Reinventing Detroit

A publicAtion of GreAt lAkes cApitAl fund Volume 20 | issue 3 | 2013

REINVENTING

DETROIT

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depArtments

CEO’s MEssaGE .........................................................5

Reinventing Detroit

adVERTIsER INdEx ....................................................46

feAtures

sTaRTING wITh dETROIT ............................................6

NO Easy way OuT ..................................................11

a baNkRupTCy faq .................................................16

wITh ChaNGE COMEs OppORTuNITy......................20

dEVElOpING ThE d ..................................................22

ThE NEIGhbORhOOd Of ChOICE ............................24

REVITalIzING palMER paRk .......................................26

bECausE IT’s dETROIT ..............................................30

ThE laNdsCapE .......................................................36

OppORTuNITy dETROIT .............................................38

d:hIVE dETROIT ........................................................42

24

6

40

26

Promises Made, Promises Kept.Syndicators and lenders will attest to our

rock solid reputation.

For more information, contact Krystal Covington248.833.0558

ceo’s messAGe

REINVENTING DETROIT

GOVERNING BOARDWendell Johns, ChairRetired

Michael J. Taylor, Secretary/TreasurerPNC Bank

James S. BernackiComerica Bank

Catherine A. CawthonFifth Third CDC

Derrick K. Collins Chicago State University

William C. PerkinsWisconsin Partnership for HousingDevelopment, Inc.

James W. StretzGeorge K. Baum & Company

Donald F. TuckerDon Tucker Consulting

Paul J. WeaverRetired

CORPORATE OFFICERSMark S. McDaniel, President & CEOChristopher C. Cox, CFOJames L. Logue III, COOJennifer A. Everhart, Executive Vice PresidentRick Laber, Executive Vice PresidentKevin Crawley, Executive Vice President

This magazine is published quarterly by the Great Lakes Capital Fund (GLCF) to provide readers with informa-tion on affordable housing and economic and commu-nity development resources. This publication is copy-righted. The reproduction of Avenues to Affordability is prohibited by law. For additional copies, comments, con-cerns or to be added to the mailing list, please contact the Great Lakes Capital Fund office at 517.482.8555 or visit www.capfund.net.

Editorial and AdvertisingMary McDaniel, CMP • Alternative Solutions, LLC 517.333.8217 • [email protected] DesignMelissa Travis • Ink Ideas Graphic Design, LLC989.272.3101 • www.inkideasgraphicdesign.com

Lansing Office1118 S. Washington AvenueLansing, MI 48910 Phone 517.482.8555Detroit Office1906 25th StreetDetroit, MI 48216 Phone 313.841.3751Indianapolis Office320 N. Meridian St., Suite 516Indianapolis, IN 46204 Phone 317.423.8880Madison Office2 E. Mifflin Street, Suite 101Madison, WI 53703 Phone 608.234.5291Tinely Park Office18450 Crossing Drive, Suite CTinley Park, IL 60487

BY MARK MCDANIEL, CEO/PRESIDENTGREAT LAKES CAPITAL FUND

5

“Detroit” has come to mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people and they are all correct, the good and the bad. The severity of Detroit’s financial situation, history of racial conflict and overall distrust and instability within its government can-not be denied. What was once a bustling metropolis full of opportunity is now broken, and has been straining under the burdens and poor governing of its past for many years now. Detroit’s challenges are significant but not entirely unique, and if anything is going to improve we must join forces and take responsibility. This sense of responsibility and inspiration that has come from this City in recent years and months is astounding. From business leaders like Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans, to passionate residents like John George, the founder of Motor City Blight Bust-ers and countless volunteers, we are seeing people from all backgrounds stepping up. The goal is to not just save their City, but to reinvent it and make it better than it ever was. Out of crisis comes opportunity and the chance to create something new, welcome diversity and think outside of the box. It is in times like these that innovative and pas-sionate people come forward and great things are born. We are seeing the rebirth of this City all over; with new families settling all over, community-based organizations like People for Palmer Park working to preserve and beautify a historic Detroit park, entrepreneurs getting their ideas off the ground with help of programs through D:hive and TechTown and a bustling downtown with entertainment to satisfy anyone. Detroit is a City with a rich and valuable culture that needs to be celebrated and protected. This is the City that Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder called home, where Techno was born and the home to the second largest theatre district in the United States behind New York City. There’s a reason why the very first paved road in the world was in Detroit, Michigan and there’s a reason why innovators are flocking to this City once again. It is crucial to acknowledge both this City’s assets and weaknesses moving forward, especially during these uncertain times. We hope that you find this issue of Avenues to Affordability to be both educational and inspiring and that you walk away with a better understanding of Detroit’s history and the potential for its future. It is time to work together and move forward and Great Lakes Capital Fund is proud to do its part. We hope you will join us.

DETROIT

feAture

By Mary Molnar

sTaRTING wITh

JOhN GEORGE, fOuNdER Of MOTOR CITy blIGhT busTERs GIVING ME ThE TOuR

AVenues to AffordAbilitY 7

I was on my way to detroit to meet

John George, savior of a hurting world,

starting with detroit. until that day, I

had been to parties at the Museum of

Contemporary art detroit (MOCad)

visited the detroit Institute of art (dIa)

and danced at dally in the alley, but I

had never spent time on my own getting

to know detroit as a community. My

time spent in detroit had been limited

to my college years when I’d visit my

cousin who was studying architecture

at the university of detroit Mercy. Every

time, anxiety kicked in as soon as I

approached the city limits, echoes of

warnings that detroit is dangerous; that

one shouldn’t even get out of the car;

that one shouldn’t talk to anyone; that

one shouldn’t even go there.

but this time, I was venturing into

detroit to meet John George, founder

of Motor City blight busters. My focus

was to write about blight busters for this

magazine – blight busters and the work

they were accomplishing on behalf of

a city, falling, but not yet fallen; a city

John George is determined to redeem.

feAture

I arrived near my destination on Lahser Street unsure of what to expect and of how I’d even find John. He told me to meet him at Motor City Java House next to the Redford Theater. Approaching the theater, I saw “Motor City Blight Busters” in bold white letters across the back of a man’s black t-shirt. I walked up, hoping this was the man I was charged with meeting. “John George?” I asked. He pointed at me enthusiastically with a big smile on his face, “Mary!” And we were introduced. I went into Motor City Java House, ordered a cappuccino and introduced myself to John’s wife, Alicia, who owns the place. John was finishing a conversation outside. I was just noticing a photo of him and Alicia on their wedding day, displayed in a frame on the counter, when John walked in. We sat down at a table and talked briefly about the magazine. I explained that the goal of this issue of Avenues to Affordability is to educate our readers on the history and current financial situation in the City and to highlight positive happenings and the people contributing to Detroit’s revitalization. This grouping of people, I pointed out, included himself and Mo-tor City Blight Busters. Soon, John was ushering me through the coffee shop and point-ing out the hardwood floors that had been salvaged from one of the crack houses Blight Busters and its volunteers had demol-ished. Eventually, he showed me through a back door leading to

an open, roofless space. Here was room for summer art classes for kids in the community, part of the Artist Village program. Bright, colorful paintings by neighborhood children and resident artist, Chazz Miller covered the walls. Miller’s community mural initia-tive, Public Art Workz, was widespread and gaining traction. John explained that Miller’s trademark was the butterfly and I began seeing variations of it throughout the rest of our tour; it now serves in my mind as the unofficial tour guide and mascot of this neigh-borhood. This open space led to a garden with exposed beams, open to blue skies. It was lined with a blue picket fence and contained by the old walls of a building long gone, a shell which now created the perfect home for new growth. Coffee grounds from Java House fertilize the produce grown here. Bright yellow benches built with materials from demolished homes sat along the wall. Nothing was taken for granted here and everything had a purpose. Another roofless shell adjoined the garden, this one serving as a warehouse for donated materials. Beyond that was another space, with its roof still intact, an elevated stage and podium, rows of chairs, couches, sound system and spotlights, fashioning a place for a community to gather for everything from worship to concerts and open mic nights. Next, John led the way onto the street and toward the com-

pICTuREd: COMMuNITy GaRdENTOp RIGhT: “Old dETROIT”MIddlE RIGhT: “NEw dETROIT”bOTTOM RIGhT: bENCh MadE wITh RECyClEd MaTERIals fROM a hOME blIGhT busTERs dEMOlIshEd

ThE uNIVERsITy Of dETROIT sTadIuM hOsTEd ThE fIRsT bROadCasTEd ThaNksGIVING day fOOTball GaME IN 1934, spaRkING a NEw TRadITION.

munity garden, greeting everyone we passed with shouts of “Good morning! How are you?” When asked how he was in return, he responded, “It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining and I’m happy to be alive!” When one neighbor responded with a heavy sigh, John immediately asked what he could do to help. The community garden sat in the middle of an open once oc-cupied by abandoned buildings. These buildings served as havens for drug use, drug dealing and other dangerous activity. Seeing it now, it was impossible to imagine its sordid past. On this day, it was filled with colorfully painted raised beds overflowing with leafy greens and other vegetables. Children’s well-used play things were strewn along the path. And a fig tree was pointed out by John with great pride. In the lot outside the garden, one side sported lush green grass, newly planted trees in rows and a wall covered in colorful floral images, like all the walls I had seen previously. On the other side of the garden was an empty space of dirt and mulch and an aban-doned house still left standing. “This is what this entire space used to look like. This is the old Detroit,” John said, waving his hand toward the empty brown space and rotting skeleton of a home. Then, pointing toward the green space full of new life he told me, “This is the new Detroit.” Picking up trash on the street as we walked along, John led me next to a former Masonic Temple that he purchased for $1 fifteen years ago. The three-story building, now the Old Redford Resource Center, serves as headquarters for Mo-tor City Blight Busters and provides office space to TechTown Detroit, Michigan State University Extension Services and Chang-ing Lives and Staying Sober (C.L.A.S.S.). Here, the North-West community can attend support groups and educational classes for drug and alcohol addiction through C.L.A.S.S. and entrepreneurs and local businesses have a valuable resource through TechTown. Our tour came to a close and we parted ways. I decided to hang out before returning to Lansing, and sat at a table outside the Mo-tor City Java House. At first, I felt nervous sitting alone outside in an unfamiliar area, but the longer I sat there, the more at ease I felt. Passersby waved and smiled and I waved and smiled back. John George has helped create an entire community here and I was grateful to have been welcomed into it. Across the street I saw Sweet Potato Sensations, a bakery that specializes in everything sweet potato. As a girl born and raised in Georgia with a special place in my heart for sweet potato fries, there was no way I could pass this up before heading home. I began talking with a Sweet Potato Sensations employee and born-and-raised Detroiter. She started telling about when she saw The Lion King at the Masonic Temple and Little Shop of Horrors at Fox Theater, and how one of her favorite spots to go in Detroit is the Riverwalk where she can sit and relax and enjoy the view. When I asked her what her favorite thing about her hometown


10 GreAt lAkes cApitAl fund

is she replied, “The neighborhood. We’re very colorful,” she laughed, “and very friendly. People don’t realize how friendly people are here, even when things aren’t going well.” And after having only spent a couple of hours in the City that day, I knew exactly what she was talking about. For the first time that day I saw Detroit as a neighborhood and community, and not just a headline in the newspaper or a place you visit for a couple hours and turn right back around. I saw for the first time that this was a place where you could sit down with a cup of coffee by yourself and by the end of the day have made new friends. If you look for abandoned buildings, you’ll find plenty of them. If you look for crime, you’ll see it. If you look for disrepair, vacant storefronts and frustrated residents, then that’s what you’ll discover. But if you look for art, community gardens, neighbors helping one another and entrepreneurs of all ages living their dream...you’ll find it everywhere you go, thanks to people like John George and the people who have nev-er stopped believing that the phoenix will rise from the ashes.

