This week in the notebook:
- Michigan Central prepares a homecoming
- Demolition rules changed to save sites
- New food businesses coming
- Team Biden in the D
Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.
Detroit is launching a citywide Historic Preservation Plan to inform efforts to protect important sites.
The city is seeking qualified firms to help the Planning and Development Department create Detroit’s first comprehensive preservation policy document. It will focus on improving strategies to identify and maintain historic resources.
Detroit’s Old West Side is one of the earliest neighborhoods outside downtown where Black residents settled in the late 1910s but has not been fully surveyed. Studying that area could provide guidance for future historic districts, according to city documents.
The plan also could have implications for zoning regulations in historic neighborhoods. The MKT zoning district was created in 2022 to preserve the character of Eastern Market’s buildings while encouraging redevelopment.
The Historic Designation Advisory Board advises the City Council on creating historic districts that prevent demolition within its boundaries.
The West Canfield Historic District, enacted in 1970, was first. Detroit created 151 historic districts since.
The City Council adopted a resolution recognizing May as National Historic Preservation Month. It notes that the city has benefitted from adaptive reuses of historic buildings including:
- Michigan Central Station to Michigan Central mobility hub campus
- Higginbotham School and St. Matthew School to affordable housing
- Fisher Body Plant 21 to market-rate and affordable housing
- Bonstelle Theatre incorporated into the Marriott International AC Hotel
- Henry M. Utley branch library to Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network offices
The resolution also expressed support for proposed updates to the Michigan Historic Preservation Tax Credit.
A bill introduced in the Michigan House in February would expand the types of buildings that can receive tax credits and increase the credit.
The council said reusing buildings helps confront climate change by preventing building and construction waste from entering landfills and the city’s waste system.
That said, I had more fun watching Detroit last year and I was rooting for the Lions in the playoffs. Should be a fun season.
What page are we on?
Today’s notebook covers the April 30 formal session.
Dig into the agenda, read Detroit Documenter notes or watch the recording for more details.
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Michigan Central opens its doors
Michigan Central is planning a free concert and open house events in June to introduce the revamped train station to Detroiters.
CEO Joshua Sirefman said 3,100 workers labored for 1.7 million hours to renovate the site. It originally opened in 1913 but became a symbol of Detroit’s decline after being vacated in 1988.
Ford Motor Co. bought the historic building in 2018 to anchor a new technology district in Corktown. Nearly 100 companies have been attracted to the renovated Bagley Mobility Hub and Newlab building. The city also gave Roosevelt Park a major facelift.
Sirefman thanked the council for approving a transportation innovation zone that allows mobility companies to streamline the permitting process to test new technology.
Sirefman presented a permit request to the City Council for a free concert on June 6 for 15,000 guests and open house tours from June 7-16 anticipated to draw 60,000 visitors.
“The tone and tenor of what we’re doing is really to be about Detroiters and we want Michigan Central to feel like it is in fact a part of the neighborhood it is in,” Sirefman said.
A site plan shared on Tuesday shows an area around the train station, Newlab and Roosevelt Park will be fenced off. The events are free but will require pre-registration.
Local businesses will be provided promotional giveaways for visitors, and Sirefman said efforts will be made to highlight attractions in the area.
Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero said it’s important to ensure businesses can participate. She said business owners in her southwest district didn’t notice much change in foot traffic during the NFL Draft.
Think twice before you demolish
The council approved changes to city demolition codes that require the Planning and Development Department (PDD) to explore alternatives before tearing down commercial properties.
Santiago-Romero sponsored the ordinance to salvage buildings that are planned for demolition. Building owners will work with the city to explore feasible alternatives.
PDD is now required to review other options within 14 days of receiving a demolition request. A wrecking permit is required from the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department before buildings can be demolished.
City officials said the vast majority of properties being torn down in recent years are either emergency demolitions ordered by the city or residential properties. Changes approved on Tuesday don’t apply to those cases.
“Many of the buildings we’ve seen come through for demolitions are beyond the point of repair, but every once in a while there is one that a private owner is demolishing that could be potentially saved,” said Greg Moots, lead planner on the city’s Design and Development Innovation Team.
“We’d like the opportunity to work with the owner. This cannot stop the demolition, we can pause the demolition for up to 14 days.”
Saffron De Twah levels up
Award-winning Moroccan bistro Saffron De Twah is planning to build a new location along Warren Avenue on land purchased from the city.
The council approved a request by Anani Restaurant Group, LLC to purchase 16620 E. Warren Ave. for $150,000. The site holds a 4,800-square-foot commercial structure that will be renovated.
City documents show the lower level will serve as a new restaurant while an upper-level apartment will be remodeled to house staff members or other local food businesses.
Head chef Omar Anani took a six-month sabbatical last year while continuing to provide meals at the Saffron Community Kitchen. The restaurant is gearing up for a grand reopening.
The second location is less than a mile away from the original restaurant on Gratiot Avenue.
Land of opportunity
The City Council also approved other land sales for various uses.
NuSol Food Buggy owner Doniss Hicks purchased a commercial building in the Ravendale neighborhood on Detroit’s east side to create a commercial kitchen for mobile food businesses. Hicks paid $18,000 for the property.
Omina, Inc. bought two vacant homes in the Fitzgerald-Marygrove neighborhood and North Rosedale Park from the Detroit Land Bank Authority for $34,000.
Omina has bought and renovated 13 land bank homes since December 2022 for HGTV’s Bargain Block television program. City documents show Omina expects to invest $270,000 to renovate the two latest properties.
A group of Northwest Goldberg residents bought a 7,201-square-foot commercial building to renovate for future uses.
City documents show Daniel Washington, executive director of NW Goldberg Cares, is leading the group. They paid $4,500 for the building at 5975 16th St.
Loyola High School bought three properties on Fenkell Avenue for $13,000. The northwest Detroit Catholic boys school is seeking to secure the sites until expansion plans are fully developed.
It broke ground on a new chapel and welcome center last year as part of a $9 million capital campaign.
Vacant lot cleanup
Federal funds are being used to make sure vacant lots cut by the city are properly cleaned up.
The council approved two contracts worth a total of $2 million with Payne Landscaping and Detroit Grounds Crew. The funds will be used to pick up debris, leftover lawn clippings and yard waste. The city plans to cut vacant lots four times each year.
“Does this mean we’ll no longer see cut paper strewn about and 4-inch long grass turning to hay on these vacant lots after a cut?,” Council Member Scott Benson asked during a committee meeting this month. “I’m looking forward to making sure that’s achieved this year.”
City funds paid for three other contracts with Detroit-based businesses to cut vacant lots and remove debris.
Payne Landscaping received a $20.8 million contract, alongside a $13.6 million contract for Brilar, LLC and a $7 million contract with JE Jordan Landscaping, Inc.
Israeli company contract dropped
Santiago-Romero pulled a proposed contract with an Israeli technology company for bomb detection equipment.
She said Detroit Police Chief James White agreed to find an American company to provide the X-ray inspection technology used to scan suspicious containers
City procurement documents show Novo DR Inc. has an office in Grand Blanc but the company is headquartered in Israel.
Santiago-Romero told BridgeDetroit she has general concerns with surveillance technologies that could be tested on Palestinian civilians before being marketed to American police departments.
DPD’s Bomb Squad already uses radiological detection systems provided by Novo DR. The $58,733 contract would have provided equipment upgrades.
Abandoned vehicle enforcement
Federal pandemic funding paid for radios used by a new police unit created to remove abandoned vehicles from public streets and private property.
Duggan announced the crackdown during his State of the City address in April. City ordinances prohibit vehicles from being deserted on public streets and private lawns.
Code enforcement officers are prioritizing inoperable and unlicensed vehicles along with commercial vehicles improperly stored in neighborhoods.
Duggan said 5,208 vehicles were ticketed this year, but only 769 were towed. That means 85% of owners moved their vehicles after receiving a ticket, he said.
The council approved two contracts with Motorola Solutions Inc. worth a total of $266,530. Motorola will provide 39 radios for code enforcement officers.
Santiago-Romero was the lone council member who objected to both contracts.
The council also approved a $900,000 contract with Motorola to replace older police radios that are nearly a decade old. A DPD representative said the radios are difficult to maintain because parts are hard to find.
Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway asked DPD to create an internship program for high school students to learn radio repair skills. During a committee discussion earlier this month, Whitfield-Calloway argued the city’s Skills for Life career readiness program doesn’t create enough opportunities for tech jobs.
“We have to brag about how many thousands of people we hired to clean out alleys, but we need to brag about helping people to get technical skills,” she said.
Biden team gets to work in Detroit
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is holding events in Detroit to criticize former President Donald Trump and flex support from local surrogates.
A Tuesday event highlighted Biden’s support for unions. Council President Mary Sheffield joined Mayor Mike Duggan, state Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, and officials with the Michigan Building Trades Council and IBEW Local 58 to stump for Biden.
Duggan is a national advisor to the Biden-Harris campaign. His son Ed Duggan is state director for the campaign in Michigan.
Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell joined the campaign for an event in Detroit earlier this month to recognize Black Maternal Health Week. Bell said abortion bans enabled by Trump’s appointment of conservative Supreme Court justices have led to higher rates of pregnancy-related deaths among Black women.
Biden’s team opened three campaign offices in Detroit to train volunteers and mobilize voters. The latest opening in March featured Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist, state Rep. Natalie Price and Wayne County Commissioner Irma Clark Coleman.
Attorney General Dana Nessel held an event in Detroit last month to promote the Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law 14 years prior by the Obama-Biden administration.
Biden’s campaign also launched NFL-themed digital ads in Detroit for the draft that featured Trump saying “football is boring as hell.”
Biden has yet to visit Detroit himself. His first campaign swing through Michigan in February included a UAW hall in Warren and a Harper Woods restaurant. Biden met with local officials in Saginaw during a low-key campaign stop in March.
Music Hall expansion gets green light
The City Council approved a project plan for a $125 million expansion of the downtown Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts.
Approval of the plan is needed for the Detroit Economic Development Corp. to issue $80 million in revenue bonds on the Music Hall’s behalf. The project includes renovations of its existing building and construction of a new 108,000-square-foot building on an adjacent lot.
Other expected funding sources include a $4 million loan, $5 million grant from Wayne County, $30 million to $40 million from selling naming rights, $9 million from foundations and trustees, $5 million from the city of Detroit and a $5 million state grant.
The new building will include a rooftop special events venue, a new concert venue, revolving music exhibition space, conference space, music academy, recording studio and restaurants.
It will allow the nonprofit to expand its programming and produce revenue from new events like weddings, corporate parties and conferences.
The Music Hall expects to add more events in its Jazz Café, 3Fifty Terrace and Main Hall from approximately 300 annual events to 650 events. This is expected to increase annual attendance from 250,000 to 600,000.
The project will create a new gateway into Paradise Valley and Detroit’s entertainment district by activating an alley behind the building. This pedestrian-only promenade would include a cafe and exhibits with information about Detroit music legends.
Detroit business owners Hiram Jackson and Dennis Archer Jr. serve on the Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors and supported the bond proposal. They own sites in Paradise Valley and are aiming to reestablish the area as a thriving entertainment and cultural district.
The project includes the construction of a skywalk connector that will bridge the alleyway and connect the existing building to the new building. It would also create 446 new jobs.
Construction is expected to begin in May and finish at the end of 2026.
Hopefully the Broadhead enable station in Jefferson by the bell bridge will be saved a beautiful building for sure along the river . I serve six years there in the Marine Corps reserves.
Hopefully Broadhead naval station will be saved on Jefferson by the Belle Isle bridge. A beautiful building looks to be pretty sound. I serve fixture there in the Marine Corps reserves, 76 to 82.
A little late!