organization that uses community-focused food entrepreneurship and a workforce development program to build critical skills in young people.
Tyree Guyton, founder of the Heidelberg Project, who maintains a residence next door to the building, says he welcomes the Detroit Food Academy to the neighborhood.
Guyton says he can’t wait to see “what they’ll cook up. I hope we can create something fantastic together.”
The building is located at 3442 McDougall St., a half-block south of Gratiot Avenue. The renovated space will comprise teaching kitchens, a college and career center, office space, and a small youth-run cafe.
“Marrying our signature youth development programming with world-class hospitality training, Detroit Food Academy will allow hundreds of students each year to access enriching afterschool programs, earn industry credentials, receive one-on-one job coaching, experience real-world professional training, and explore career and educational opportunities uniquely suited to their interests,” says Kiki Louya, executive director of the Detroit Food Academy and a former “Top Chef” contestant.
“We are thrilled to join the McDougall Hunt neighborhood and acquire a property that facilitates this vision.”
The three-story, brick structure, which offers more than 4,500 square feet of space, including ground floor commercial space, offers a fully equipped commercial kitchen. The property was sold for $360,000.
The Detroit Food Academy plans to fully move into the building in the coming weeks. The space was designed to provide new opportunities to integrate food and art into local education programming.
“The sale of the property to DFA accomplishes two important goals,” says Andy Sturm, executive director of the Heidelberg Project. “It provides critical resources to support our focus on the Heidelberg Project’s core art environment, on Heidelberg and Elba Place streets between Ellery and Mt. Elliott.
“The sale to Detroit Food Academy also supports the continued development of McDougall Hunt as a destination for creativity, civic engagement, and service to the community. “
The Detroit Food Academy partners with local high schools, educators, and food entrepreneurs to deliver curriculum year-round to youth (ages 10-18), culminating in the design and launch of either a student-led capstone dinner series or a triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) food business.
For more than a decade, the Academy has offered paid job training through its social enterprise, Small Batch Detroit. One part production kitchen and one part workforce development program, Small Batch youth employees (ages 18-24) participate in life skills workshops, obtain food safety certifications, and receive individualized support to learn and grow into leaders in the food ecosystem.
For more information, visit detroitfoodacademy.org/.
