Highland Park : Detroit Development News

Neighborhood Service Organization (NSO) is a non-profit organization that does a lot of work in the city and suburbs around mental health, homelessness, and developmental disabilities. They offer community programs, a suicide hotline and also the Tumaini Center at Second Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., which is a walk-in center serving the chronically homeless in Detroit that has been open since 1975. They see about 3,000 people annually at the center, in a city with a homeless population of around 20,000.
 
Joe Heaphy, NSO's Vice President of Real Estate Development, says, "About seven years ago NSO decided it wanted to move away from simply managing and helping homeless folks, but get them housed." They were looking to provide permanent housing for the chronically homeless, not just temporary housing or a traditional shelter. This led to the purchase of the former Michigan Bell building in Highland Park, which had been sitting vacant for 20 years. A $52 million renovation converted the building into 155 housing units, which began leasing last August. Units were filled by November. Residents pay 30 percent of their income, whatever that may be, in rent, while the rest of the $650/month rent is covered by Section 8. NSO also provides on-site resources and support services.
 
But at 255,000 square feet, the 1929 building itself is so massive it is not fully occupied by apartment units. Starting this August, the NSO Bell Building will also be home to NSO's new headquarters, moving 200 administrative staff into the commercial portion of the building. 
 
This renovation and adaptive reuse project is being honored with a Governor's Award this Wednesday, May 1, for outstanding achievement in historic preservation. The building also serves as a model for public-private funding collaboration and investment, utilizing funds as far-ranging as brownfield redevelopment tax credits, foundation funding from the McGregor Fund and Kresge Foundation, and tax credit investment from Morgan Stanley.
 
Source: Joe Heaphy, NSO's Vice President of Real Estate Development
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg

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

You can't really begin to appreciate just how much Highland Park is in need of a new fire station until you see the space out of which they're currently operating. When I contacted Highland Park Fire Chief Derek Hillman about doing a short story on the new headquarters, he insisted that I see it in person. We met at the Highland Park City Hall and Chief Hillman took me on a ride in his cruiser to see the current, previous, and future fire stations.
 
The fire department is currently located in a "temporary" location in the back corner of a massive industrial park on the outskirts of Highland Park. "How temporary is 'temporary'?" Hillman answered without missing a beat: "Eight years." The space is basically an open warehouse: cold (literally – it doesn't get above 45 degrees in the winter) and barren. Mobile trailers house its offices and bathrooms, while the firefighters constructed a sort of plywood barracks for themselves. It looks like a shantytown inside a bunker. "And this is better than the building we moved out of," Hillman said. And what's wrong with the old building? That's where we're headed next.
 
For a city of only 12,000 people, Highland Park has 150 fires per year. For a single fire, the department brings only six or seven men – the City of Detroit brings three times that. Some of the men make only $10 an hour. Chief Hillman knew the working conditions were abysmal, so when a FEMA grant became available for fire departments in the U.S., as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, he applied. CHMP Architects in Grand Blanc donated time and expertise to draft an architectural design for the grant application. Out of 1,200 applicants nationwide, Highland Park received $2.6 million in federal grant money for a new station – one of only five departments in Michigan to receive anything.
 
The new building, more than halfway complete, is 14,000 square feet and is located directly across from the old fire station. As we pulled up, Chief Hillman pointed at a two-story structure in which the upper floor has totally collapsed and the back wall fallen off. "That's the old fire station."
 
While the old Highland Park police station, built in 1917, was torn down to make way for this new fire station, the old fire station – a building so structurally damaged from neglect and exposure preservation likely isn't feasible – will continue to stand, a hulking shell, until the city can reach an agreement with the State of Michigan Historic Preservation Office to tear it down.
 
The new facility is like a dream for the men who've been working out of a shoddily slapped-together "temporary" location for nearly the last decade. They'll have proper offices and sleeping facilities, even a full gym for the men to work out. It stands in stark contrast to the sagging building it faces, a dramatic juxtaposition that mirrors the current state of the city itself – the new colliding with the old; better things rising from the ashes.
 
Source: Derek Hillman, Highland Park Fire Chief
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg

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

The options for traveling up and down Woodward Avenue are about to grow significantly.

