Detroit’s latest community benefits process has begun with a promise that things will be different.

Detroit City FC is pursuing a $192 million project at the old Southwest Hospital site in Corktown. It includes a $150 million AlumniFi Field stadium, a $42 million parking garage and 76 housing units. The stadium will have a 15,000-seat capacity and host 30-35 events annually, including a handful of concerts.

An overview of the project was unveiled at the first meeting last week. Detroit City FC Founder and Co-Owner Sean Mann said their vision is unlike any stadium deal Detroit has seen before.

“We would be the only pro team in the city, and really in the state, that pays property taxes,” Mann said last Thursday. “Over the last couple generations, stadiums have been developed typically by public or quasi-public entities, whether that’s stadium authorities or downtown development authorities across the country. We recognize where public sentiment is on that, as city residents.

“For us, it’s key that this is a privately-owned project that actually contributes to the tax rolls of the city.”

Large developments that seek public financing are legally required to negotiate a community benefits deal with neighborhood representatives. Hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks were on the table for past projects to complete the process.

Detroit’s community benefits process has led to big investments in community resources and commitments to curb the negative impacts of construction.

But past negotiations often became contentious as unpaid volunteer advisory councils struggled to balance the demands of their neighbors and the financial limitations claimed by developers.

A neighborhood advisory council made up of residents who live near the stadium is being assembled to negotiate local investments in exchange for tax discounts that will ultimately need authorization by the City Council. Detroit’s Civil Rights Inclusion and Opportunity Department is charged with monitoring progress toward commitments included in each deal.

Residents must appear in person to Thursday’s 6 p.m. meeting at Mexicantown CDC Mercado to volunteer for a chance to serve on the nine-member advisory council. Two seats will later be chosen by attendees, while two are selected by City Council members and four are picked by the planning department.

Some residents have already voiced concerns about the boundaries of an impact area that has major implications for public participation. Anyone can attend meetings, but only residents in the impact area can serve on the advisory council or vote on members.

The impact area is determined by the planning department, and must at least include census tracts where the project is located. It largely spans between West Grand Boulevard east to the Lodge Freeway and from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard south to the Detroit River.

Roughly 5,200 residents are within the impact area. It spans North Corktown, Hubbard Richard, Mexicantown, and parts of Candsey Condon and Central Southwest neighborhoods. The impact area is 39% Black, 39% white, 24% Hispanic or Latino and has a median household income of $42,089.

Hubbard Farms was left out of the impact area, and residents like Rachel Harkai said their exclusion diminishes a neighborhood that will nevertheless be affected by the stadium.

Bill Cheek, a North Corktown resident, is skeptical that the area will benefit from a stadium, saying the demolition of Old Tigers Stadium was “the greatest day” in the history of the neighborhood. Cheek worries about an influx of parking-seekers in his neighborhood and said residents should have had more influence over the project’s design.

“Here we go again with another obnoxious nuisance riding down the value of our neighborhood that’s perfectly in keeping with how planning views all the residents of North Corktown: As invisible peasants who don’t deserve a voice in how our community is developed,” Cheek said last week.

Mann, a Corktown resident, said the soccer club was conceived by friends gathered in neighborhood bars and rapidly expanded in the last decade thanks to its community dedication. Detroit City FC has professional men’s and women’s teams competing in the United Soccer League and youth teams serving 4,000 kids.

Mann had a few digs for Little Caesar’s Arena, which was developed before Detroit had a community benefits ordinance. He said AlumniFi Field won’t have Kid Rock’s restaurant in it, “that’s not our style,” and won’t be surrounded by parking lots.

“We will be a private venue that will be far more accessible than the publicly-owned stadiums in this town, but through this process we’ll talk about what access looks like,” Mann said.

The football club will seek at least $1 million in tax breaks; the full financial details haven’t yet been shared. Tax breaks will likely help cover part of the cost to demolish the blighted Southwest Detroit Hospital. Construction is expected to start next year and finish by spring 2027.

Mann said the project will foster economic growth in Southwest Detroit by creating a commercial corridor along 20th Street and better connecting Mexicantown near Michigan Central.

Mann said Detroit is one of few large cities that lacks a soccer stadium. It’s an “overdue” project, he said, that comes at a time when soccer is undergoing an American renaissance. The U.S. is hosting the 2026 World Cup while new stadiums are being built or planned in Louisville, Kentucky; Sacramento, California; and Tampa Bay, Florida.

“We’re an amazing moment for soccer,” Mann said. “I joke that soccer has been America’s next big sport for the last 50 years, but it’s finally taking root.”

Mann said 15% to 20% of DCFC ticket-buyers are Detroit residents and most live in the greater downtown area.

DCFC is exploring creative ways to honor the hospital’s legacy. Southwest Detroit Hospital was among the first in Detroit to accredit Black physicians.