Jefferson East : Detroit Development News

"(There was a time when) TechTown was trying to be all things to all people," says TechTown President and CEO Leslie Smith. Now, with community partners like Hatch Detroit and D:hive, which are better-suited to validate and launch ideas, TechTown is able to focus on what they do best: validate and launch businesses.
 
Two programs TechTown runs that focus on launching businesses are SWOT City and Retail Boot Camp.
 
"In 2008, when the economy crashed, we found ourselves involved in a new economy initiative that suggested entrepreneurship was a new career path for many people," says Smith. TechTown also found themselves involved in businesses that were decidedly non-tech. "We looked at where was the most ripe opportunity for businesses and the existing market demand; from these places these programs were born."
 
SWOT City places new businesses to fill community voids and promote entrepreneurship, connects neighborhood businesses with key resources and provides personal coaching and information sessions to address a business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).
 
"SWOT attempts to address underserved populations in the city of Detroit who don't necessarily have the information or transportation to even get to TechTown," says Smith. "We saw we were not serving the city in as many ways as we could, so we developed a neighborhood strategy that allows us to go to them and meet them where they are." They did their initial testing in Midtown and the North End before launching in Brightmoor last October, a socioeconomically challenged neighborhood that has already seen positive results.
 
In six months, the partnership with Brightmoor has provided 400 hours of technical assistance, retained 53 jobs, completed 15 business assessments, and created one business and four jobs with six more businesses currently in the pipeline. In late March, TechTown announced their next community partnership is with the Jefferson East Business Association to develop the East Jefferson commercial corridor.
 
Retail Boot Camp is a new program offered by TechTown, which acts as an aggressive accelerator program for brick and mortar retail businesses. Applications for the first round are being accepted through this Friday, April 19. The intensive 10-week evening program starts in May with the goal of launching a dozen new retail storefronts in the city within the year.
 
Source: Leslie Smith, TechTown President and CEO
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg

Got a Development News story to share? Email Nicole here.

Southwest Housing Solutions is currently extending its reach beyond Southwest Detroit into the northeast corner of the city. A new three-story construction development on the corner of Mack Avenue and Ashland near the border of Grosse Pointe Park is a partnership between Southwest Housing Solutions, the Warren/Conner Development Coalition (and its subsidiary LAND, Inc.), the Northeast Guidance Center, and the U-SNAP-BAC Community Development Corporation.
 
The $7.9 million, 40,000-square-foot Mack-Alter Supportive Housing Development will feature 39 subsidized supportive housing units as well as 6,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. Funded by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Southwest Housing Solutions is spearheading this project as the developer as they have the necessary real estate development experience.
 
"This is different for Southwest," says Tim Thorland, Executive Director of Southwest Housing Solutions. "Three groups from the East Side approached us (because they) don’t have the experience as real estate developers and asked (if we would help them) as co-owners. We’re really the project developer (and property manager)."
 
The Northeast Guidance Center will work with its clients to fill the 39 available housing units and the Warren/Conner Development Coalition will handle the commercial spaces. "This is really an example of the power of collaboration between nonprofits in the city," says Thorland. "We’re colleagues with common goals but also competitors (for resources). Here, we’re helping each other achieve what (we all want to do)."
 
This is not the first time Southwest Housing Solutions has partnered on a project outside of its usual neighborhood. They also served as the real estate developer of the Piquette Square project in New Center, which welcomed its first tenants in 2010.
 
Thorland says they expect this project to be completed early this summer, targeting for a full year after initially breaking ground in June 2012.
 
Source: Tim Thorland, Executive Director of Southwest Housing Solutions
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg

Got a Development News story to share? Email Nicole here.

Kathy Makino-Leipsitz and Mark Leipsitz don't just have a vision for the handful of Palmer Park apartment buildings they plan to bring online this year. They have a grand plan for the entire district and its large collection of Art Deco buildings.

"We're very excited," says Kathy Makino-Leipsitz, who co-owns Shelborne Development with her husband Mark Leipsitz. "These buildings are irreplaceable."

