Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan took a victory lap in a final State of the City address that charted his administration’s work to address deep problems over his 12 years of leadership while proposing the best days are yet to come.  

Duggan spoke to an audience of residents, city employees, politicians and community partners  gathered on the second floor of Hudson’s Detroit, the new downtown skyscraper nearing completion. Detroit’s second-longest-serving mayor isn’t seeking reelection this year; instead he will run for Michigan governor as an independent. 

“Not a day goes by when somebody says, ‘What happens when you leave,’” Duggan said. “I want to show you why Detroit is going to be so much better.” 

Duggan pointed to new investments like University of Michigan’s Center for Innovation, Henry Ford Health’s new hospital campus, the renovation of Fisher Body 21 plant and Lee Plaza and construction of a new riverfront hotel. 

The mayor charted a path forward for the Renaissance Center and Uniroyal site, two riverfront properties that remain missing pieces in the city’s redevelopment efforts. 

He praised work to build new parks along the Detroit River, but said the abandoned Uniroyal site has “always bugged me.” Duggan promoted efforts by Detroit Pistons executives to build a youth sports complex on the site, adjacent to Belle Isle. 

Duggan said he asked General Motors not to sell the Renaissance Center to avoid an unsuitable developer taking control of the historic building. Duggan said his administration reached out to developers trying to preserve the five-tower complex, but it simply had too much office space to fill. Converting offices to housing also poses difficulties, since installing plumbing means drilling through 39 stories of concrete and steel. 

Billionaire Dan Gilbert proposed a plan to tear down two office buildings to create 400 apartment units, a hotel, offices and a public promenade comparable to Navy Pier in Chicago. Duggan said it would create a quarter-mile family destination along the water. But first, he called on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would raise the cap on a tax incentive funds used to support large development projects. 

Members of Duggan’s gubernatorial campaign team were present, and campaign social media accounts promoted the speech as a preview of what his leadership would bring to the state. 

“He led Detroit’s comeback. Imagine what he can do for Michigan,” read one post. 

The program opened with a video compiling past addresses where Duggan focused on reducing blight, attracting development, launching job training programs, making the city safer and improving the city’s finances. It was created by One Detroit for All of Us, a political organization that has backed Duggan in past campaigns for mayor.

Duggan offered a piece of advice for whomever his successor will be: Continue partnerships with the City Council and neighboring communities. He said Tuesday’s speech was a story of how the city came together to secure Detroit’s revitalization.

Hudson’s site showcase

Tickets to the event were invitation only, but Duggan’s speech offered the first public look inside the $1.4 billion project on the site of the former J.L. Hudson’s Department store. It includes the second-tallest tower in Michigan and a smaller building that will host the new global headquarters for General Motors, a hotel, condos, retail businesses and an event space.

It was once the largest retail store in America, and Christmas displays made it a popular winter destination for generations of children and families. It closed in 1983 and was imploded in 1998. It sat vacant until Gilbert got the development rights to the site through his real estate company in 2010. 

Duggan said it’s the latest move by Gilbert to bring jobs and investment back to Detroit. He also credited the Gilbert Family Foundation for funding programs that help residents pay delinquent property taxes and become homeowners. Duggan said Gilbert has changed the course of the city and thanked him personally. 

Duggan often picks sites that align with a particular element of his State of the City addresses. Last year the mayor discussed neighborhood clean up efforts from Dexter Avenue Baptist Church; a year earlier he celebrated work to restore abandoned buildings from inside Michigan Central as renovation neared completion.

The Hudson’s Detroit building was also a battleground in an ongoing debate over using tax breaks to finance large development projects. The City Council in 2022 voted 5-4 to approve a $60 million tax break amid fierce pushback from community groups like the Detroit People’s Platform.

Tax philosophy drives growth

Duggan defended the city’s use of tax breaks, arguing that tax dollars aren’t offered upfront. Instead, tax incentives offer discounts on the new property taxes generated after the development occurs. Duggan thanked the City Council for ignoring “voices of division.” 

“We’re not going to write them a check and wait and see what they do, what we will do is give them discounts on new taxes, and that was going to be the Detroit philosophy,” Duggan said. 

The strategy resulted in 7% annual growth for Detroit’s income tax revenue, Duggan said, growing from $248 million in 2014 to $470 million this year. Duggan said his administration will leave $550 million in reserves to protect against future economic downturns, including $150 million in its rainy day fund and $350 million in retiree protection fund.

“For anybody saying, ‘oh my God, what’s going to happen in the next downturn,’ this is a different day and different leadership,” Duggan said.

Duggan is pitching a 3-mill property tax cut in the upcoming budget on the heels of 1-mill cuts in the last two budgets. That amounts to a $150 tax cut on a $100,000 home. 

“We’re making enough money that we can share some of it with our taxpayers,” Duggan said.

Improved city revenues allowed the city to give police officers pay raises while federal pandemic relief helped fund the “ShotStoppers” Community Violence Intervention program. Duggan said community groups have shown success in preventing conflicts from turning violent. He wants to expand the program into other high-crime areas using state funding that is tied up in Lansing. 

The mayor is working with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and a bipartisan group of lawmakers to pass legislation that will open $75 million in public safety funding to communities across the state. Last year, Detroit reported the lowest number of homicides since 1965. Duggan said 203 homicides is still too high but shows things are moving in the right direction. 

Duggan gave a quick performance review for new Chief Todd Bettison. In the first quarter of 2025, homicides are down 38%, shootings are down 53% and carjackings are down 56% from the same period in 2023. 

Improving neighborhoods

Duggan said improving neighborhoods remains the “biggest battle” of the last 12 years. 

The mayor outlined efforts to improve neighborhoods in partnership with the Detroit Land Bank Authority, which has sold 15,000 homes and is expected to have only 1,000 vacant homes left in its inventory by the end of the year. He said an aggressive campaign to demolish 3,000 buildings per year has cleared blight and opened land for new affordable housing. 

Duggan highlighted new projects in Corktown, Brush Park, near Clark Park and along East Warren. He thanked residents who stayed in the city and said their efforts paid off with a $4.6 billion increase in property values. 

“This isn’t new people coming to town getting the benefit, this is the people who stuck and stayed,” Duggan said.