For more inFormation about some oF the or-

ganizations and businesses mentioned in this

article:

• www.blightbustersdetroit.com motor city blight busters

• www.publicartworkz.tripod.com public art workz

• www.classprogram.org - c.l.a.s.s

• www.oldredFordcenter.com old redFord resource center

• www.techtowndetroit.org techtown detroit

• www.sweetpotatosensations.com sweet potato sensations

editor’s note: mary molnar has been an intern

with glcF. she recently became my assistant.

to enhance her knowledge as an intern, i as-

signed her to the coordination oF this publica-

tion. she did the research, secured the authors

and coordinated the Flow oF this issue. this was

quite an undertaking For her and i’m pleased

with the Final product. enjoy learning about the

“real” detroit. – mary mcdaniel, cmp, editor

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finAnce


Detroit is widely regarded as the poster child of urban decline that is the result of an array of economic and social factors in-

cluding globalization, de-industrialization, economic and racial segregation. In part, Detroit’s current difficulties result from a crisis of confidence in the city as a desir-able place to live, work and invest. Economic decline and population loss are only part of the story. Racial tensions have left an indelible mark on the city and the region of which it is a part. Issues re-lated to race have intertwined with long-term economic distress, leaving the city in a position that makes prospects for recovery extremely difficult. The parallel tracks of recession and race have both exacerbated

largely responsible for this rapid expan-sion. Auto manufacturing jobs generated relative prosperity and wage levels that al-lowed many of the workers to own homes and purchase the automobiles that they built. Detroit’s built environment was dom-inated by one and two family homes, typi-cally on small lots. The widespread avail-ability of private automobiles diminished the importance of the public transit system in the city. By the 1950s, streetcar and in-terurban lines disappeared, leaving only a dwindling number of public bus routes. Another publicly provided service that ar-guably has been undervalued in the Motor City is public education. With well-paying jobs available in the auto plants, even for those with minimal educational achieve-ment levels, there was less incentive to value and invest in education. The oil embargo of the early 1970s and its consequences for the domestic auto industry further accelerated the city’s de-cline. The number of jobs in the city fell by over half between 1970 and 2010, and the number of city residents in employment dropped by 43.5 percent over the same period. Unemployment has been in double digits during most of this period, kept in check only by the shrinking of the labor force. Residents with limited education and skills found it increasingly difficult to qual-ify for the dwindling number of jobs that were available. Population losses, often to nearby sub-urbs, and declining incomes took a toll on the city’s housing market. Residen-

and been exacerbated by Detroit’s political and governing culture.

GROwTh aNd lOss The history of Detroit in the 20th Cen-tury is comprised of three decades of rapid growth, followed by decades of decline (Figure 1). Detroit’s spectacular growth at the beginning of the 20th Century has had important consequences. Population increases were matched by public and pri-vate construction that vastly expanded the physical city: housing, industrial and com-mercial buildings, as well as public build-ings, streets, water and sewer lines. Today, much of Detroit’s built environment is now 80 to 110 years old. The growth of the auto industry was

fIGuRE 1 dETROIT pOpulaTION TRENds, 1890-2010

Source: uS Bureau of the cenSuS

NO EASY WAY OUTdetroit’s finAnciAl And GoVernAnce crisis

By Gary SandS, Wayne State UniverSity and laUra a. reeSe, MichiGan State UniverSity


finAnce

tial vacancies increased, as did mortgage and property tax foreclosures. The grow-ing supply of available housing (much of which was built in the 1910-30 period), found few buyers in the face of shrink-ing demand. Large areas on Detroit’s east and northwest sides became derelict and abandoned (Galster and Raleigh, 2012). Detroit’s foreclosure crisis can be attributed more to the decline in employment than to property speculation. The Great Reces-sion of 2008-09 added to these problems, in part by making housing opportunities in suburban areas more affordable.

RaCE Detroit has experienced significant changes in its demographic composition in the 20th Century. In the automobile industry’s early growth years, an ever in-creasing demand for labor was partly met by immigrants from abroad. In both 1920 and 1930, the US Census reported that over one-third of Detroiters were foreign born. During the Second World War, the labor needs of the defense industries were met by migrants, this time by blacks and

The disturbance, which was eventually quelled by federal troops after three days, left 34 dead and was America’s deadliest civil disturbance to date (Sugrue, 1996).Detroit suffered another major racial con-flict in 1967, which lasted for five days, resulted in 43 deaths and once again re-quired the intervention of federal troops. As in 1943, a variety of factors contributed to the violence: brutality against blacks by the largely white Detroit police force was a prominent motivation. The riot expanded white flight that had begun well before the 1967 riot/civil disturbance (Sugrue, 1996).

ThE COsT Of bORROwING Since the 1970s, there have been no major development projects in Detroit that have not benefited from some form of public subsidy (Hodge et al., 2013). The unsurprising result has been a collapse of Detroit’s municipal finances. The city intro-duced new taxes: a utility use tax in 1962, a municipal income tax in 1964 and a casino wagering tax in 1999. The additional rev-enue, however, have proven inadequate to meet the rising costs of city personnel and benefits. The City government has suffered a budget deficit in nine of the past eleven fiscal years. The cumulative deficit over this period is $800 million, much of which has been covered by long-term borrowing. Estimates of the City’s outstanding fi-nancial obligations are in the range of $18-$20 billion. This is equivalent to an average debt of about $28,500 for each Detroit resi-dent, in a city where the per capital annual income is just over $15,000. Over the past few decades, the response to these challenges by Detroit’s civic leader-ship has been ineffective. In a city plagued by internal conflict and controversy, what are in reality long-term chronic fiscal chal-lenges have been treated as short-term problems. When budget deficits are seen as temporary, officials can justify continued spending levels (or even increases). Under-funding retiree pensions and other benefits is a similarly unwise expedient. Funding

whites from the American South. By 1980, the city’s foreign born population had fallen below ten percent while African-Americans made up 76 percent of the total. The rapid growth of Detroit’s African-American population during the 1940s and 1950s occurred at a time when the city’s white population also continued to grow (Figure 2). Detroit’s white population peaked in 1950, declining by more than a million by 1980. The African-American population of Detroit, however, continued to grow, reaching a plateau of just under 800,000 in 1980. Since 2000, the number of black residents leaving Detroit has also increased. The expansion of Detroit’s African-American population led to competition and conflict with the majority white popu-lation, particularly over housing (Sugrue, 1996). Attempts to integrate the growing black population into white neighbor-hoods led to protests in 1925 and 1942. A major race riot in 1943 reflected increasing competition for housing and jobs between newly arrived African-Americans, white migrants from the South and ethnic whites.

Source: uS Bureau of the cenSuS

fIGuRE 2 CITy Of dETROIT RaCIal TRENds, 1920-2010


cash flow deficits with long-term borrow-ing is not a rational long term policy. It has been observed that Detroit has been fund-ing budget deficits with bonded debt since the Young administration, more than 30 years ago. Because Detroit’s chronic fiscal challenges are the result of deep structur-al changes in the regional economy, these misguided policies haves pushed the City into bankruptcy. Debt and long-term liabilities have ac-cumulated such that city government is now in a deep crisis. Detroit’s fiscal deterio-ration has played out over the six decades during which specific events and policy decisions have precipitated the decline. There is also an ongoing tale of poor mu-nicipal governance embedded throughout this tragic story. The political and civic cul-ture of Detroit and its metropolitan region bear a great deal of responsibility for failing to lead the city out of the ongoing chronic economic challenges as well as its current crisis.

REGIMEs aNd dETROIT The economic dislocations and history of racial segregation and distrust have had an enduring impact on the governance of the City of Detroit. Detroit’s long history of economic distress, racial discrimination and segregation, has prevented the forma-tion of a stable governing regime. Instead, policymaking and implementation has fractionalized into a number of temporary issue networks. A long-standing culture of distrust, both internally and externally, has worked against regime formation con-tributing to the city’s inability to address chronic challenges associated with long-term structural economic decline. Detroit’s problems are extreme, but they are not unique. Elements of this tale of de-industrialization, depopulation and (per-haps imminent) fiscal collapse are shared by many American communities. Cities from Boston to St. Louis have seen their traditional industrial base disappear. Many of the Rust Belt cities have experienced sig-nificant population losses. Riots and civil

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disturbances occurred in more than 30 American cities in the 1960s. The Hurri-cane Katrina-devastated neighborhoods in New Orleans rival the abandoned ones in Detroit. Detroit is the largest, but not the only city to have filed for bankruptcy. In the past, cities such as New York (1975) have faced similar deep fiscal chal-lenges; yet city leaders there were able to respond effectively to the circumstances and New York emerged from the crisis on solid footing. Yet, over the past five years, Detroit’s efforts to retrench and restructure have seemingly been to no avail. Will Detroit be able to recover from its current plight? Strong local government leadership was important, perhaps critical, in the city’s economic recovery from both the Panic of 1893 and the Great Depres-sion. But the real basis of lasting economic recovery from these earlier events has not been innovative local programs but rather the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs. There seems to be little reason to be-lieve that this post-recession period will be any different. The Great Recession of 2008-10 differs from these earlier episodes in several other respects. For Detroit, it did not represent an abrupt reversal of economic fortunes, as was the case in 1893 and 1933. In 2008 Detroit was already at the end of decades of economic and demographic decline. The Great Recession made matters worse for a city that had few resources left. While the national recovery from this economic disaster has been slow and uneven, it has been most robust in cities that entered the downturn with relatively healthy econo-mies (Brookings, 2013a). If Detroit could be brought back to 2007 economic condi-tions, the city would be struggling at, or near, the bottom of the economic ladder of most indicators. A second key difference between the historic recoveries and today is the signifi-cant changes in the racial composition of the city and its metropolitan area. In the 1893 and 1993 economic crises, Detroit’s population was larger than that of the

that have developed in Detroit are not suf-ficiently stable or resourced to counteract the internal and external distrust which is a part of Detroit’s civic culture. During the entire period of decline, whether the mayor was of Caucasian or Af-rican American decent, the long history of racial distrust, segregation, and discrimina-tion has shaped a culture where the coop-eration necessary for regimes to operate has been lacking. The potential for Detroit to emerge from near collapse ultimately rests on the region’s ability to transcend the ra-cial distrust so the players can come togeth-er to form a regime sufficiently strong so as to develop effective strategies, implement necessary reforms, and remove the barriers to redevelopment.