The Indian Village-based real-estate development company has purchased nearly a dozen apartment buildings in Palmer Park in recent years. Many of those include some of the district's most jaw dropping architectural gems, such as Palmer Lodge, La Vogue, Coronado, Madrid Court (currently under construction), El Dorado, Alwyne Lane, Sarasota, Merton Manor and Whitmore Plaza. Shelborne Development plans to redevelop all of these into apartments and commercial space, and is considering razing two fire-damaged mixed-use buildings on McNichols. The renovations are expected to all come online by 2014.

The idea is to create a vibrant neighborhood that is a destination for the entire region filled with high-quality homes (both affordable and market rate housing) and spaces for small businesses. The basement of the Palmer Lodge features several thousand square feet of space that could offer space for a coffee shop, restaurant or bar.

"The basement is pretty much open space," Kathy Makino-Leipsitz says. "You would have up to 2,500 square feet in each space."

She is also looking into the idea of bringing a mounted security patrol to Palmer Park. The Detroit Police Department recently relocated its mounted division to Palmer Park. Kathy Makino-Leipsitz is interested in brokering a partnership with the police department that would allow properly trained private security personnel to use the mounted division's horses.

"This should be like Central Park in New York, but for Detroit," Kathy Makino-Leipsitz says.

Source: Kathy Makino-Leipsitz and Mark Leipsitz, co-developers of the La Vogue
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Paradise Valley Investment Group is leveraging the city of Detroit's federal neighborhood stabilization funds, extensively renovating multi-family homes in East English Village and Hubbard Farms.

The home renovation company, headed up by California-native Robin Scovill, is close to wrapping up renovating of seven units of small multi-family buildings that had been foreclosed on in strong residential areas of Detroit. These renovations include extensive green options, such as energy efficient windows and furnaces, along with insulation and Energy Star appliances.

"Robin loved the idea of going into a house and fully renovating it, getting as much out of it as possible," says Eric Novack, an investor in Paradise Valley Investment Group.

Novack adds that there has been a strong demand for the rentals, which are marketed at affordable rates. One duplex in East English Village was leased shortly before it was finished and there has been strong demand for the other units which should come online by the end of this spring.

Novack also says that Paradise Investment Group has broadened its business model, allowing some local investors to take shares in the company as it continues to expand its portfolio, which not includes buildings in West Village, Corktown and a few other well-known Detroit neighborhoods.

"That's the nice things about Detroit's rental market is you will see more outside investors as long as they have the right people on the ground," Novack says.

Source: Eric Novack, an investor in Paradise Valley Investment Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The GREEN Task Force represents more than just a plan for establishing greenway paths for non-motorized traffic throughout Detroit's Lower East Side. It's also a symbol of bringing a number of big players together to connect a number of neighborhoods and institutions on the Motor City's east side with the rest of the city.

The task force has been able to bring together residents from a number of neighborhoods on the east side by the Detroit River with city officials, Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, The Villages Community Development Corp and the Mt. Elliott Business Community Association, among others. The GREEN Task Force is funded by a $213,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

"Good things are happening on the east side," says Brian Hurttienne, executive director of The Villages Community Development Corp. "The GREEN Task Force brought everyone to the table. We're keeping everyone at that table."

The GREEN Task Force's Vision of Greenways program is providing a blue print for creating greenways, linear parks, bike lanes and other pathways for pedestrians, bicyclists, roller bladers and others who want to travel without an automobile near Detroit's east riverfront between the Dequindre Cut and Grosse Pointe Park.

The plan outlines 16 miles of new or expanded greenways, including the Elmwood Connector, Belt Line Greenway (a rail trail conversion), Kercheval Greenway, Burns Connector, Conner Creek Greenway enhancements, Sweet Loop, Fox Creek Greenway, Far East Connector, Carstens Spur and the RiverWalk Extension. More information on the plan can be found here.