The Michigan State Senate recently passed a series of bills that would establish a regional transit authority that would oversee the construction and operation of a light rail line on Woodward between Jefferson Avenue and Grand Boulevard. It would also oversee the construction and operation of a bus rapid transit systems along the rest of Woodward and across the region. The State House of Representatives is reportedly expected to take up the bills within the coming days.

Working in parallel in those efforts are series of community meetings envisioning what rapid transit along Woodward Avenue could look like and what local residents want to see happen. The meetings are being hosted by the Michigan Suburbs Alliance, Woodward Avenue Action Association and SEMCOG, which is creating a Woodward rapid transit alternatives analysis that will work in parallel with the proposed regional transit authority.

"This is an attempt to create a rapid transit system on Woodward Avenue," says Richard Murphy, programs director of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance. "We're looking at the entire length from Jefferson Avenue to Pontiac."

Among the issues that will be discussed are which mode of transit works best for the Woodward corridor (light rail or bus rapid transit), how such a system should be funded and whether it should have dedicated lanes or mixed in with traffic.

The meetings will be be held along the Woodward corridor. The Detroit meetings will be held today (Tuesday, Dec. 4) at SEMCOG offices in downtown Detroit (535 Griswold St, Suite 300) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and at the Detroit Police Dept's Central District (7310 Woodward) from 4-6 p.m. Another one will be held on Dec. 11 at the Detroit Police Dept's Palmer Park Station (12th Precinct, 1441 W. 7 Mile Road).

Source: Richard Murphy, programs director of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Public lighting has consistently been a problem in Highland Park for years. Struggles to keep the streetlights lit and paying the electric bill for those lights was followed by DTE Energy removing several hundred streetlights from the inner-city suburb last year.

That problem gave birth to a new solution. Souladarity, a grass-roots group of local stakeholders, installed the city's first solar-powered streetlight last week and is making plans to bring another 200 to the city within the next five years.

"In the back of a lot of people's minds is what are we going to do about the streetlights around here," says A.J. O'Neil, one of the organizers of Souladarity.

The Souladarity streetlight was installed at 150 Victor Street, between John R and Oakland, and is shining down on the street now. The Michigan-made product utilizes super-energy-efficient LED lights which last longer than traditional streetlights. It also has a solar panel on top of the pole and its batteries are only a few feet below it, making the streetlight self-sufficient.

"It's completely self-contained," O'Neil says. "It's very theft proof because the batteries are locked away up high."

Souladarity is raising $6,000 to acquire and install the lights through a crowd-funding campaign. A little more than $5,000 of that has been raised as of Monday afternoon. For information on Highland Park's solar-powered-streetlight initiative, click here.

Source: A.J. O'Neil, one of the organizers of Souladarity
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The Woodward Avenue Action Association has big plans for the historic Ford Plant in Highland Park, starting with the redevelopment of the administrative office building and executive garage overlooking Woodward Avenue just south of McNichols Road.

The 4-story building served as the offices for Henry Ford at the critical time when he was developing the assembly line and creating the $5 workday in the early 20th Century. The building no longer serves as an office complex and has fallen into disrepair.

"We want to stabilize it," says Heather Carmona, executive director of the Woodward Avenue Action Association. "We want to make sure we don't lose it. This is the most historically-significant building in the state and one of the top 5 in the country."

The Woodward Avenue Action Association has received a $400,000 grant from the State of Michigan to purchase the building. A sale price of $550,000 has been agreed to and the Woodward Avenue Action Association plans to raise the money to close the gap.

The 40,000-squar-foot building is at 14329 Woodward and stands next to a shopping center and in front of the former Ford industrial plant, which still has tenants. The Woodward Avenue Action Association plans to redevelop the office building into a museum about Henry Ford, the plant and how they changed the world in the early 20th Century. The nonprofit also plans to turn the building into its new home and create office space for businesses that would help make the project viable.

"Obviously it needs to be sustainable," Carmona says. "It just can't be a museum."