pOsT-baNkRupTCy dETROIT Will bankruptcy bring a recovery to De-troit? This seems unlikely. Municipal bank-ruptcy is, first and foremost, about deter-mining who will be repaid and how much they will receive. With total obligations in the neighborhood of $20 billion and tens of thousands of creditors and pensioners, it is impossible to predict the final outcome with certainty. Some of the City’s debts will be restructured (repaid over a longer term at a lower interest rate), some (perhaps re-tiree health care costs) will be shifted to others and some will simply be defaulted. The bankruptcy settlement will impact future municipal operations, setting the pa-rameters of available resources. A number of public services may be eliminated; oth-ers privatized or subjected to new or higher user fees. Some services may be shifted to other public agencies. Regionalization may be an option for some services but there is only limited precedent for this in met-ropolitan Detroit. Restructuring the City of Detroit’s operations may provide a new definition of essential public services. In time, bankruptcy may help to create some measure of investor confidence in the City. It will not, however, address the fun-damental realities faced by a city that has few jobs and a work force that is often lack-

metropolitan area. In 1930, Detroit was predominantly (90 percent) white, while the suburban population was 95 percent white. By 1970, Detroit contained about 38 percent of the total population and more than 87 percent of African-Americans. Since then, suburbanization of both blacks and whites has increased so that, in 2010, Detroit included just over 18 percent of the total metro area population but 60 percent of the area’s African-Americans. These demographic shifts have placed Detroit at a considerable disadvantage, both economically and politically (Or-field, 1999; Sauerzopf, 1999). Many sub-urbanites consider dealing with Detroit’s problems to be Detroit’s problem. Whether motivated by racism, parochial concerns (suburban communities have also lost jobs and tax base), the general dislike for taxes and government programs, or sim-ply recognition that Detroit is no longer as important a part of the metro area or the state, there is wide-spread indifference to Detroit’s current plight. A third important factor is the decade’s long pattern of sprawling development. Not just population but employment has moved further from the city. A recent study by Brookings Institute (2013b) found that more than three-quarters of Detroit area jobs were located ten or more miles from the city center, one of the highest inci-dences of job sprawl among the 100 larg-est metro areas. Moreover, almost half of the remote jobs are concentrated in high density clusters, providing an alternative to the Detroit CBD (Brookings, 2013b). For many suburbanites, Detroit has become ir-relevant to their daily lives. The comparison made earlier to New Orleans is pertinent here. Burns and Thom-as note that New Orleans is a “non-regime city:” “The lack of a regime, which predates the Katrina crisis, explains many failures that surround governmental reaction to this hurricane” (2006: 517). If one were to substitute “Detroit” for New Orleans” and “financial” for “Katrina” the statement would be just as true. The policy networks

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ing in basic skills, let alone the ones neces-sary to succeed in the new economy. Even if new firms can be attracted to the city by cheap land and other incentives, they may provide limited direct benefits to Detroit residents. Bringing new jobs to Detroit is not the same as bringing new jobs to De-troiters. It is expected that it will be at least two years, perhaps longer, before Detroit emerges from bankruptcy. Will Detroit, as it goes forward, find a benign path to re-covery, one that offers lessons for other ag-ing Rust Belt cities? Or will the prevailing culture of racism/mistrust/antipathy that exists in Southeast Michigan trump the ef-forts to address the financial and political issues? However Detroit’s future plays out over the next decade, there is no assurance that the city that emerges will be better off than today. But it will most certainly be dif-ferent.

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1701

aNTOINE dE la MOThE CadIllaC EsTablIshEs a sETTlEMENT aT dETROIT.

1771 18251805

dETROIT Is ThE CENTER Of ThE GREaT lakEs fuR TRadE. NaTIVE aMERICaNs ExChaNGE pElTs aNd fuRs fOR EuROpEaN GOOds lIkE GuNs, COOkING uTENsIls, ClOTh aNd JEwElRy.

1827

whaT Is NOw kNOwN as “ThE GREaT fIRE Of 1805” alMOsT COMplETEly dEsTROys ThE CITy.

dETROIT ElECTs ITs fIRsT MayOR, JOhN R. wIllIaMs.

ThE ERIE CaNal Is COMplETEd. IT CONNECTs lakE ERIE wITh ThE hudsON RIVER NEaR albaNy, NEw yORk, MakING

TRaNspORTaTION Of pEOplE aNd GOOds aCROss NEw yORk sTaTE EasIER, fasTER aNd lEss ExpENsIVE.

ThE fIRsT waVE Of GERMaN IMMIGRaTION TO dETROIT bEGINs.

dETROIT adOpTs ITs CITy sEal aNd MOTTO: spERaMus MElIORa; REsuRGET CINERIbus. IT MEaNs, “wE hOpE fOR bETTER days; IT shall RIsE fROM ThE ashEs.” IT COMMEMORaTEs ThE fIRE Of 1805.

If yOu’RE a CONTRaCTOR wITh ThE CITy, whaT CaN yOu ExpECT? wIll yOu GET paId? hOw shOuld yOu CONduCT yOuR busINEss? In Chapter 9, municipalities have the power to assume or re-ject contracts or leases. If a contract is rejected, it is treated as a pre-bankruptcy branch of contract, and gives rise to an unsecured claim. Last week, Emergency Manager Kevin Orr said ongoing con-tractor payments will be made on time or perhaps ahead of sched-ule during the bankruptcy process. The city plans to set up a hotline for contractors to call. But experts say there are increased risks of doing business with a city in bankruptcy. Agreements that ensure payment, like pre-payment or cash-on-delivery work, are recommended. Some vendors could find themselves in a high-speed workout process with the city as it works to shed debt. If the city doesn’t keep up with payments, creditors will evaluate whether or not they would be required to continue to provide services under those cir-cumstances.

For contractors with a unionized workforce, cities in bankrupt-cies are permitted, subject to an order of court, to reject collective bargaining agreements.

Is ThERE aNy ChaNGE IN hOw pEOplE OR busINEssEs pay TaxEs? There is no change in tax collection, either property or income tax.

whaT happENs NExT? Already there is a flurry of lawsuits to block the bankruptcy, but experts mostly consider those to be moot. The procedural details in a complicated bankruptcy are the next steps. Filed last week with the petition were creditor lists and thousands of supporting documents for Detroit’s Chapter 9 case. Alice Batchelder, chief judge of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, appointed U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes as the judge for the case late Friday; Rhodes must approve the peti-tion.

chApter 9 And Verse

A BANkRUPTCY FAQ


1830 1833

IRIsh IMMIGRaTION TO dETROIT bEGINs. ThEy sETTlE wEsT Of wOOdwaRd aVENuE IN a NEIGhbORhOOd ThEy Call CORkTOwN.

dETROIT’s fIRsT RaCE RIOT OCCuRs afTER dETROIT’s blaCk CITIzENs hElp ThE blaCkbuRNs, a fuGITIVE slaVE COuplE, EsCapE TO CaNada. ThIs EVENT sTaRTs ThE aNTI-slaVERy MOVEMENT IN dETROIT.

1836

MIChIGaN’s fIRsT blaCk CONGREGaTION, dETROIT’s sECONd bapTIsT ChuRCh, was EsTablIshEd. ThE ChuRCh wOuld bECOME a VITal sTaTION ON ThE uNdERGROuNd RaIlROad aNd wOuld hOusE aN EsTIMaTEd 5,000 fuGITIVEs OVER ThE NExT 30 yEaRs.

MIChIGaN bECOMEs ThE 26Th sTaTE Of ThE uNITEd sTaTEs Of aMERICa. dETROIT Is ITs fIRsT CapITal.

dETROIT aNTI-slaVERy sOCIETy Is CREaTEd. IT plays a bIG ROlE IN dETROIT’s

uNdERGROuNd RaIlROad OpERaTIONs.

1837 1840

wIllIaM laMbERT hElps TO OpERaTE dETROIT’s uNdERGROuNd RaIlROad wITh sR. JOsEph fERGusON, wIllIaM wEb aNd OThER abOlITIONIsTs. OVER 45,000 slaVEs pass ThROuGh dETROIT ON ThE way TO fREEdOM IN CaNada OVER a ThIRTy yEaR pERIOd.

On practical matters, city services will continue as usual and city employees will be paid, Orr said last week. Then comes the line-by-line renegotiation of debt and the city’s finances via a reorganization plan. Orr said the goal is for the city to emerge from Chapter 9 in late summer or early fall of 2014.

whaT “TEsTs” dOEs ORR haVE TO MEET fOR a ChapTER 9 TO pROCEEd? whaT OThER appROVals aRE NEEdEd? There are five formal tests. The first four: the city has to be a municipality; it has to meet state law requirements for filing; it has to be insolvent; and it has to want to file a plan to adjust its debts. The fifth test requires municipalities to show that they have the agreement of creditors or that they have a good reason for not hav-ing it. In a letter to Gov. Rick Snyder and state Treasurer Andy Dil-lon asking permission to file Chapter 9, Orr argues that he has regained good faith with creditors willing to meet and that there are impediments to bargaining with others outside of bankruptcy

court. Creditors opposed to the filing will likely argue that Orr’s efforts don’t meet the “good faith” standard. Assuming the case proceeds, the reorganization plan itself must comply with the provisions of Chapter 9. Among those are obtain-ing any regulatory or electoral approval necessary to carry out any provision of the plan. An example would be sale or transfer assets. All fees paid in the case to consultants and legal teams must be disclosed and deemed “reasonable.”

hOw dOEs ThE CITy EVEN bEGIN TO wORk ThROuGh a baNkRupTCy CasE INVOlVING 100,000 CREdITORs? That’s what the legions of attorneys and consultants are for. Doug Bernstein, managing partner of Plunkett Cooney PC’s bank-ing, bankruptcy and creditor’s rights practice group in Bloomfield Hills, said private firms are often used in large bankruptcies to mail out notices to creditors or to set up websites for the bankruptcy.“It may be unique in Detroit, but it’s certainly not unique in New York or Delaware, “Bernstein said.

MaRTIN luThER kING JR. GaVE hIs “I haVE a dREaM” spEECh fOR ThE fIRsT

TIME IN dETROIT, TwO MONThs bEfORE hE dElIVEREd IT TO OVER 250,000 CIVIl

RIGhTs suppORTERs aT ThE lINCOlN MEMORIal IN washINGTON, d.C.

bAnkruptcY

1850

shIppING bECOMEs dETROIT’s bIGGEsT INdusTRy.

55-57 1870

ITalIaN aNd pOlIsh IMMIGRaNTs bEGIN TO aRRIVE IN dETROIT.

1877

dETROIT’s pOpulaTION Is 79,577. alMOsT half ThE pOpulaTION was bORN IN a dIffERENT COuNTRy.

ThE dETROIT OpERa hOusE OpENs ON CaMpus MaRTIus. ThE GROuNd flOOR Is ThE lOCaTION Of ThE fIRsT J.l. hudsON’s sTORE.

dETROIT COllEGE (NOw ThE uNIVERsITy Of dETROIT-MERCy) Is fOuNdEd by JEsuIT pRIEsTs.