The plan recommends creating enhancements include: making East Jefferson Avenue between I-375 and Alter Road a "Complete Street," creating bike lanes on Lafayette Street between Iroquois Street and downtown, connecting multi-family housing on E. Grand Boulevard with Belle Isle and connecting the Creekside neighborhood to the Marina District via Freud Street.

"If you have a safe way of getting somewhere it just makes life better," Hurttienne says. "Transit is going to be a big thing for not only us but the city and the region."

Source: Brian Hurttienne, executive director for The Villages Community Development Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Modern disc golf began as a 1960's fad, but the sport (modeled on golf, players aim frisbees into baskets) is now played in 40 countries, with 11,000 registered members and hoards of weekend and afternoon enthusiasts.

Woodbridge resident Chris Haag hopes to build a disc golf course near the lighthouse on Belle Isle. He's confident he can raise the money (it costs about $3,000 to build a basic course, though some designs run as high as $10,000). Now, he just needs to get the attention of park officials.

To do that, Haag and partner Joe Robinson are hosting a public disc golf tournament on Nov. 6 at Belle Isle, improvising a makeshift course of 18 to 24 holes over about 20 acres. The goal -- show city leaders that Detroit is full of disc golf enthusiasts who would utilize a proper course (a small nine-hole city course at Jayne/Lasky Park near Davison and Conant is an unimaginative course designed primarily for beginners). Registration is $40 and includes a frisbee or t-shirt. All proceeds will help offset the cost of building a course on Belle Isle. "If we have a good showing on that day, being able to show them that there's a lot of people who want to do this, I think that will really help," he says.

Haag says the course is a good idea for Belle Isle because it encourages outdoor activity and holds a cross-generational appeal. "You're outdoors, you're walking around in a really nice park, and anyone can play it," he says. "I've taken my parents out, I've taken little kids out to play. It's not like ball golf ... it costs $20 for two Frisbees, and if you don't lose them, you can play the entire year on $20."

Haag, who moved to Detroit from Clarkston six months ago, usually heads back to North Oakland County for games, at courses like Holly Recreation Area or Addison Oaks. He says he's amazed by the game's increasing popularity since he started throwing the discs around six years ago. "I used to go anytime of day or night and maybe I would run into two or three other people," he remembers. "Now, I go, and I still love to play, but it's just totally different. If you go in the evening, every hole will have six people in a group getting ready to tee off, and two or three groups waiting behind them. There's hundreds of people out there every time."

He's sure of one thing: that enough Detroiters will get behind the idea in order to see a successful course built on Belle Isle's greens. "Detroit seems like the kind of place where, if you have something that you want to get done, it's just a matter of going out and doing it," he says.

So far, 513 people have "liked" this venture on Facebook. Click here to join them.

The Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative (DECC) will celebrate the opening of more than two miles of pedestrian and bike trails opened to the public via the Conner Creek Greenway Initiative with an Arbor Day tree planting and parade on April 29 in Maheras Gentry Park on the Detroit River.

The event kicks off with a Greening of Detroit-directed tree planting sponsored by DTE Energy and planted by company volunteers at 9 a.m. The parade begins at 11 a.m., led by a procession of 120 students from the Detroit Merit Academy -- and their wildlife puppets -- made along with the Mosaic Youth Theatre as part of the company's preparations for its upcoming performance of new production "Marshland Security." U.S. Congressman Hansen Clarke and Mayor Bing are among the rumored guests.

The Conner Creek Greenway is part of more than 23 miles of connected paths in Detroit created by the City of Detroit with the support of the The Conner Creek Greenway provides residents of Detroit's eastside with a way to connect neighborhoods and create walkable, bikeable access to the Detroit River.

"It's kind of the neighborhood version of the Detroit River Walk or the Dequindre Cut," says project manager Elizabeth Pachota of the Conner Creek Greenway. "The plan for the Conner Creek Gateway is to create a nine-mile pathway extend all the way from Eight Mile Road to the Detroit River, generally along Conner Avenue. It's built on a creekbed, what used to be an open creekbed."