Source: Heather Carmona, executive director of the Woodward Avenue Action Association
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The third Woodward Tribute statue is up and glowing, this time in Highland Park. It joins similar tall, cylindrical sculptures in Ferndale and Pontiac.

The statues are part of the Woodward Avenue Action Association's Tribute Project, which is installing these sorts of sculptures along Michigan's Main Street as way to promote the corridor's history and culture through public art. The 30-foot-high columns are made mainly of glass and concrete.

The Highland Park Woodward Tribute sits at the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Gerald Street in a median on Gerald. It is framed by a mural on a drug store behind it that depicts the smoke stacks of the Ford plant where the $5 workday was made famous in the early 20th Century. The Woodward Tribute has images of a $5 bill and a dense figure in a top hat that looks like Henry Ford.

"It's (theme is about) what happened in the area," says Heather Carmona, executive director of the Woodward Avenue Action Association. "It's the story of Woodward."

Portions of these sculptures are being paid for by National Scenic Byway grants. The Woodward Avenue Action Association is still making plans to build another Woodward Tribute in Oakland County near the Royal Oak area and in the city of Detroit.

"That's our next target," Carmona says. "Where exactly we don't know."

Source: Heather Carmona, executive director of the Woodward Avenue Action Association
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Detroiters now have a new way to shape the future of their city. By means of a new mission-based online competition called Detroit 24/7, Detroiters can share their ideas while competing to earn points, badges, and prizes. People of all ages are called on to participate in challenges such as Detroit Trivia, Community Mapping, and Role Playing Exercises.
 
"Detroit 24/7 is another tool we are using to engage city stakeholders to help in shaping Detroit’s future," said Dan Pitera, civic engagement co-lead for Detroit Works Project Long Term Planning (DWP LTP). "It’s a fun, interactive way for Detroiters to share their knowledge and think about the types of factors they consider most important to improving the quality of life in the city."
 
Starting May 7 at 12:01 a.m. Detroiters can begin playing Detroit 24/7 through three time-based missions at no cost. Any smart phone, computer, or tablet with Internet connection allows people to access the game. Mission #1 is Share your Detroit, Mission #2 is Living In Detroit and Mission # 3 is Getting around Detroit.
 
The top point earner, the top youth point earner, and one other member of the 50 players will win an HD Flip Video Camera. Players earning the most achievement badges will be entered into a drawing to receive gift cards to local Detroit businesses.
 
The ideas and input gathered through Detroit 24/7 will be utilized by DWP LTP to help inform and shape the Strategic Framework Plan that’s scheduled to be completed before fall of 2012.
 
This evening, the community is invited to attend the Detroit 24/7 launch party at Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD) Downtown Campus, 1001 W. Fort Street, from 5:30 to 8 pm. Attendees will learn more about the game and register to play. Refreshments will be served and there is no cost to attend. To RSVP email here or call 313-259-4407.
 
Detroit 24/7 was developed in partnership with Community PlanIt and support from the Knight Foundation, making Detroit one of only half a dozen cities that will be using this type of platform to help plan the city’s future. Other partners include WCCCD and Excellent Schools Detroit.

Writer: Leah Johnson 

The city of Detroit's SmartBuildings program, overseen by the Detroit Economic Growth Corp, has approved 19 building improvement grants across the city worth $762,272.

The SmartBuildings program focuses on providing funding for energy-efficiency projects that improve commercial buildings. Among the recepients of this latest round of grants are a handful of buildings controlled by Focus: Hope and the Wayne County Community College District. The DEGC recently increased the coverage area of eligible buildings from the downtown area to commercial corridors throughout the city, including on East Jefferson, southwest Detroit and the city's University District.

"We expanded the area to cast a bigger net," says Scott Veldhuis, senior project manager for the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

The SmartBuildings grants, which are capped at $100,000 per building, will leverage $3.8 million in outside investment from building owners. Focus: HOPE is using its $320,662 grant as part of a $1.36 million umbrella project for nine buildings on its campus on Oakman Boulevard. The improvements will install insulation, high-efficiency lighting, low-flow bathroom fixtures, and other mechanical upgrades.

Wayne County Community College District received $200,000 in grants for energy-conservation updates to the Central Administration Building and the Downtown Campus Building on its downtown campus as part of $2.25 million project. Southwest Housing Solutions is leveraging$78,812 in grant funds toward $315,250 in projects that include reflective roofing and high-efficiency water heaters at the Harwill, Cole and Harrington buildings at 1453 Hubbard, 4516 W. Vernor Highway and 465 W. Grand Boulevard, respectively.

Other projects include the Hellenic Museum of Michigan (67 E. Kirby), New Center Stamping (950 E. Milwaukee Ave), Hacienda Mexican Foods (6100 Buchanan) a walk-in store at 5564 Woodward.

Source: Scott Veldhuis, senior project manager for the Detroit Economic Growth Corp
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

More modern housing is coming online in Highland Park with the latest offerings rising from and being renovated in the new Medbury Grove Lawn development.

Midtown-based Trivium Partners is building infill housing and renovating existing houses on Midland, Pilgrim and Puritan streets between Woodward Avenue and Second Street. Of those 22 homes, 18 will be new houses. The other four will be rehabs. All of them will be in the historic Arts & Crafts-style architecture that are ubiquitous in Highland Park's historic district.

"We want to celebrate the architectural style of Highland Park," says Scott Benson, principal member of Trivium Partners.

So far Trivium Parnters have dug 10 of the basements for the new houses. Of those house four frames are being built and two more have roofs. Each house will be built or renovated with the idea of making it as energy-efficient as possible, meaning each house will be insulated, have Energy Star appliances and high-efficiency furnaces, among other green features.

The federal stimulus-funded project will offer these houses for sale. Benson describes these houses as high-quality housing marketed toward people who are buying their second or third homes.

"We're building new houses and we're utilizing residents in these communities to build these properties," Benson says.

Source: Scott Benson, principal member of Trivium Partners
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Most of the headlines featuring the Beal Group focus on its big downtown projects, such as the Broderick Tower redevelopment. But the Ann Arbor-based firm is also making a big impact renovating dozens of houses in Hamtramck, Brightmor and Highland Park.

Beal Group is renovating a dozen homes in Detroit's Brightmor neighborhood, 11 more houses in Hamtramck and eight single-family homes in Highland Park. The projects, paid for with neighborhood stabilization funds from the federal government, will turn the houses into energy-efficient affordable housing that will be sold to local residents.

"Our product is high-end but we're not selling them to high-end buyers," says Stewart Beal, president of Beal Properties, a subsidiary of the Beal Group that is handling the renovations. "We're selling them to people in the community, often someone who is going from a renter to a homeowner."

These homes are foreclosed properties that have reverted to the Michigan Land Bank. Beal Properties renovates these historic structures, the ones in Highland Park are craftsman-style bungalows in the city's historic district, into buildings with a 5-star energy efficiency rating. That includes Energy Star appliances, insulation and energy-efficient core systems. Between $50,000 and $100,000 goes into each home.

Beal expects to wrap up the renovations by March and have them all sold before the end of the year.

Source: Stewart Beal, president of Beal Properties
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

While Highland Park only has one sit-down dining restaurant, the community will soon be going back to the basics food-wise, planting the city's first community garden within a hoop house. Volunteers are invited to assist with constructing the 2,000 sq. ft. greenhouse on Sunday, June 26.

The community garden program will be housed inside the "hoop house" --  a 14-foot tall structure covered in two layers of plastic, which uses the sun's energy to grow fresh produce year-round. The Highland Park Hoop House will provide fresh greens to local residents and the DRMM's Cornerstone Bistro, while also serving as part of a new leadership training center for local kids. Highland Park Mayor Hubert Yopp and youth participants from the local Green Energy Leadership Training (GELT) program will dedicate the structure and garden at 3 p.m.

"They've gone out and flyered and pounded the pavement to get people out and talk to them about this program that's coming into the neighborhood," Gillian Ream of the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office says of the GELT team.  "It's definitely an exciting opportunity for the GELT program and Distributed Power LLC. They just bought this house in Highland Park not too long ago, and they've been running this training program for local youth. I think they're doing a great job of engaging the community."