18701848

ThE sTaTE CapITal MOVEs fROM dETROIT TO laNsING.

wIll dETROIT NEEd dEbTOR-IN-pOssEssION fINaNCING? In most large Chapter 11 bankruptcies, companies are able to fund ongoing operation through debtor-in-possession financing. Lenders are willing to make what are known as DIP loans because they are considered senior liens on the debtor’s assets. “But cities don’t liquidate, they operate,” said Matthew Wilkins, a partner who specializes in bankruptcy in the Birmingham firm of Brooks Wilkins Sharkey & Turco PLLC. DIP financing is generally unavailable in Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcies, though there is some leeway for judges to approve senior-debt financings after proceedings start.

whaT abOuT sEllING bONds? Counter-intuitively, Wilkins said, “the bankruptcy filing may actually make it easier for Detroit to raise money through bond sales.” How? Wilkins said most current debt will be wiped off the books at a very steep discount of pennies on the dollar. “the question is: Will there be a market then for bonds issued by the city of Detroit?” he said. “New creditors will have priority over old creditors, and with most of that debt off the books, the people who buy bonds might be willing to buy them.”

whaT RIpplE EffECT dOEs ThE baNkRupTCy haVE ON OThER MIChIGaN MuNICIpalITIEs aNd ON ThE sTaTE? On Wall Street, the bankruptcy could have consequences for the ability of other municipalities in Michigan, and the state it-self, to negotiate favorable borrowing rates for general obligation bonds. More will be known on the potential fallout as credit rating agencies file reports and analysts weigh in. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel are planning a trip to New York City to work to defend their counties’ AAA ratings.

CaN dETROIT ExpECT aId fROM ThE sTaTE? Amber McCann, press secretary for Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardsville, R-Monroe, said there has not been any dis-cussion about sending state financial assistance to Detroit as it moves through bankruptcy because the filing came sooner than anticipated. McCann said when the full Senate returns to Lansing in late Au-gust following the summer break, Detroit’s bankruptcy will surely be a major topic of discussion.

sources: crain’s research, jaFFe raitt heuer & weiss pc

dETROIT was ThE fIRsT CITy IN ThE uNITEd sTaTEs

TO assIGN INdIVIdual TElEphONE NuMbERs.

1880 1888

dETROIT’s pOpulaTION Is 116,342. IT Is a MulTICulTuRal CITy, wITh OVER 40 NaTIONalITIEs REpREsENTEd.

ThE dETROIT INsTITuTE Of aRTs OpENs as ThE dETROIT MusEuM Of aRT ON JEffERsON aVENuE.

1896

ThE lasT hORsE-dRawN sTREET CaRs aRE REplaCEd by ElECTRIC TROllEys.

RaNsOM E. Olds OpENs dETROIT’s fIRsT auTOMObIlE MaNufaCTuRING plaNT ON EasT JEffERsON NEaR bEllE IslE.

1899


1879

dETROIT puRChasEs bEllE IslE, a 985 aCRE IslaNd ON ThE dETROIT RIVER, fROM ThE CaMpau faMIly fOR $200,000. IT bECOMEs a publIC paRk.

opportunitY

1908

hENRy fORd INTROduCEs ThE MOdEl T. IT was ThE fIRsT Mass-pROduCEd CaR ThaT was GENERally affORdablE.

1917 1923

July - ThE fIRsT waVE Of “ThE GREaT MIGRaTION” Of afRICaN aMERICaNs fROM ThE RuRal sOuTh TO

ThE NORThERN INdusTRIal CITIEs Is IN full swING: afRICaN aMERICaNs aRRIVE IN dETROIT aT ThE RaTE Of ONE ThOusaNd pER MONTh ThROuGhOuT ThE REsT Of ThE suMMER.

ThE MIChIGaN lEGIslaTuRE ENaCTs ThE “buRNs aCT” pROhIbITING “publIC GaThERINGs Of MaskEd MEN.” ThE law Is CaREfully dRafTEd TO apply alMOsT ExClusIVEly TO ku klux klaN aCTIVITy.

MayOR JOhN sMITh fORMs ThE MayOR’s

INTERRaCIal COMMIssION IN REspONsE TO a NuMbER Of VIOlENT RaCIal ClashEs ThROuGhOuT 1925.


19261900

dETROIT pOpulaTION: 285,704. NEaRly 12% dON’T spEak ENGlIsh, ThE hIGhEsT IN ThE u.s.

wORld’s laRGEsT MaNufaCTuRER Of hEaTING aNd COOkING sTOVEs. OThER bIG INdusTRIEs INCludE shIp buIldING, CIGaRs aNd TObaCCO, phaRMaCEuTICals, bEER, RaIl CaRs, aNd fOuNdRy aNd MaChINE shOp pROduCTs.

With chAnGe comes

OPPORTUNITYBy tiM thorland, SoUthWeSt hoUSinG SolUtionS

R ecently, the question I am asked most often is: “How

does Detroit’s bankruptcy affect your business?” My

abbreviated reply is also an ambiguous one: “It does

and it doesn’t.” To unpack this answer, it’s helpful to

examine five specific aspects of our business.

1. Day-to-day operations at Southwest Housing Solutions are

not affected by the City’s bankruptcy. We work with the playbook

we’ve been given. It’s often said that it’s difficult to do business in De-

troit. However, the reality is more complicated. Some things are easy,

some things are hard. This was true before bankruptcy and it’s still

true now. Long term, we expect that things will be less complicated.

2. The bankruptcy process is not only an opportunity to re-

establish the City’s financial viability; it is also an opportunity for

the City to streamline a host of operational functions, and this may

better facilitate our ability to do business. Nonetheless, success for

our company and neighborhood has always required perseverance

and tenacity – and this won’t change.

3. Demand for our work or services continue to increase. This

is due in part to reduced capacity in the community development

industry as a whole; and in part to a renewed focus on place-based

revitalization strategies that community organizations, like South-

west Housing Solutions, help to marshal resources for the neigh-

borhood. These trends do not stem from the bankruptcy filing,

but they are related to financial practices and circumstances that

brought us to the point of bankruptcy. Obviously, 2008-2011 were

economically stressful years. Not just to Detroit, but almost every-

1938 19411930

dETROIT pOpulaTION:TOTal: 993,578, afRICaN aMERICaN: 120,000 (7.6%)

MIChIGaN Equal aCCOMMOdaTIONs aCT passEd INTO law.

dECEMbER 11: dETROIT faCTORIEs wIll shIfT fROM auTOMObIlE pROduCTION TO waR MaTERIals, EaRNING ThE CITy ThE MONIkER: “ThE aRsENal Of dEMOCRaCy.”

1943

JuNE 20: ThE blOOdIEsT RaCE RIOT IN dETROIT TO daTE ExplOdEs fROM aN INCIdENT ON bEllE IslE. ThIRTy-fOuR

pEOplE aRE kIllEd, 25 afRICaN-aMERICaNs, (17 Of whOM aRE kIllEd by ThE pOlICE) aNd 9 whITEs. huNdREds Of pEOplE, MOsTly afRICaN-aMERICaNs, wERE INJuREd.


1929

wITh ThE sTOCk MaRkET CRash, “ThE GREaT dEpREssION,” ThE wORsT ECONOMIC ClIMaTE Of ThE 20Th CENTuRy, bEGINs. dETROIT, NOw fIRMly aN auTOMOTIVE INdusTRy TOwN, Is paRTICulaRly haRd hIT.

where. The impact on

Detroit was exacer-

bated by its position

entering those tough

times. Now, South-

west Housing Solutions is trying to make up for four lost years

while, at the same time, positioning ourselves and our neighbor-

hood to be at the forefront of positive change. Our ability, as well

as similar organizations, to meet these demands requires increased

agility, creativity and risk tolerance. We have to be quick on our

feet.

4. Changes in the City’s service delivery systems will lead to

greater efficiency for our company and improved quality of life for

residents. Overall, change is still likely to move slowly, yet some

change is being made every day. Organizationally, our responsibil-

ity is to remain nimble and in-touch in order to benefit from every

opportunity. Our ability to be an effective resource in our com-

munity is directly tied to our ability to be a successful business.

Our ability to be a successful business requires use to help shape

our community. We have to be willing and able to engage others

and be engaged by others. Change may be as basic as ensuring

streetlights are working. Or it may be as complex as reassessing all

property and establishing equitable and reasonable property tax

rates. Change will affect us and change will be effected by us.

5. The ex-

tensive conversation

about Detroit’s bank-

ruptcy means that it

may eventually ben-

efit from further resources. As the City’s financial situation stabilizes,

these additional State, Federal and philanthropic resources offer

hope for neighborhoods and an opportunity for our business. To

ensure that this investment truly enhances the quality of life in our

community, a new level of creativity, concession and cooperation

among all players is necessary. Still, and sadly, how these resources

should be deployed will likely be a source of controversy, and build-

ing consensus could be difficult. Thankfully, residents and stake-

holders put a good deal of effort into creating the Detroit Future City

plan – a strategic framework document that we can employ to help

guide our resource advocacy.

Love it or hate it [bankruptcy], something had to change. With

change comes opportunity. With opportunity comes responsibility.

The salient question isn’t really “How does Detroit’s bankruptcy af-

fect your business?” but rather, “How can your business affect the

outcome of Detroit’s bankruptcy?” The result will be our result.

tim thorland is the executive director at southwest housing solutions.

he can be reached at [email protected].

deVelopment


1967

July 23-28: ThE TwElfTh sTREET RIOT, ONE Of ThE bIGGEsT IN u.s. hIsTORy, pITs INNER-CITy blaCk REsIdENTs aGaINsT pOlICE, ThEN NaTIONal GuaRd TROOps sENT IN by GOV. GEORGE ROMNEy aNd aRMy sOldIERs dEplOyEd by pREsIdENT lyNdON b. JOhNsON. IN fIVE days Of RIOTING, 43 pEOplE aRE kIllEd, 467 INJuREd, aNd MORE ThaN 7,200 aRREsTEd. sOME 2,000 buIldINGs aRE dEsTROyEd.

1959

bERRy GORdy fOuNds MOTOwN RECORds. wITh aRTIsTs lIkE ThE supREMEs, ThE TEMpTaTIONs, MaRVIN GayE, sTEVIE wONdER, aNd ThE JaCksON 5, MOTOwN has 120 sINGlEs hIT ThE TOp 20 IN ThE 1960s, aNd ChaNGEs ThE dIRECTION Of pOpulaR MusIC.

dETROIT’s pOpulaTION pEaks aT abOuT TwO MIllION.

1950

why dETROIT? I am not sure why but I have al-ways loved Detroit. I bought my first building in Detroit in 1983 when I was 23 years old. I love the City and I really love the people in Detroit. I have always told my kids that no mat-ter where I go in the United States or the World it always feels so good to

come home... There is nothing like the feeling in the ‘D’.

hOw dO yOu dECIdE whICh NEIGhbORhOOds TO dEVElOp? Definitely the architecture plays a role...I think some of the streets or areas that we have concentrated on like Seward Street, The Palmer Park area and the East Jefferson Corridor are some of the most beautiful areas of the City. Once they are redeveloped they will bring back a neighborhood that is equally as beautiful ar-chitecturally and as cosmopolitan as a block in Boston, New York or Washington DC. We also like the fringe neighborhoods - the ones that are just outside of areas that have a tremendous amount

of concentration by other developers, such as Midtown... those areas have had an amazing rebirth so I like to focus on the outlying neighborhoods to those areas. Hopefully 10 years from now New Center, Palmer Park and the East Jefferson corridor will be the next Midtown!

haVE ThERE bEEN aNy spECIfIC ChallENGEs yOu haVE faCEd bECausE Of ChOOsING dETROIT? The only challenges we have faced by choosing to develop in Detroit have come from investors, lenders, etc. We usually have to convince them that Detroit is a strong, good place for them to in-vest in. Working with the City itself has for the most part been ter-rific. It is nice to work in a community that wants to work together to make things better. I have found most of the people at the City and in the City want to help however they can to redevelop their neighborhoods and provide quality affordable housing.

whaT Is sOMEThING yOu wOuld lIkE TO say TO sOMEONE CONsIdERING dEVElOpING IN dETROIT? I had t-shirts made for my friends, employees and family that say “Be a Part of the Change You Want to See in Detroit” I would

DEVELOPING THE Dan interview with kathy makino-leipsitz, Founder oF shelborne development


1974 2009

dETROIT ElECTs COlEMaN yOuNG as ITs fIRsT blaCk MayOR. hE sERVEs uNTIl 1993.