So far, four and a half miles of the project have been built since 2006, and Pachota says pedestrian use has increased since the grassroots paths have been installed.

Ultimately, the goal of the Conner Creek Greenway is for a student from a school like Osborn High School to be able to meet his or her friends at the Lipke Recreation Center, stop at the Warren Conner Shopping District and then continue on to a family picnic at the river -- all by greenway. Although, Pachota, recommends, they'd better bring a bike for that trip.

Source: Elizabeth Pachota, Project Manager, DECC
Writer: Ashley C. Woods

Chalmers Square, a redevelopment of three historic buildings on East Jefferson, broke ground recently. The $7 million investment will renovate three vacant structures into 47 residential units and 17,000 square feet of commercial retail space. The project also involves the conversion of a former liquor store on the northeast corner of Jefferson and Newport into a full-service market.

The size and scope of the project are significant, says Josh Elling, the executive director of the Jefferson East Business Assoc., the non-profit tasked with strengthening the district. "We've been working on this project for 10 years, it's a big deal," he says. "This validates JEBA's approach to working with private developers and public agencies to help transform formerly vacant structures on Jefferson into economic generators and to increase density along the Jefferson corridor."

Chalmers Square is being developed by Detroit-based Shelborne Development, the firm that is also involved with St. Aubin Square and the Book House. The project has benefited from brownfield tax credits and support from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and the Detroit office of the Local Initiatives Support Corp.

The addresses of the three buildings are 1025 Newport and 14401 and 11436 E. Jefferson. Elling expects construction to be completed in the third quarter of 2011.

Source: Josh Elling, JEBA
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

A $5.7 million senior complex broke ground in November on Dickerson just south of E. Jefferson. Called Dickerson Manor, the three-story structure will hold 66 units for independent seniors. Each apartment has two bedrooms and a patio or balcony.

The development features common space on each floor, an exercise room, hair salon, craft room and large community room. Outdoor gardens will include a gazebo and a walking path. Construction will wrap up in mid-summer, says Aimee Vito, project coordinator with developer MHT Housing.

MHT also owns Jefferson Square, a senior complex that is adjacent to the one currently under construction. The company sees a high demand for new construction senior housing in the area, says Vito. "Jefferson is a major thoroughfare, so it's close to shopping and bus stops, all the things that seniors need to get to." She also credits a relationship with Jefferson East Business Association in helping pave the way for the new development.

Dickerson East apartments will be income-restricted.

Sources: Josh Elling, Jefferson East Business Association and Aimee Vito, MHT Housing
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

A couple of new shops, Sneaker City and Game Stop, have opened their doors on East Jefferson in Riverbend Plaza.

Um, is a teenage boy in charge there or what?

The stores are on the eastern end of the shopping center, near AAA Insurance, Radio Shack and a pharmacy.

Josh Elling, executive director of the Jefferson East Business Association, says new stores mean that retailers are taking notice of the area's concentrated population. "They are choosing modern retail amenities, like Riverbend Plaza, given the population density and local income density," he says. "We're happy to see additional shopping amenities for residents of the area and visitors to the business district."

Another feather in the commercial district's cap is its crime rate. Real estate website Neighborhood Scout ranks it as Detroit's safest, with the chance of being the victim of a violent crime one in 321 versus one in 57 citywide.

JEBA continues its ongoing business attraction efforts tonight, November 9, with the organization's monthly seminar entitled Vision to Reality. This class covers the basics of starting a new business, with topics that include financing, licensing and marketing. It is taught by a certified business consultant and will run from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

On November 17, JEBA will host a financing roundtable from 9 a.m. to noon with representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration, a business loan banker and a small business counselor from the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center. This interactive session is designed to clarify the process of commercial lending for small business owners.

Pre-registration is a must for either session. Contact Aquanetta Sproule at asproule@jeffersoneast.org or 313-331-7939.