Members of Ream's office staff, who helped coordinate the effort with the City of Highland Park, GELT, Distributed Power, Ann Arbor's Selma Cafe and the Michigan Coalition of Black Farmers, will be on the ground all day to help raise the hoop house by sundown.

"For us, it's a fun volunteer day," Ream says. "Our organization and all the other organizations that are involved are all about regionalism. It's great to see all these different people coming together to support this neighborhood's effort. We're excited to go out and get our hands dirty."

The Highland Park Hoop House will be constructed on Sunday, June 26, at Distributed Power, which is located at 117 Candler Street in Highland Park. The project begins at 9 a.m.

For more information on GELT, click here.

The Neighborhood Service Organization, known as NSO, breaks ground today on a renovation of the historic Bell Building, located at 882 Oakman near Focus:HOPE, that will provide housing for formerly homeless adults in transition, as well as NSO corporate offices and support services.

The $50 million renovation will create 155 one-bedroom apartments in the 255,000 sq. ft. structure, as well as a health clinic for residents, sundry shop, fitness center, walk-out roof gardens, library, chapel, and more. Services for residents will all be under the Bell Building's roof -- life skills training, addiction treatment, mental health counseling and case management. They found the building through Focus:HOPE's Debbie Fisher, and decided the location would help spur community redevelopment in the area.

"We serve a very large homeless population, and our philosophy is, the way you end homelessness, is you house them," says NSO President and CEO Sheilah P. Clay. "We wanted our project to be part of a revitalization effort, and really feel like we were going to help a community, but the number one goal was to end homelessness."

In addition to caring for the homeless, NSO also provides gambling treatment, addiction treatment, elder adult services, suicide prevention hotlines and youth anti-violence programming throughout Southeast Michigan. Those programs will be housed at the new headquarters in the Bell Building.

NSO has raised $40 of the $50 million needed to complete the project through equity financing, tax credits, loans and grants; and continues to seek funding. Current partners include MSHDA, the City of Detroit, Wayne County, The Kresge Foundation, the McGregor Fund, The National Trust Community Investment Corporation, Bank of America, Corporation for Supportive Housing, Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Opportunity Resource Fund.

Source: Sheilah P. Clay, NSO President and CEO
Writer: Ashley C. Woods

Cornerstone Bistro, Highland Park's only sit-down non-fast food restaurant, celebrated its grand re-opening Thursday with an updated menu and new dinner hours for guests.

The restaurant is the "cornerstone" of a culinary apprenticeship program run by the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries and Wayne County Community College, which helps DRMM clients receive on-the-job training and a culinary arts associate degree.

"They've been able to come out of the program," DRMM's Karen Love says of clients who receive DRMM's services, "and the great thing for them, is that they have on their resume, 'I have a certificate in culinary arts.' And that helps them tremendously, and it's a huge self-esteem boost for them. And it makes us very happy, because it shows us that it's a program that works."

DRMM serves 3500 meals a day to the city's less fortunate, but Cornerstone offers visitors a different sort of atmosphere than what they might expect.

"We consider it a fine dining restaurant, with Coney Island prices on the menu. The decor is beautiful, and you would never think that you were in a restaurant in Highland Park. Once you come inside, the ambiance itself is very warm and gracious," Love says.

Cornerstone used to only serve lunch, but community demand has led to extended hours. They're now open Monday thru Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with Sunday hours upon request.

Special occasions can be booked in Mitch's Room, named for columnist and avid DRMM supporter Mitch Albom.

And as for the new menu, Ms. Love recommends the smoked salmon salad.

The Cornerstone Bistro is located at 13130 Woodward at Winona in Highland Park, in the lower level of the Don DeVos housing complex. Click here or call 313-305-5555 for more information.

Source: Karen Love, Vice President of Public Relations, Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries
Writer: Ashley C. Woods

Detroit got some national love in the past week -- and not just just in the media. Living Cities, a collaborative of 22 of the world's largest
foundations and financial institutions, has selected Detroit as one of five cities for its new Integration Initiative and Mayor Dave Bing has been named as a 2010-2011 fellow for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use.