2012

ChRyslER aNd GM dEClaRE baNkRupTCy.

dETROIT’s pOpulaTION Is 701,475

kEVyN ORR, a REsTRuCTuRING spECIalIsT appOINTEd by GOV. RICk sNydER as dETROIT EMERGENCy MaNaGER, TakEs OffICE.

July 18: dETROIT fIlEs fOR baNkRupTCy, MaRkING ThE laRGEsT MuNICIpal baNkRupTCy fIlING IN hIsTORy.

NOV. 12: bEllE IslE bECOMEs a sTaTE paRk.

resources consulted:

the week http://theweek.com/article/in-dex/247143/the-rise-and-Fall-oF-detroit-a-timeline

detroit historical society http://detroithistorical.org/learn/timeline-detroit

detroit aFrican-american history project http://www.daahp.wayne.edu/1900_1949.html

2013

say come to Detroit and be a part of the change...it is a very excit-ing and rewarding City to do business in.

Is ThERE aNy ONE ThING IN paRTICulaR ThaT has suRpRIsEd yOu sINCE sTaRTING yOuR wORk IN dETROIT? I think that one of the nice surprises is how happy people are when they see what you are doing and how supportive the community as a whole is. The residents, the business community, city officials and city employees all want to see good things happen.... It’s nice to know that people like what you are doing and are helpful when you run into stumbling blocks.

haVE yOu sEEN aNy ChaNGEs OVER ThE yEaRs IN whaT pEOplE waNT as faR as hOusING? Absolutely...I think today’s tenants are looking for safe, secure, energy efficient apartments. We know that people today have a tremendous amount of choices including sometimes purchasing a home with an equal payment as what rent would be. We want to create an apartment community with large units, walk in closets, granite kitchen and bath countertops, stainless steel appliances, hard wood floors, central air conditioning and if possible we love to have washers and dryers in each unit. This gives our residents most of the amenities of owning a home without having to maintain it. We are in the planning phase of a new concept for an apartment community near the riverfront geared toward singles and couples with smaller, hip, high end units creating a social environment with a roof top pool and theater and common gathering areas with happy hour atmospheres. We would love to make a place for

people to live that years from now they will remember as having some of the best times of their life when they lived in Detroit!

whaT has bEEN ThE MOsT REwaRdING ExpERIENCE fOR yOu? I think that when you finish a project and someone comes up and thanks you or gives you a hug for giving them a beautiful place to live... there is nothing better than that.

whaT Is yOuR ulTIMaTE dREaM fOR dETROIT? That Detroit continues its rebirth...That we concentrate on pub-lic safety, rebuilding our neighborhoods, that we grow our busi-ness community to provide jobs for Detroit’s residents, that young people move to the City, that we strengthen our middle class and schools and we show the world that Detroit is an amazing City to Live, Work and Play!

kathy is a board member oF the michigan housing council, the jeFFer-

son east business association, recovery park, and clinton house sup-

portive housing. For more inFormation about kathy and the work oF

shelborne development please visit www.shelbornedevelopment.com

pICTuREd: RENOVaTEd lObby aNd ExTERIOR Of sEVIllE apaRTMENTs IN palMER paRk

OppOsITE: kaThy MakINO-lEIpsITz aNd MaRk lEIpsITz, fOuNdERs Of shElbORNE dEVElOpMENT

communitY

W hile Detroit neighborhoods continue to face difficult and uncertain times, there are rea-sons to feel optimistic that change for the better is not only possible – it is happen-ing. A clear example of this positive trend

is the work of the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation (GRDC) in stabilizing the Grandmont Rosedale communities in northwest Detroit. Grandmont Rosedale is a cluster of five traditional neighbor-hoods first developed in the 1920s. These neighborhoods, char-acterized by historic quality homes, tree-lined streets and strong community-based organizations, have been among Detroit’s most stable communities for decades. While other areas of the city have steadily lost population and housing units, Grandmont Rose-dale has been able to maintain its position as a ‘Neighborhood of Choice,’ attracting new residents from both within and outside of the City of Detroit. As a consequence of the national foreclosure crisis and eco-nomic recession, however, the housing market in the Grandmont Rosedale area was also destabilized, resulting in historically high vacancy rates, a drop in both home prices and homeownership rates, and increasing blight. GRDC responded to this recent change in market conditions with a Community Stabilization Initiative designed to stabilize the local housing market and ensure the long-term viability of its neigh-borhoods. This initiative is a key component of a comprehensive, strategic approach to community development, including work in housing renovation, commercial revitalization, community safety, public space improvements, and neighborhood organizing. At the heart of the Community Stabilization Initiative is a pro-gram to acquire and renovate vacant and foreclosed properties and resell them to new homeowners. Since mid-2010, GRDC has ac-quired, renovated and sold almost 30 vacant houses. GRDC’s strategy is to generate good “comparable sales” which can be used to support private market activity. This has been crucial

to stabilizing values when fore-

closure sales and distressed properties still dominate recent activity. “Our strategy is really working,” stated GRDC Executive Direc-tor Tom Goddeeris. “Our houses are selling quickly and at high-er-than-average prices. More than half of our buyers are people moving into Detroit, which many people may find surprising. Homebuyers are recognizing the opportunity to get a beautiful home in a strong neighborhood at an incredible value.” GRDC’s home renovation efforts have attracted the support of the Kresge Foundation, Ford Foundation, Detroit LISC and the Detroit Development Fund. This fall, GRDC expects to begin renovation on nine additional units of vacant housing with the support of the City of Detroit’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP3). Other components of GRDC’s stabilization initiative include providing home repair grants and loans to low-income homeown-ers and actively combating blight through citizen action. A dy-namic Vacant Property Task Force comprised of neighborhood residents works diligently to monitor and maintain vacant homes and to advocate for selective demolition of dangerous buildings. The Grandmont Rosedale communities have been classified as “Traditional Neighborhoods” within the Detroit Future City stra-tegic framework plan unveiled earlier this year. As such, city plan-ning policy is well-aligned with GRDC’s own neighborhood strat-egy. In addition to strengthening Grandmont Rosedale’s historic housing stock, this strategy calls for revitalizing the area’s commer-cial core along Grand River, improving public safety and develop-ing a strong “sense of place”. This vision is reflected in “Quality of Life Plan” adopted by the community through a grass roots plan-ning process conducted in 2012. “We are optimistic about the future of our community,” contin-ued Goddeeris. “Our residents – both long-timers and new arrivals – are committed to doing what it takes to keep our neighborhoods strong and vibrant.”

For more inFormation about grdc and to view the Full text oF

the grandmont rosedale quality oF liFe plan, visit their web site at

www.grandmontrosedale.com.


communitY

From Family Farm to Community Park

Palmer ParkRevitalizing

1893: ThE VERy fIRsT fEMalE pOlICE OffICER IN ThE uNITEd sTaTEs was dETROITER MaRIE OwEN.

T ucked adjacent to Wood-ward Avenue, the main urban north-south artery of Detroit, between Six and Seven Mile

Roads, sits a spacious oasis of greenery and valuable historic woodlands. Known as Palmer Park for more than a century, the area is on the precipice of major revitaliza-tion to become, once again, one of Detroit’s most magnificent natural jewels. In the late 1800s, this place was the pri-vate domain of one of Detroit’s leading cou-ples, Senator Thomas Palmer and his wife Lizzie. Here they entertained at their coun-try retreat, an authentic log cabin overlook-ing Lake Francis and surrounded by their 640-acre farm, garden and ancient forest. The Palmers enjoyed taking dignitaries and politicians to the farm by horse cart from downtown Detroit for picnics and firework displays. When a senator visited, he was asked to plant a tree. A typical visit in-cluded showing off Palmer’s prized horses, offering visitors freshly pressed cider from the orchards, enjoying bonfires near the lake, singing, and enjoying nature. There was often political dialogue, as Palmer was an advocate for women’s suffrage and the arts. The Palmers were one of the founders of what is now known as the Detroit Insti-tute of Arts. In 1894, Palmer presented the City of Detroit with 120 acres of their beloved farm, which would soon grow to the cur-rent 296 acres we now know as Palmer Park. It was given with the stipulation that it be used as a pleasure park for the people of the City of Detroit and that none of the virgin forest should be wantonly destroyed. About three years ago, with the threat of park closings and budget cuts by the city, the People for Palmer Park (PFPP) arose from members of the community who love Palmer Park. This new Michigan nonprofit corporation, with its 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, has partnered with the City of De-troit Recreation and General Services De-partment through the City’s Adopt-a-Park -Program for the preservation, beautifica-tion and revitalization of Palmer Park —


pICTuREd: ThE hIsTORIC palMER paRk lOG CabIN, buIlT IN 1885 fOR sENaTOR ThOMas w. palMER aNd hIs wIfE.

abOVE: sTORy TIME IN ThE paRk ON a suNNy suMMER day

bOTTOM: kIds ENJOyING ThE NEw splash paRk

OppOsITE: TEN & uNdER palMER paRk TENNIs aCadEMy

PHOTOS TAKEN BY BArBArA BArEfiEld, © 2013


communitY

following Palmer’s legacy and mantra, “for the good of all.” Recognizing the long-term need for stabilization, PFPP formed to cre-ate a sustainable effort to revive Palmer Park. An important goal of this all-volunteer group is to make Palmer Park once again a destination site for healthy living and recreation, as well as a protected nature re-serve. In the short time that PFPP has ex-isted, the organization has mobilized com-munity volunteers and residents from the surrounding neighborhoods. Some of the accomplishments include: cleaning out the 12 miles of park’s forest trails making them bikable and walkable; planting apple or-chards in three locations; starting a Junior Tennis Academy for children; hosting free yoga classes; organizing weekly bike rides; bringing little league baseball back to the

park; organizing family Story Time events; sponsoring two Log Cabin Days, attracting masses to view the historic structure; or-ganizing its third annual historic architec-tural tour of the park and area apartment buildings; holding a Winter Festival that brought horse and carriage rides back to the Park; fall hay rides through the trails, and much more. In addition to planning special events and recreational activities, PFPP organizes regular cleanups of the park, as well as flower and tree plantings. The atmosphere in the park is clearly changing, and the community-city partner-ship is reflected in improved maintenance and increased usage of the park. This sum-mer, the Lear Corporation built a state-of-the-art Splash Pad to replace the defunct swimming pool. On opening day, Lear and PFPP sponsored a celebration with over

1200 people in attendance. Soon, adjacent to the Splash Pad, a new playscape will be built in partnership with the City of De-troit. In 2014, PFPP will revive the Palmer Park Art Fair and hopes to host a Green En-ergy Fair. Additional goals that need fund-ing include: developing an urban farm/community garden space, revitalizing the historic Palmer Park Log Cabin, resurfac-ing the tennis courts, maintaining the 700 apple trees in our orchards, opening bath-rooms, providing a safe walking and biking path around the park perimeter, restoring and expanding trails, adding nature and historic markers, kiosks, signage, security and lighting through the park and more. People for Palmer Park seeks partner-ships with other organizations, businesses and individuals to help us continue to im-

INdIVIduals paRTICIpaTING IN fREE suMMER yOGa ClassEsPHOTO TAKEN BY BArBArA BArEfiEld, © 2013


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prove and beautify this urban park “for the good of all” and to create more opportuni-ties for the community to benefit from this irreplaceable natural resource and impor-tant hub for healthy living. How you can help:

• Visit the website peopleforpalmer-park.org to join our email list and for all park info

• Become a member of People for Palmer Park (see website for details)

• Join our Facebook page to receive updates about all the PFPP activities and events

• Come to Palmer Park!

jointly submitted by barbara bareField, pFpp

board member & events chair & rochelle lento,

pFpp board president.

Mitchell Milner and Joseph Caringella congratulate Great Lakes Capital Fund for its commitment to the development of housing for homeless veterans.

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destinAtion

Several months ago my wife and I decided to relocate from Wash-ington, DC to Detroit. Before our move, as we shared our decision

with our community of friends and col-leagues, mostly consultants like us or safely nestled career FEDS, the general question was “Why Detroit?!” Our response; “Be-cause, it’s Detroit.” We arrived here five and a half weeks ago. Over the last 20 years work and school has afforded me the opportunity to live in Boston, New York City, Pittsburgh, Los An-geles, and Washington, DC. Each of these moves has been to start some new and ex-

citing project – whether to Pittsburgh to earn a master’s degree from Carnegie Mel-lon University, to New York City to partici-pate in the first ever e-commerce efforts of the luxury foods emporium, Dean & De-Luca, or to Los Angeles to be the business manager for a prime-time television star. I’ve done some pretty cool stuff. But the most exciting adventure in this twenty-year run has been my move to Detroit. Soon after relocating from LA to DC to join my then fiancée, where she had landed after grad school, we agreed that Washington was going to be a parking spot for us while we figured out the place we

would ultimately call our home. I’m an East Coaster by birth, so for me, the only ‘real’ cities were New York, Boston, Chicago and maybe LA, because the film industry is pretty sexy and if you’re lucky, pays re-ally well. My wife, a Midwesterner by birth, was all for Chicago – New York would be a stretch for her and LA was too far, Bos-ton was pretty, but… etc. We couldn’t quite find something that was going to accom-modate our chosen lifestyle as urban entre-preneurs who find significant importance in work/life balance. Over the winter holidays, while visit-ing my wife’s parents in Michigan, just

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outside of Ann Arbor, after, in fact ruling out Ann Arbor, I recalled having read an article about a restaurant in Detroit in GQ a few years back. I asked my wife how far we were from the city. For me, with my background, nothing could be less interest-ing than visiting an old, rusty, out-of-date manufacturing town that I knew nothing about – but I was looking for a distraction from the holiday ‘family stuff’, and if GQ had signaled the place out as worthwhile, maybe it was worth a look. Besides in a re-cent, rather patriotic moment, I had sold my Acura and replaced it with a Chrysler 200 – I thought it might not be bad to see the city from where my car was imported. My wife confessed, despite having grown up about forty miles away, that she had experienced little of the city save its famed Fox Theatre – she said “basically when I was growing up, you went in and you went out. You didn’t stay.” We agreed to go on that Friday as it would coincide with an event my sister-in-law thought I would find professionally intriguing. As we drove down Interstate 94 from Ann Arbor, I was surprised when near-ing the city limits to see a real skyline. I turned to my wife and said, “it’s a city!” She smiled and reminded me that far more than luxury food and television stars, there was a whole world of people doing things that required skyscrapers – even in Detroit. She began to share some of its rather fas-cinating history and as I listened I began to finally understand her feelings of con-nection to our Chrysler. Her grandmother had moved from Pennsylvania to Detroit and been a “Riviter” during World War II. Upon his return from the war, her grandfa-ther joined Chrysler too… their work in a factory in Detroit had lain the foundation for my wife to have earned a top tier gradu-ate education and participate in the life that we now shared. Listening, with the city as the backdrop, I thought to myself this is re-ally what America is about. As we drove, I was surprised both by how urban the place felt and yet how empty. It felt wide – like there was room for more than what was

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destinAtion

there. She explained to me that Detroit, in its heyday, had been home to more than 2,000,000 people but now housed about 700,000. Despite myself, the New Yorker in me thought ‘wow, cheap real estate!’ The businessman in me thought: doesn’t that mean opportunity? We had timed our visit to experience a brown bag lunch at one of the incubators, The Green Garage. While there, I listened to entrepreneurs talk about their various busi-ness efforts, from self-publishing services to public advocacy, from medical devices and furniture manufacturing to organic grocery delivery services… all the sorts of widgets one would expect to find domiciled in a vi-brant and sophisticated city – this place felt more like San Francisco than it did the Mid-west. I was curious to learn more. Interestingly, not one of the business owners discussed or mentioned the fund raising process: they were all producing

something and selling it. Of equal inter-est was their shared focus on the produc-tion of widgets that were relevant to their immediate community. As a consultant and coach specialized in helping businesses de-sign and organize infrastructure to support their brands, I was transfixed – here was a community of creative professionals build-ing businesses and creating opportunities for themselves – together. This was not the group of quasi-entrepreneurs I have experi-enced in the past whose primary output is a pitch for investment – this was a group of do-ers, making business happen in a challenged economy, in what is arguably amongst the most challenged of cities in our nation. And they were all smiling. Did they have a secret? If so, I wanted to find it out. We left the Green Garage and spent the afternoon touring the city and consciously meeting retail business owners and res-taurateurs. Even with the December cold,

everyone we spoke with was warm, inter-ested, and in spite of the busy-ness of the holiday, took the time to listen and seem-ingly be interested in learning about the purpose of our trip. Unlike in other cities I have explored, there was genuine excite-ment about the possibility of something, or someone new joining in the community. Even more unusual was what seemed to be a genuine desire to help. We left Detroit with a box of fresh tamales from Mexican Town and stories we had no way of know-ing we would soon share. Upon return to DC my wife and I were both perplexed and excited: Detroit had not been on our radar, but it seemed to have many of the things we were looking for – an urban environment, creative pro-fessionals, entrepreneurial spirit, sophis-tication, old world elegance and genuine civic pride. Put simply, such a winning combination of attributes had never been presented to either of us in any of our ini-tial prospects– there was always some sac-rifice. But Detroit posed none that we could find. While not hooked, per se, we were nonetheless intrigued and agreed we would make a return visit. We did that in March, with the inten-tion of snooping around, checking out the restaurants and jazz bars, listening in on another brown bag and interviewing locals for their feelings of safety (given Detroit’s reputation) and community (also given Detroit’s reputation.) The first surprise was the hotel… shortly after arrival we asked ourselves when do clerks in a Downtown/Commuter City in a chain hotel actually smile at you and recall your name? Next surprise – the following day: despite it being four months since our initial visit, everyone we met in December recalled us, our work, and our expressed interest in moving to Detroit. They asked: How is business? Have you checked out this place yet? They’re renovating this space, it’s beau-tiful, you should go see it… I have a friend doing this business, you two should meet – let me see if they’re free, and so on. Final surprise: we had the opportunity for a last

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having seen such a gorgeous place being so near to what we have been looking for, and for the right price. And then, without having spoken to any of my clients or my wife’s em-ployer, without having spent more than one full day in the city, without doing a proper risk analysis or knowing what we were re-ally getting ourselves into, we called the landlord and committed to the first and only space we had seen in Detroit. We agreed to make it our home. Because it’s Detroit. Four months later we have been here for just over five weeks. The city has just de-clared bankruptcy and has made interna-tional headlines – both good and bad. There is a lot of discussion about what to do and how it can happen and there is lots of discus-sion about who is at fault and query about what’s next. For native Detroiters there is consternation about politics. But for me, the expatriate from all of these other, fabulous places, I feel at home for the first time in years, amidst what I am experiencing as a calm, civil, elegant and proud place where people work hard, think good thoughts and talk about ways to improve this creative city that I believe has begun its next renaissance. They seem to take pride in just about ev-erything they create and get excited by the work of others. On several occasions I have been told, “Detroit needs more people like you.” This is a far cry from the attitude of the glitterati I spent the better part of fifteen years associating with where, I assure you, it was quite the opposite. Though I have been here only five full weeks, it is because of my experience thus far that my suspicions have been confirmed: this is a place where the new America can thrive. The despondency that is referenced and reinforced in the media seems not to be present as the stranger that walks beside you on the street nods and smiles. The blight that is so frequently being highlighted for its sad, poetic beauty seems not to be the focus of the many creative people who are loving-ly restoring houses and commercial build-ings to their former glory, creating homes and businesses that inspire others to do the same. The year round downtown farmer’s

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minute viewing of a space in Midtown, in an historic hotel that had been converted to condos and apartments, located directly across the street from the Detroit Institute for Art and the Central Library. We viewed the space. After seeing it and leaving we immediately asked to see

it again. Places that look and feel like this aren’t available anymore except in the back pages of the New York Times Magazine and we’re only in our 30’s and not investment bankers. We took a deep breath. We left and went around the corner for a drink to talk it over and calm the adrenaline from

destinAtion


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market, packed with thousands of people, seems not to be representative of the ‘food desert’ that is referenced when speaking of Detroit and the Midwest in general. And finally, the relative slowness of the place, I believe, has allowed for the loneliness now so prevalent in the major cities, not to be present here – people take the time to get to know you, and they seem to care. As a consultant who specializes in busi-ness development and organization health, what intrigues me most about the opportu-nities presented to entrepreneurs either in, or considering Detroit is that there is room not just for creativity, but for creative busi-nesses to grow in a healthful, sustainable manner. The barriers to entry here are not so complicated as in other places and the talent pool is vast and surprisingly sophis-ticated, hard working and refreshingly un-entitled. With inexpensive real estate and space to grow, creative professionals have time and reasonable amounts of resources presented to them such that they may grow organically and experience, with reduced pressure, the healthful stages of group pro-cess – forming, storming, norming, and performing. They can afford to make mis-takes and learn through their experiences what works for their new enterprises with-out the pressures of impossibly priced real estate – they can make neighbors rather than competitors and utilize them as ba-rometers for their own possibilities. Most importantly, they can walk down the street on their way to a home they can afford and be proud of. While doing so, they can take a deep breath after a stressful day and expe-rience a complete stranger smiling at them in acknowledgement – and somehow their day and all of the challenges and rewards of learning to build both a business and a life here becomes that much more worthwhile. Because it’s Detroit.