Source: Josh Ellis, JEBA
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

One mile of St. Jean between Jefferson and Mack has new bike lanes, the first in the city not on Belle Isle or near the riverfront. They were completed by the City of Detroit's Department of Public Works with Recovery Act Funds, designed by Hamilton Anderson Associates and funded by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan via the Kresge Foundation.

The bike lanes are part of an overall vision for a 9-mile greenway that roughly follows the path of Conner Creek and ultimately connects the Detroit River with the city's northern boundary of Eight Mile. This fall, another mile of bike lanes and a pathway into Maheras Gentry Park will be built; by the end of 2012, 6.5 miles will be complete. "We thought it would take us about 10 years to build this 9-mile greenway, from first inkling to first plans to completing construction," says Libby Pachota Levy, who is spearheading the project for the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative, the greenway's sponsoring organization. "And we're actually on target ... by the end of 2013, there will be a 9-mile link for all East Side neighborhoods."

Pachota Levy credits DPW with being proactive on the St. Jean section of the project. "We learned from Jose Abraham at DPW that the City would be repaving St. Jean this spring/summer and, since it fell within the boundaries of the planned Conner Creek Greenway, we requested installation of bike lanes," she says. "Using specs from Chicago, we worked with Hamilton Anderson, DPW and Traffic Engineering to redesign the roadway to accommodate bike lanes. The lanes are accompanied by a green landscaped berm, making it a great place for both walking and biking."

Building the greenway is not DECC's only task -- getting residents to use it is equally important, says Pachota Levy. "In addition to slowly and steadily building out each phase and keeping it on track, we are also slowly building awareness, getting people out there, active and using the greenway," she says. Activities include bike rides, Camp Greening in partnership with Greening of Detroit, walking clubs and kayaking.

Source: Libby Pachota Levy
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The seventh incarnation of Jazzin' on Jefferson returns -- this year for two days -- June 26 and 27.

If people flock to the festival for the stellar music lineup alone, that's just dandy, according to Joshua Elling, executive director of Jefferson East Business Association (JEBA), the festival's presenting organization. But there's more to the story.

"We believe festivals can be important economic development tools," he says, with the following stats to back up the notion: Since Jazzin' began, the district has seen 50 facade improvements, a decline in the commercial corridor's vacancy rate by 10 percent and more than 10 new businesses.

What's the correlation? Part of the answer is simply the ripple effects of bringing people to the area en masse -- 20,000 attended last year, and organizers are planning for double that this year -- and letting them see for themselves the neighborhood's historic and modern housing amenities, chain and independent retailers, and 140 acres of riverfront parks. Also worth noting is that this year's proceeds will directly fund the establishment of a community-owned security patrol.

Attendees will be able to preview the H&H Marketplace Bazaar, a retail incubator set to open this summer in an adaptively reused two-story building at 14522 E. Jefferson. Three other major developments are poised to pop in the area as well, including a mixed-use renovation of three apartment buildings that will ultimately result in 47 loft-style apartments and 17,000 square feet of retail, the development of a 100-unit independent senior living complex and a group of artists setting up shop in the former Platte Motor Building.

Jazzin' on Jefferson will take place Saturday, June 26, and Sunday, June 27, from noon to 9 p.m. on a closed-off section of East Jefferson between Chalmers and Alter. Headliners include Joe Krown Trio! and the Hot Club of Detroit. Other performers include the Thornetta Davis Band, Marion Hayden & the Detroit Legacy Band and Sky Covington & Trio. Sunday will feature outdoor church service and an emphasis on gospel to "celebrate the rich spiritual history of the lower east side," says Elling.

Other festival features include the Target Kids Zone, a 5-on-5 Basketball Tournament, Detroit Artist Gallery and over 30 food and retail vendors.

Source: Joshua Elling, JEBA
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The arrival of spring heralds the digging of dirt, if The Greening of Detroit's ambitious 2010 schedule has anything to say about it. From April 10 to June 5, about 1,750 trees will be planted citywide in 14 separate plantings. Greening, in partnership with the City of Detroit's General Service Department, will plant 680 trees that will reforest neighborhoods affected by the Emerald ash borer infestation; And about a thousand trees will be planted with over 16 community groups and block clubs.

The schedule is as follows: April 10, University District and Annchester street tree plantings; April 17, Warrendale and E. Outer Drive; April 24, Trumbull and Corktown tree nursery; April 20, East English Village; April 22, Grandmont Rosedale tree nursery; April 25, Creekside; May 1, Boston Edison and Virginia Park; May 8, Beresford Block Club and Osborn Neighborhood; May 15, Hartwell and West Grand Boulevard; May 22, Ecclesia and Pallister Park; June 5, Ferdinand.

More than 1,000 volunteers will be needed; contact Greening at 313-237-8733 to sign up for a planting.

Greening's annual Tree and Shrub Sale will take place on Saturday April 24, from 9 a.m. to noon at Eastern Market's Shed #6. Trees are $30 and shrubs are $20, with special rates offered to Greening members. Pre-orders are being taken now; order forms can be found at www.greeningofdetroit.com.

The Greening's urban agriculture initiative, the Garden Resource Program Collaborative provides training and resources to individuals, community groups and families that grow vegetable gardens. Interested individuals should contact Lindsay Turpin at 313-237-8733.

Source: Monica Tabares, Greening of Detroit
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Sangaris Salon will open at 14704 E. Jefferson between Chalmers and Alter this spring. Proprietor N'Aziza Henderson was motivated to set up shop on the east side's Jefferson corridor because "most natural hair salons in Detroit are on the west side, and I like the fact that I am in a historic area."

When Henderson says natural, she means it. She limits the usage of thermal devices such as hair driers, hot combs and curling irons, and does not use any chemicals to process hair. "Sangeris will be focused on care of natural hair, making sure hair is healthy," she says. "We're focused on health, not just styling."

Sangaris is named after a rare African butterfly that is very distinct in color from other butterflies. Similarly, Henderson says that her business "is going to stand out from other natural hair salons."

Source: N'Aziza Henderson, Sangaris Salon
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD) is comprised of community development organizations from across the city. They built houses before lofts were all the rage, paving the way for for-profit market-rate ventures and, now that the housing market is kaput, they've turned their sights on talking about what's next for Detroit. About a year ago, they formed a Futures Task Force, and the first deliverable is a document entitled "Neighborhood Revitalization Strategic Framework." It looks at the concept of right-sizing, down-sizing or reinventing Detroit -- whatever you want to call it -- and makes a set of recommendations that, hopefully, will guide policy-makers, elected officials and the funding community when they start tackling the heated issue.

"(The strategic framework) is about reinventing Detroit so that it is a better place for people to live in," says Tom Goddeeris, executive director of Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation and a Futures Task Force participant. "It's how to think about how to improve it in a way that recognizes that there is lots of vacant land, (there are lots of) vacant buildings and we don't have the population that we once had...We wanted to put forward an idea about the city that says that it can be a better place, a greener place, a more economically viable place."

The community development community has always operated on the notion that rebuilding a city means building more houses. The strategic framework they've released abandons that principle, instead looking at numerous different ways -- be that open space, greenways, urban farms or even traditional neighborhoods -- that Detroit might evolve. "These are concepts to get people thinking a different way as opposed to going back to some previous time where (success meant) more people and more businesses," says Goddeeris. Along with drawing other stakeholders into the conversation, he says a goal of the collaborative is to show that "there can be a vision for reinventing the city in a way that is looking to make it a better place, not as an exit strategy or a sign of defeat."

While the concept of right-sizing holds allure in some camps and -- shades of Poletown -- horror in others, Goddeeris stresses the point that much work can be done before relocation is even close to a reality. "There are parts of the city that we can immediately start strengthening and some that we can immediately start greening without having to displace a bunch of people," he says.

Source: Tom Goddeeris, Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp. and CDAD
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh