Block by Block is a solutions journalism series that is supported by CEDAM, Michigan CDFI, and Invest Detroit, and is focused on community development leaders and initiatives in Michigan.
Asking timely questions and profiling innovative projects, the Block by Block series has been taking a look at minority-driven development in Detroit. And over the last year, it's covered a lot of ground.
This unique grant is aimed at elevating established local businesses to the next level. Here's what it's been doing in Detroit.
These four Detroit developers are sharing their perspectives on minority development in the Motor City.
A faith-based effort is underway to revitalize a West Side Detroit community. And the ambitious undertaking is enlisting residents to help plan the development and give the neighborhood its own name.
This sought-after program is helping Detroiters get the funds they need to make pressing repairs to their homes.
Placemaking and communty-oriented development can take a lot of different forms. Here are three minority-led Detroit development efforts that are putting community up front in their work.
The rising cost of building materials is pressuring minority developers and contractors in Detroit to become more resourceful than ever. Here's how they're responding to the situation.
Michigan is home to around 640 homeless veterans who face multiple barriers to getting assistance. Several federal and grant-funded housing options, available in Detroit, aim to change that statistic: "One thing I can tell to whoever will listen is to always keep hope alive.”
While an influx of higher-wage earners is creating a more prosperous Detroit, it also is leading to a shortage of multi-unit housing across the board, including housing for older adults, according to senior housing preservation leaders. "There is this older population that should be able to live in a revitalized urban community.”
In 2020, four affordable housing developments landed a total of $1.8 million in grants through the Affordable Housing Program, which will result in 318 units throughout the city. Previously, an AHP grant hadn’t been secured in Detroit since 2014: “This comeback and revitalization is for everybody.”
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