Let's begin with the money. The Integration Initiative will provide $2.75 million dollars in grants, $4 million in investments and $15 million in loans to support the Woodward Corridor. The project has four goals: to create a new framework for solving complex problems such as unemployment and vacant land; to challenge obsolete conventional wisdom based on outdated assumptions; to drive private markets to work on behalf of low-income and under-served people; and ultimately, create a "new normal" in which systems and practices work more effectively on behalf of urban residents.

The program works across traditional boundaries with involvement from the philanthropic, non-profit and business communities. It's all the heavy hitters at the table --  a partial list of Living Cities members include Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

Yeah, that's some big bats.

The commercial loans can be used for acquisition of land and property, construction and preservation of affordable housing and development of mixed-use facilities. The funds also will provide working capital and real estate loans to businesses. "These funds will induce private investment and find ways to leverage additional private sector money," says Robin Boyle, chair of Wayne State University's Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Money will also finance charter schools; create a community land trust; pay for a business development strategy that promotes "live local, buy local and hire local;" facilitate land-use planning and the streamlining of small-business services at the City of Detroit; and, via Data Driven Detroit, create a database of demographic information that can be easily accessed by the public. The University Cultural Center Association will coordinate the money with the Kresge Foundation and the Skillman Foundation.

This operational support is critical, says Boyle, who notes that this type of funding is often difficult for organizations and municipalities to obtain. "It's important for the city and important for Midtown," he says Boyle. "This is about hiring the people and setting up the systems necessary to get the Midtown area up and running and moving ahead."

The other four cities participating are Baltimore, Cleveland, Newark and the Twin Cities region of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

In complimentary news, Mayor Bing has been selected as one of four American mayors selected for a Daniel Rose Fellowship. The year-long program has a core curriculum of real estate market economics and creative public finance tools. The mayors' home turfs benefit from technical assistance provided by urban development and design leaders on a local land-use challenge.

Each mayor brings a team along for the Rose ride; Bing's includes Karla Henderson, group executive for Planning and Facilities for the City of Detroit, Marja Winters, deputy director of Planning and Development for the City of Detroit and Olga Stella, vice president of business development for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.

Stella says that the timing of the fellowship is perfect. "This is a real opportunity to get national real estate development experts into Detroit at a time that it is really pivotal," she says, hoping the end result is "some realistic short-term commercial revitalization opportunities while the city has embarked on this historic Detroit Works initiative."

Charlotte, Houston and Sacramento are the other three cities whose mayors and teams will be participating in the fellowship.

Sources: Robin Boyle, WSU and Olga Stella, DEGC
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Buildings and the streetscape of Metro Detroit's "main street" are being targeted by two grant programs administered by Woodward Avenue Action Association.

As a Detroit ONCR (Office of Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization) district, WA3 is able to provide matching facade improvement grants to Woodward-fronting businesses located between McNichols and Eight Mile. Two of the first to take advantage are La Dolce Vita, which is receiving $15,000 and chipping in that same amount towards exterior improvements, and Prime Medical, for which plans are being finalized.

Nicole Brown, WA3's outreach and promotions director, says that ONCR work has also led to an unprecedented collaboration of area stakeholders. "What you're seeing now hasn't really been seen in the last 30 years, the gathering of all these entities together," she says. "To the west, there is a tremendous amount of investment, while on the other side is a high level of disinvestment, so it's wonderful for us to be able to work with the business owners that are left."

Another grant program focuses on municipalities and nonprofits and is available along the entire stretch of Woodward from the Detroit River north to Pontiac. Grants will be awarded in the amounts of $5,000 to $15,000 for projects ranging from crosswalk and pedestrian accessibility improvements, district or community signage or wayfinding, historical identity elements, benches, bike racks and trash receptacles.

Brown says that a great example of a small but meaningful streetscape improvement is the trash cans that line Woodward in the New Center area. "There is significantly less trash along that part of the corridor."

The total $40,000 allocation was provided through Federal Highway National Scenic Byway funding. Applications are available here or by contacting WA3 executive director Heather Carmona at 248-288-2004. They will be accepted until Nov. 12.

Source: Nicole Brown, WA3
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh