The city of Detroit has selected Detroit-based developer Woodborn Partners for a new mixed-use, mixed-income project in the Hubbard Richard neighborhood and Mexicantown business district of southwest Detroit, along the border of Corktown.
The currently vacant site is located south of Michigan Central Station and other neighborhood landmarks. Construction is anticipated to start later this year and is expected to be completed in late 2020.
Plans for the $16 million project include a four-story building with 60 new apartment units, 5,000 square feet of retail along Bagley, and 40 parking spaces, which will be hidden behind the new structure. The project’s goal is to “build upon the strengths of the Bagley Street commercial corridor and enhance connectivity between the two neighborhoods,” according to the developer.
The project also will include outdoor amenities that will connect to the planned May Creek Greenway.
“As the city’s revitalization spreads into the neighborhoods, we are focused on developing high-quality and affordable mixed-use projects that fit in with the existing culture of the neighborhood,” says Donald Rencher, director of housing and revitalization for the city of Detroit. “Woodborn Partners are well-suited to fill in this gap in a thriving neighborhood, and we know that they will work with the city and residents to make sure the project meets the needs of community.”
Clifford Brown, managing partner of Woodborn Partners, says, “We look forward to creating a development that will be truly exceptional and reflective of the vibrant legacy of Hubbard Richard, Mexicantown, and the entire southwest area. This is one more brick in building upon what are already strong neighborhoods and communities.”
The development is one of 10 Strategic Neighborhood Fund neighborhoods. The SNF is dedicated to comprehensive neighborhood development. The property was originally identified as a development opportunity site with residents through the city’s Planning and Development Department’s West Vernor neighborhood framework plan.
Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn acquired the train station last June and is in the process of transforming it and its surrounding properties into a $740-million, 1.2-million-square-foot innovation campus for autonomous and electric vehicle creation as well as urban mobility services and solutions. The project will bring about 2,500 Ford employees to Corktown, mostly from the mobility team, and an additional 2,500 jobs with Ford’s partners and suppliers. The station is projected to reopen in 2022.
Nearby, at Michigan Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard, Ford had around 220 employees, including some from its Project Edison team, working at a building called The Factory.
