Black developer group proposes $134 million redevelopment of Fisher Body factory into apartments and retail
A development team is set to transform one of Detroit’s most visible dilapidated buildings into new housing and commercial space.
The estimated $134 million conversion of Fisher Body Plant #21 near the I-75/I-94 interchange, as currently envisioned, would create 433 apartments as well as retail space, commercial and coworking. The development is led by a pair of black business leaders, Gregory Jackson and Richard Hosey, as well as Kevin Lewand, the son of Mayor Mike Duggan’s former economic development lieutenant, F. Thomas Lewand.
It’s an ambitious vision, attempting to redevelop the sprawling, century-old city-owned property on Hastings Street in Harper, five blocks east of Woodward Avenue.
“Just as it’s hard to overstate the effect of this highly visible unaddressed Detroit challenge, it’s also hard to overstate the effect the successful redevelopment will have on Detroit’s momentum,” said Hosey, who directs Detroit-based Hosey Development LLC in a press release. “This transformative project will become a roadmap for the repurposing of industrial buildings around the city.”
The plant site has previously seen significant levels of contamination, Curbed Detroit reported in 2014, and it sits away from much of the city’s recent development activity. The press release says things like replacing soil and removing storage tanks have been completed to help prepare the site for redevelopment.
Nearby, Detroit-based developer and owner Christos Moisides owns the building at 601 Piquette. The former Ford Piquette factory is at 461 Piquette, while Piquette Square for Veterans, a 150-unit development by Southwest Solutions, is at 317 Piquette.
The Detroit City Council must approve the sale of the property. The proposed sale price is not yet known.
According to the plan, construction would start at the end of next year and be completed in 2025., although some initial work would begin next month.
The development team is committing $15 million in equity to the project, according to a city press release. Hosey said 90% of the $15 million came from black sources. Public funding for the project is expected to include the Neighborhood Enterprise Zone Act, Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act, Brownfields Incentives, Historic Federal Tax Credits and other layers, according to the release. . The development would also have to go through the community benefits ordinance process, which was recently debated by the Detroit City Council.
“This project is being made by the people of Detroit, for the people of Detroit,” said Jackson, who, along with his daughter Anika Jackson Odegbo, runs Jackson Asset Management. “This project is proof of the potential of Detroit, its spirit and its people. We are honored to become stewards of this forgotten piece of the city’s historic past and make it a key part of its future, bringing catalytic investment, quality housing and retail destination in this proud neighborhood.”
According to the city, in addition to the six-story building, the deal includes lots at 991 Harper and 666 Harper, which would be for parking. The development would also include 28,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, as well as 15,000 square feet of coworking space. Amenities envisioned include a quarter-mile walking track, indoor lounge, fitness center, dog areas and over 700 parking spaces for residents, shoppers and guests.
The city touts the redevelopment as one of the “largest black-led developers in (the) city’s history.”
The city says 20% of apartments in the Fisher Body factory will be reserved at rates considered affordable.
Housing affordability is a thorny issue in Detroit, in part because whether a home is considered affordable is measured by the area’s median income, a federally designated measure that takes income into account. households in suburban Detroit, which skews this figure upwards for low-income Detroiters. . In some cases, this makes even housing considered affordable on a strictly bureaucratic basis unaffordable for some of the city’s poorest residents.