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THE


AGriculture

D etroit is going through a transition from being the au-tomobile capital of the world to becoming something new. Detroit is incredibly horizontal. Outside of the small core that makes up the downtown business dis-

trict there are very few buildings taller than two stories. The drop in population, from nearly 2 million people in 1950 to around 700,000 people and falling in 2013, has left vast vacant areas of unmanaged, publicly owned land and a market full of steady to declining structures. It’s the empty space that is often most stunning to visitors. Va-cant parcels are covered with scrub trees like paulownia and box elder. Reports in the media are true: Detroit has been poorly man-aged. Corruption and mismanagement has cost Detroit dearly. The city lacks funding for provision of basic services. Some vacant land has been un-mowed and unmanaged for years going on decades. Community residents and activists have cleared vacant parcels and established gardens in efforts to strengthen community iden-tity, improve access to agricultural produce, and even to attempt small scale economic development in areas where entire busi-ness districts have been boarded up or demolished. Still, given the dominance of publicly owned land in Detroit neighborhoods, something larger in scale is needed to replace blight with beauty and to resuscitate the city’s dwindling tax base. Five years ago, when the city’s portfolio of private land seques-tered through foreclosure reached somewhere around 30,000 acres, businessman and entrepreneur, John Hantz, pleaded with the city to avoid economic catastrophe by putting empty lots back

into the economy through a homesteading program. Every unman-aged, publicly owned parcel generates expense instead of revenue. Every un-mowed lot makes neighborhoods less attractive, lowers the property values of remaining residents, and increases the flow of residents from the city into the suburbs. Detroit leaders rejected Hantz’s homesteading proposal, which he offered to fund and manage, so he began exploring the idea of purchasing hundreds or thousands of acres from the city. He pro-posed purchasing the land and using agricultural production as a cost effective tool for making neighborhoods more livable. While the idea of giving land away to the residents did not win support from city leaders, the concept of receiving cash for the city’s liabili-ties, shifting property maintenance costs over to the private sec-tor, making neighborhoods safer and more attractive by removing brush and dangerous structures, and creating a new platform for economic development received a modest level of interest which proved adequate for jump-starting negotiations related to the sale of surplus property. It took four years of negotiations to develop an agreement between Hantz Farms and the city of Detroit. During that time steps had to be taken to develop and implement an agricultural ordinance which legalized commercial agriculture as a land use in Detroit. The city had to decide which square mile of the city’s 139 square mile landscape could be used as a starting point for testing the idea of a large scale farm within the urban center. The city had limited experience with selling land, so discussions on fair price in a distressed market took months to wade through. Hantz Farms

OpENEd TO ThE publIC IN 1884, bEllE IslE paRk Is sTIll ThE laRGEsT IslaNd paRk IN ThE NaTION.


management had to take care to select types of production that could both satisfy company expectations that the venture would at least break even over time, as well as the needs and expectations of neighbors who would live interspersed throughout the devel-opment area where the farm would be established. In December, 2012 Detroit city council approved the sale of approximately 150 acres of non-contiguous acres to Hantz Farms for the purpose of improving neighborhoods through the planting and management of mixed hardwoods. The agreement includes a provision which could allow expansion by 180 acres four years after implementa-tion of the agreement. The Hantz Farms venture was watched carefully by others who have interests in using larger scale agricultural production as a tool for economic development. Some businesses see this type of investment as a new and exciting avenue for philanthropy. Busi-ness owners have expressed interest in larger scale, concentrated investments backed by ongoing management plans which yield long range benefits and financial sustainability. Non-profits believe that larger scale farms can serve as a platform for job creation, and for improving city resident access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Still others are excited about the potential for a growing number of larger scale farms to serve as a supply chain for food process-ing and distribution ventures. A small group of bolder, innovative entrepreneurs are pursuing dreams of abandoned buildings being repurposed for the use of indoor growing systems capable of grow-ing any crop, year-round, to supply consumers with exotic goods like local coffee, local salt water shrimp, and tropical fruits. Along with addressing the primary interests of investors, well managed urban farms contribute to a more livable city with lower costs of urban services by reducing pressure on storm water sewer systems. Crops like mixed hardwoods have the potential to remove heavy metals from sites which have been contaminated through industrial and commercial uses in previous decades. Many of the costs and benefits of larger scale urban agriculture are yet to be discovered. There is no way to accurately forecast which specific ventures, or which types of agricultural production will prove successful over time in Detroit. Agriculture is a new sector, in a city which is undergoing a severe transition toward something new, and gov-erned by a zoning ordinance which emerged simultaneously with the city’s first large scale production venture. An unexpected rebound of the automobile industry as a job dynamo within Detroit’s economy could instantly shrink the city’s willingness to repurpose vacant land for farming. Any effort to build new automobile assembly plants in Detroit, along with new housing for a related expanding workforce, would receive a he-ro’s welcome from city officials and would redirect all discussions about economic development back toward Detroit’s familiar and comfortable past. Nobody who is from Detroit, or who has lived here for awhile, believes that this type of revival is likely or even

possible. Still, it is common to come across people who dream out loud about a return to days gone by. Urban agriculture is an important tool for reshaping Detroit’s neighborhoods. Businesses will always be willing to invest in De-troit’s downtown business district. The remaining 132 square miles of neighborhoods, hollowed out by outmigration have found a vi-able suitor in the form of residents, foundations, and businesses who are willing to invest in Detroit’s empty spaces. It should be emphasized that urban agriculture is a tool for economic develop-ment, not a cure. The tool has to be used to manage undervalued or underperforming resources such as surplus land. The cure has more to do with repositioning surplus publicly held property back into the private sector than with initiating a new and novel agri-cultural production practice. Moving Detroit back toward a livable city with healthy ebb and flow of residents, rather than just a flow, is the desired outcome. If urban planners and geographers are correct, redeploying some percentage of Detroit’s vacant landscape for agricultural pro-duction could make Detroit the envy of the global marketplace as global populations escalate and access to fuel and natural resourc-es becomes more limited. What looks like a hollow city in 2013, if managed well going forward, could become a major urban center with attractive open space and the capacity to produce higher val-ue agricultural goods, near consumers, in an increasingly urban-ized world. Hantz Farms maintains a website, and a facebook page, for people who want to track progress as the development plan for the venture is implemented. While there are no formal tours of the farm, management often takes time to show visitors around. Carhartt, the Detroit-based clothing manufacturer, partnered with Hantz Farms to clear fifty vacant parcels as part of the process of site preparation for tree planting. Other companies have asked if they, too, can partner with Hantz Farms because of the interest their employees have taken in the reshaping of Detroit.

michael score is president oF hantz Farms and can be reached at mike.

[email protected].

IN dECEMbER, 2012 dETROIT CITy COuNCIl appROVEd ThE salE Of

appROxIMaTEly 150 aCREs Of NON-CONTIGuOus aCREs TO haNTz faRMs

fOR ThE puRpOsE Of IMpROVING NEIGhbORhOOds ThROuGh ThE

plaNTING aNd MaNaGEMENT Of MIxEd haRdwOOds.


reinVention

Two of Detroit’s biggest moments in the media spotlight over the last few years featured Detroit music icons — Eminem and Kid Rock — in television spots that aired during key sporting events when the eyes of the world were peeled on Detroit. The first from Chrysler aired

during Super Bowl XLV in 2011 and the second during the 2012 World Series. The Chrysler spot ended with a close-up of Eminem saying “This is the motor city – and this is what we do” and the words “Imported from Detroit” on the screen. It was riveting. Equally riveting was its soundtrack featuring the music from Eminem’s hit

song Lose Yourself with its line “Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted, one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip?” At Quicken Loans, we were not going to let De-troit’s opportunity slip or go unnoticed and we want-ed to share its comeback story more widely. So just in time for the 2012 World Series featuring the Detroit Tigers, we came up with a spot that allowed millions

to stare Detroit’s opportunity in the face. The commercial features the music and voice of Detroit native Kid Rock, and proclaims:

Opportunity.It doesn’t stare you in the face.It’s not going to yell at you to come ‘n get it. It doesn’t knock. So what does opportunity look like? Not what you might think.You see, opportunity is not a right. It’s definitely not equal.And it doesn’t come with an instruction manual. That’s because opportunity isn’t found.It’s molded. It’s built. It’s created.It’s as much about grit as it is intellect.An explosive high-tech corridor located at the intersection of muscle

By david carrollQUicken loanS

and brains?You bet. Because opportunity only comes to those already in the game.What does opportunity look like?It looks like Detroit.And opportunity is made in Detroit.

But why are we sold on downtown Detroit and the amazing opportunity to help shepherd a Great American City into its best days yet? If you know anything about Quicken Loans, you know that our culture is very different and we have taken our own path to success. Where other companies have mission statements – we have ISMs – the truisms that state our values and shape who we are and what we do. Our unique culture has led to our success. Last year we closed $70 billion in mortgage loans, J.D. Power and Associates ranked us highest in overall customer satisfaction among major U.S. mortgage originators for the third consecutive year and we have been on Fortune’s Best Places to Work list for the last ten years. Just recently, Quicken Loans was named #1 on Com-puterworld magazine’s 2013 ‘Best Places to Work in IT’ list. This is the fourth time we’ve taken the top spot. We have built a company centered on technology and innovation, so earning the honor as

the top place to work in IT is a real testament to our nearly 1,000 technology team members across the country. In fact, we view ourselves as an IT company that happens to sell mortgages. But without talented people with the right skills and can-do attitude we cannot succeed. It became clear to us that our creative team members do not want to work in a nondescript office park in the suburbs – they want to be in cities with vibrant urban, walkable cores where people work and play, and perhaps more importantly, live. We needed to offer what they wanted or we would not be able to hire the talent we needed going forward. Plus our founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert is a Detroiter to the core. He was born in Detroit and his parents and grandparents were raised and ran busi-nesses in Detroit. He saw enormous opportunity in the amazing architecture and assets in downtown. In 2010, we decided to leave Livonia, Michigan for downtown Detroit. We believe for Michigan to succeed, thrive and compete, our largest city, Detroit, must be viable and vibrant -- that is both our mission and passion at Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures, Quicken Loans’ umbrella entity that manages a diverse portfolio of companies, investments and real estate.

ROCk VENTuREs’ sCalE MOdEl Of dOwNTOwN dETROIT

reinVention

more than 7.6 million square feet in downtown Detroit -- an urban core that has attracted more than 80 new companies – many of them IT startups. Most of them are historic buildings which we’re renovated and revitalized. Most prominent among these is the his-toric Madison Theatre Building, built in 1917, in downtown De-troit, which we transformed it into a unique entrepreneurial hub for tech-based start-up companies in Detroit. In just 15 months, it went from being a neglected abandoned property to being named one of the coolest office spaces. The M@dison building project is another step in the Opportunity Detroit vision for a technology and web-centered corridor of growth and activity in the heart of downtown Detroit. We’ve also become advocates for placemaking – an approach to urban revitalization that focuses on streetscapes, sidewalks, urban parks and urban design in an effort to make downtown more ap-pealing and increase the interaction among people in a city’s public spaces. That’s why Campus Martius Park, which is surrounded by four of our buildings, features its own beach this summer, com-plete with beach chairs and a refreshment stand. On any given day of the week our team members and others downtown can feast on delicious food from a dozen different food trucks. Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures are not alone in our view of downtown. Com-panies such as Twitter, General Motors, Chrysler, Ernst & Young, Ilitch Holdings, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Detroit Lions, Campbell Ewald, GalaxESolutions (a medical IT company

a lOT CaN happEN IN ThREE yEaRs Two out of three of Detroit’s major automotive companies emerged from bankruptcy and are finding new life and profitabil-ity. The nation and its major lenders went through the greatest economic meltdown since the depression with a record number of foreclosures that killed the residential real estate market for several years. Quicken Loans went from being a suburban-based online mort-gage lender to an urban-based national mortgage power house that has tripled in size. We are currently the third largest retail mort-gage lender in the country and the largest online lender anywhere. We believe that a large part behind Quicken Loans recent success is our move to Detroit. People are excited about the influx of folks working in the city and the downtown developments, and our team members are energized by this high-tech corridor that is a combination of muscle and brains. Since 2010 we’ve moved 3,600 team members to downtown and have created another 5,600 new positions in Michigan’s biggest urban core. And, this summer we have more than 1,000 paid interns working in downtown Detroit, including 150 from out of state and hailing from 168 different colleges. When we made the move to Detroit, we made a commitment to play a role in developing a creative, tech-focused urban core where people want to live, work and play. To us, that’s Opportunity De-troit. We now own or control more than 30 properties totaling


M@dIsON buIldING pROJECT

from New Jersey) high tech companies like Uber, Stik.com, Detroit Labs, watch and bike maker and retailer Shinola (whose founder is from Texas), and retailers like Whole Foods, Buffalo Wild Wings, Papa Joes, Roasting Plant, Just Baked, MooseJaw and many others are sold on Detroit too. Together, we have added to the tax base through employment and property taxes and hired many Detroit residents, while attract-ing new business/tenants in retail, tech, restaurants, and much more. Since January 2011, Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures have invested nearly $1 billion on our buildings, renovations and refur-bishments in downtown Detroit. In addition to commercial real estate development, we’re played a key role in the M1 Rail project that will bring street cars and the additional development that ac-companies this type of transit, to 6.6 miles of track that will run up and down the Woodward corridor. Rock Ventures is among the private investors that have committed a combined $100 million in this project that after years of hard work and planning will break ground this summer and be completed by 2015. With downtown residential occupancy at 98%, we also plan to focus heavily on cre-ating new residential and retail options in and around downtown. At the same time, we cannot forget this is the same city that is now under the control of an emergency manager and possibly on the cusp of becoming the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Unemployment, poverty and city services remain at unac-

ceptable levels but we believe there is an unprecedented wave of positive energy, effort and passion being directed toward solving the city’s problems. Just as the auto companies had to reinvent themselves, so does the City of Detroit. And a stronger Detroit means a stronger Michigan. Despite the city’s challenges business and quality of life in the downtown core are becoming more and more vibrant, and we are confident that the rest of the city is on the track to recovery as well. Our work in Detroit is an example of what can be done by those who think big, and who don’t take “no” for an answer. Con-nectivity is key for a revitalized city. Creating a vibrant urban core where people want to live, work and play is critical to the region’s future. At Quicken Loans and our family of companies, we are growing and creating jobs at an exceptional rate. In the past 28 years, Quicken Loans and our Rock Ventures family have grown to more than 75 companies across the country but our home is Detroit. We knew Detroit was full of potential to become a thriving city once again. If we’ve come this far in three years, imagine what Detroit will look like five years from now. Don’t just imagine. Don’t just believe. Become part of Opportunity Detroit too. After all as Kid Rock said, “opportunity only comes to those already in the game.”.

david carroll is the vice president oF quicken loans.

dETROIT has ThE sECONd laRGEsT ThEaTER dIsTRICT

IN ThE COuNTRy wITh OVER 13,000 ThEaTER sEaTs.

Arts & entertAinment

d:hIVE sTORE fRONT ON wOOdwaRd aVE

ThE fIRsT CONCRETE ROad IN ThE wORld was CuRRENT-day wOOdwaRd aVENuE IN dETROIT, buIlT IN 1909.


As our Director of Community Relations and stellar tour guide

Jeanette Pierce likes to remind us, Detroit’s motto is all about re-

building: “We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes.”

Detroit has rebuilt itself literally and figuratively many times in its

312 years of existence. Now the stage is set for a new period in the

city’s history, and we all have an opportunity to be a part of it.

As Detroit’s most approachable resource center and entrepre-

neurial hub, we love connecting people, empowering businesses,

and growing organizations that move the city forward . Below is

our recap of what’s happening in Art, Entertainment, and Entre-

preneurial activity in Detroit.

dETROIT’s aRT sCENE A city with a strong cultural core, Detroit is rich in color, sound,

and architectural design. Detroit is home to world renowned art

museums including the Detroit Institute of Art and the Museum of

Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), both located in Midtown. As

you explore Detroit you’ll witness lots of construction and renova-

tion. The Auburn, for example, was built last year and enjoyed

full occupancy before construction finished. It is now home to

commercial spaces like book stores, design companies, high end

boutiques, a pet shop, a Thai restaurant, and art galleries like The

Butcher’s Daughter.

Art is alive and well in the city. Monthly and annual events are

happening all over, and city-wide initiatives like the Detroit Beauti-

fication Project, which employs the nation’s finest graffiti artists to

transform brick and concrete into sprawling feats of art, are com-

monplace. Want to really explore the galleries of Detroit? Connect

with newly formed group Art Detroit Now (http://artdetroitnow.

com/). Galleries in this group stay open late on the 3rd Thursday

of every month for Art Detroit Now showings. Other major events

happening each year to strengthen the arts include the Detroit De-

sign Festival, Art X Detroit, the Jazz and Techno Festivals, and

more.

Unique to the city is the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor art

Creative Rebuilding in the City

project by the artist Tyree Guyton that also helps local artists estab-

lish themselves through the Emerging Artists Program. Tyree cre-

ates art with recycled materials and bright colors to help represent

the resurrection of the soul and unity of all people. In a city that

has struggled, the project represents a bright spot on art in the

neighborhoods.

dETROIT ENTERTaINMENT There’s never a boring day or night in the city. With new bars

and restaurants popping up, and outdoor activities along the Detroit

Riverwalk, you’ll always find something fun to do. D:hive lists city

events and volunteer opportunities on our online calendar. D:hive

also offers weekly tours and special events for the community.

Each area of Detroit has its own unique character. Downtown

has the beautiful Detroit Riverwalk, along with posh bars, restau-

rants, and several parks with new amenities added including a

beach bar, a life-size chess game, and colorful new seating. For

those interested in sports and gaming, Downtown Detroit is home

to three major sports teams–the Red Wings, the Tigers, and the

Lions. You’ll also find Greektown Casino, Motor City Casino, and

MGM Casino downtown.

Travel a little further west to Corktown where you’ll find some of

the best spots for food and drinks. Several new restaurants, brewer-

ies, and wine bars have opened shop, including the nationally recog-

nized Slow’s BBQ, the upscale cocktail bar, Sugar House, and newly

opened Motor City Wine.

Head over to Midtown for a classy night at the DIA, where you

can listen to music on Friday nights or watch a film at the Detroit

Film Theatre. In Midtown you can also go bowling, eat at a pizzeria

or hang out at one of the many art galleries in the area.

Want to see more of the city? Experience the Detroit you never

knew with one of D:hive’s tours. Some of our most popular tours at

D:hive include our D:hive bar tours, scavenger hunts, and Detroit

walking tours. Our tours are free or practically free. You can visit

our website for more information on Detroit tours and sightseeing.

Arts & entertAinment

dETROIT ENTREpRENEuRs Detroit is a large city of 700,000, but

still has a small town feel. This small town

feel is important to helping our business

community flourish. Detroit has low costs

for rent and space, but it also has a lot of

resources available to support startups in

the city.

With Detroit’s low cost for rent and

supportive business community, college

graduates are staying and many businesses

are moving to capitalize on the opportunity

here. Businesses in the city can receive sup-

port from seed funding to legal advice and

more, many of them listed on the Detroit

BizGrid (www.detroitbizgrid.com/). Incu-

bator programs like TechTown and Bizdom

help retail and tech entrepreneurs grow

their business. D:hive’s BUILD program

teaches the basics of business at an afford-

able rate and has graduated over 200 aspir-

ing entrepreneurs to date. We continue our

relationship with our graduates through

BUILD Institute our monthly workshop

series. We have partnered with Google,

Twitter, Wayne State Law Clinic, Adcraft

and more to bring in depth programming

and ongoing education to our alumni. We

also produce Open City Detroit, a casual

networking event for current and aspiring

business owners that takes place at Cliff

Bell’s on the 3rd Monday of the month.

In Detroit, we have a unique need for

retail downtown and in many areas of the

city. For entrepreneurs there is a great op-

portunity in retail. You can apply for retail

assistance through D:hive’s Pilot program

and receive two months of free retail space

off of Woodward downtown. TechTown

Detroit also has a special program for retail

entrepreneurs in the city. Pop-up shops can

be found all over the city, as many entrepre-

neurs are testing out their business.

MORE abOuT d:hIVED:hive Detroit is your connection to the

city. We serve the community as a resource

and welcome center helping others live,

work, build and engage in Detroit. D:hive

is open Mondays through Saturdays, 10

a.m.-6 p.m. Stop in anytime to use our

space, hangout, or ask any more questions

about the city.

For more inFormation visit dhivedetroit.org.

“Building a Brighter Future Today”

Ginosko Development Company (GDC) is a real estate development company specializing in quality affordable housing creation and preservation. GDC, through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, engages in the acquisition, development, redevelopment, ownership, and operational oversight of multifamily properties primarily in the United States. Its activities include the acquisition and development of residential properties and undeveloped land reserves for development or sale.

Ginosko is the Greek meaning for, “to understand completely” or “to know.” We at Ginosko Development Company, believe that a thorough understanding and comprehensive knowledge is the unbreakable foundation for any successful real estate venture.

GDC’s communities are known for their careful planning, attention to detail and respect for the environment. GDC strives to lead in the evolution of real estate use in order to meet the market needs of a global economy.

41800 West 11 Mile Road, Suite 209 | Novi MI 48375office 248.513.4900 | fax 248.513.4904

www.Ginosko.com

Ginosko Development Company

Art of Leadership ...................................................................... 10

Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP ................................................ 2

Chesapeake Community Advisors, Inc. .................................... 34

Clark Hill ................................................................................. 29

Community Economic Development Association of Michigan .. 34

Community Research Services .................................................. 10

Crestline Communities ............................................................. 13

Dauby O’Conner & Zaleski ...................................................... 13

Douglas Company .................................................................... 33

Economides Incorporated Architects ........................................ 29

FHLB Indianapolis ................................................................... 15

G. Fisher Construction ............................................................. 35

Ginosko Development Company .............................................. 45

Keller Development .................................................................. 31

Keystone Construction Corp .................................................... 31

KMG Prestige ........................................................................... 34

Loomis, Ewert, Parsley, Davis & Gotting, P.C ............................ 46

Love Funding ........................................................................... 35

McCartney & Company, P.C ..................................................... 15

Medallion Management, Inc. .................................................... 31

MHT Housing, Inc. .................................................................... 4

Michigan State Housing Development Authority ...................... 33

Milner & Caringella, Inc. .......................................................... 29

O’Brien Construction Company, Inc. ........................................ 47

Pillar Capital Finance ............................................................... 48

Plante Moran ............................................................................ 32

Vogt Santer Insights .................................................................. 44

Wolverine Building Group ........................................................ 15


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Reinventing Detroit

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