Ryan Marie Davis moved back to Detroit for love.
At the height of COVID-19, she and her now-husband, Justin Davis, began walking the Dequindre Cut and Detroit’s Riverwalk until being outdoors became a daily habit.
Last year, the couple purchased a sprawling 4,2000-square-foot home with an inground pool, neighboring a park. It was the highest-priced home in Russell Woods in five years. The historic district is one of several northwest Detroit neighborhoods along the planned route of the city’s 29 mile Joe Louis Greenway. The incoming $300 million greenway isn’t the reason the couple bought the house, but they say it’s another benefit to their housing decision.
“The city’s completely changed from when I lived here prior,” said Davis. “(The greenway) is definitely an added perk.”
And that’s what the city hopes to see in the future — economic vitality in the footprint of the greenway. The Joe Louis Greenway is expected to increase mobility and connectivity across Detroit and three municipalities: Hamtramck, Highland Park, and Dearborn. City officials say the project will create opportunities to highlight Detroit culture and artistic influence while increasing economic opportunity through new developments in neighborhoods along its path. But some Detroiters worry that the massive development will change the fabric of the neighborhood and attract businesses that aren’t reflective of the community.
Detroit realtor Heather Dell said she’s worked with several homebuyers in and near Russell Woods who will now be within a stone’s throw of the greenway. She’s watched the home prices climb over the years and the community housing stock has become attractive for both first-time buyers who want to spend under $200,000 and buyers who can afford high-end finishes and historic charm. There’s broad interest, she said, from out-of-state buyers looking for walkable areas and quality square footage and one couple purchased a single-family home in the area “sight unseen.”
“The prices of homes have gone up significantly in that pocket, in that corridor, specifically,” said Dell. “There was a tremendous amount of inventory, and there were a lot of empty homes or vacant homes.”
The project has excited many residents, like Davis, even though it’s not yet fully funded. The northwest segment of the greenway, touching Dexter-Linwood, Davison, Oakman Boulevard, Russell Woods, and Nardin Park (formerly and oratorically known as the Sullivan Area), is currently incomplete. When finished, the project will affect an enclave of Detroit residents who have endured uncertain neighborhood vitality over the years. While the city and other greenway supporters say the project will further the stability of the area, there’s some concern about an influx of big-box stores, niche luxury and pricing out long-term and low-income residents.
Davis and her husband purchased their completely renovated property in 2025 for under the $425,000 asking price, according to real estate platform Redfin.
In the past, the house was listed and sold for much less than this, reflecting the current housing market of the Oakman Boulevard area. In 2015, the house sold for $44,000; it sold for $70,000 in 2017; and in 2024, it sold for $110,000 and again for $162,000.
Davis is aware and concerned of what higher housing prices here and across Detroit may mean for other residents and said it’s disheartening.
“I do not like people being priced out of neighborhoods,” she said of her concerns tied to the greenway development. “On the other side, when cities are revitalized like this, it does benefit some other aspect of the neighborhood as it relates to safety and access and more opportunity. So I just see both sides of it. I’m more for development than stagnation.”
A path to growth
The greenway project was announced in 2017, and construction began that same year. So far, the city has secured $220 million to support the development. City officials anticipate 15 miles of the greenway, which includes existing trails like the Dequindre Cut and the Detroit RiverWalk, to be completed by the end of 2026. The entire Joe Louis Greenway is expected to be complete by 2030.
In a 2021 Joe Louis Greenway Framework Plan, the city described neighborhoods in the northwest corner of the greenway as “challenged” due to declining population, low rents and land values and no planned construction.
According to the city, the neighborhoods saw a 21% decrease in residents since 2010. The median home value was $56,883, and home values depreciated by 38%. Almost 12,300 residents were within the Census tract of the northwest corner, and 94% are Black.
Recent enhancements include federal funding to beautify Dexter Avenue and over $2.5 million in Strategic Neighborhood Fund grants to support park improvements, business pop-ups, cultural murals, and eight front-facing facade improvements for local businesses like Dexter Hardware. An additional $21.5 million through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was used for the Helen Moore Community Center and the Dexter Streetscape, which included bike lanes, widened sidewalks, and bus shelters.
From the surrounding major roadways, the area looks to be improved. However, within the neighborhoods, vacant and demolished properties remain. Across the three neighborhoods, 52% of the vacant lots are owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
In May, the land bank told BridgeDetroit that it owns 2,323 residential properties in the neighborhoods along the northwest section of the greenway: Dexter-Linwood, Russell Woods, and Nardin Park (Sullivan Area).
When asked if he thought the greenway would affect property values, resident Eddie Respress said, “It ain’t gonna hurt it,” while sitting on his nephew’s front porch in Dexter-Linwood.
Respress, 74, said he thinks the greenway is the “best thing ever,” specifically for Detroit kids and teens who, Respress said, have few safe and fun places to go.
The family has occupied single-family residences in the Russell Woods and Dexter-Linwood neighborhoods for over 50 years. Respress sat on the porch with his nephew, niece, and a handful of acquaintances, across the street from Zussman Park, which received an $850,000 renovation through Strategic Neighborhood Funding in 2021. At the time, SNF dollars were also used to demolish homes in Russell Woods and Nardin Park.
Respress reminded his family of the importance of generational wealth to be able to hold on to family homes as the city changes.
The elder questions the city’s intent in owning thousands of residential properties across the three neighborhoods and far too many homes have been torn down.
“If you have houses on the spot that can be fixed up, why not put a person in them, instead of paying $10,000 to $15,000 to tear the house down?”
Michelle Flourny, a project manager for the city’s Planning and Development Department, said the city is currently accepting development proposals to bring a mixed-use retail space to the area. Flourny said the city would prefer that developers rehab existing buildings rather than demolish existing structures.
According to the city’s Neighborhood Planning Study Playbook: Northwest, 53% of residents in neighborhoods around the northwest segment of the greenway own their homes while 47% are renting. In the report, the city says there is a priority for multi-family dwellings to maintain affordability and that “the key to long-term affordability of existing neighborhoods is preserving existing buildings.”
“The first priority is always to serve the residents who are already in these neighborhoods surrounding the greenway,” Flourny said.
In a 2025 Neighborhood Planning Study, the northwest section of the greenway is described as a “weaker market” that is “fertilized” and in need of housing stabilization programs. The report is based on dozens of community feedback sessions.
The 2021 and 2025 planning studies were developed to better understand the potential impacts of greenway investment on the surrounding neighborhoods. The 2025 study also considers the positive impact of greenways on residents in other metros like Chicago, Indianapolis and Denver. According to the study, in these cities, property values adjacent to a greenway increased, new housing was developed, and more jobs were created. Atlanta’s Beltline was not included for comparison, even though the City’s General Services Department highlighted a Citizen Advisory Council trip to the Atlanta Beltline specifically for learning purposes during a 2019 Greenway Framework meeting.
Flourny said Detroit is different from Atlanta because the greenway isn’t disrupting an already thriving economic situation.
“But we’ve also seen that Detroit isn’t the same as those metro areas and doesn’t have the same market conditions as some of those other greenways that have been mentioned, especially the Beltline,” Flourny said.
BridgeDetroit contacted the city of Atlanta and reporters at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, or AJC, to better understand the conditions of Atlanta’s neighborhoods when the Beltline was introduced to the city. The communications office for Atlanta’s mayor did not respond. The links provided to the original AJC stories are behind a paywall.
The Beltline is a 22-mile loop within Atlanta that connects multiple walk and bike paths on what used to be an abandoned railway. It’s incomplete, with several miles still to be paved, and has yet to reach its funding goal.
In 2019, AJC columnist Bill Torpy reported that Atlanta’s Beltline originated from urban planner Ryan Gravel’s master’s thesis paper in 1999. Gravel, whom Torpy says is now known as “the Beltline Guy,” envisioned creating the loop from Atlanta’s abandoned rail lines. The then-grad student wanted to increase walkability, build up residential properties, and improve access to public transportation through light rail. It wasn’t until 2012, following the Great Recession of 2009, when the housing market bottomed out, that the city opened the first portion of the Beltline.
“Some of the areas were already pretty well-to-do, or gentrified previous to this, and other areas were gutted-out neighborhoods,” Torpy said.
The longtime columnist also documented the change in neighborhoods. In 2014, he wrote about a predominantly Black, previously redlined neighborhood within the Beltline’s path. He described rows of abandoned houses, high rates of poverty, mortgage fraud, and failing schools. Torpy reported that due to the recession, home values in the neighborhood had plummeted to a range of $13,241 to $84,972. But investors heard about the Beltline, and they were shopping.
“Now most of the houses in some of those areas have been scrapped,” Torpy told BridgeDetroit. “They put up McMansions, but you know it was (originally) that $30,000 property, and if it still existed in some of those areas, it would be (worth), certainly, 10 times more. So it’s become kind of an economic driver.”
The Beltline is hugely popular. The columnist said he walks the path with his adult children and finds it to be a gathering spot for everyone.
“It’s so crowded in some places, people walking, strollers, their dogs with the long leashes, and walking six across, because people just love it, and riding bikes,” Torpy said.
From an economic standpoint, the AJC’s economic development and commercial real estate reporter, Zachary Hansen, says it depends on who you talk to whether the Beltline is beneficial.
“Anywhere that touched the Beltline became way more valuable (in) real estate,” Hansen said. “Neighborhoods where it would be unthinkable to have $700,000 townhomes were getting $700,000 townhomes in anticipation of what was coming.”
The business reporter said that portions of the Beltline that were previously home to forests and abandoned industrial buildings are now trendy, expensive areas with 20-plus-story buildings.
“The first (neighborhoods) that got it are unrecognizable to what they were beforehand,” said Hansen. “It almost created a whole new skyline.”
This positive change hasn’t happened without pain. Housing prices have skyrocketed, property taxes have increased, and the Atlanta Beltline Inc., which maintains planning and development for the Beltline, owns 94 acres around the Beltline.
Hansen said gentrification around the Beltline has become a “thorny issue.” Major businesses like Mailchimp, Microsoft, and BlackRock have brought new jobs and made investments along the Beltline. New modern apartments that rent upwards of $2,200 a month have pushed out residents who previously paid $800.
“Having the east side Beltline pop off the way it did, with that success, likely sped up the other retail investments that came along elsewhere.”
To thwart further displacement, the city created a Tax Allocation District, which allows property owners within a certain radius of the Beltline to invest property tax revenue into the neighborhoods. A public-private partnership is on track to provide 5,600 moderately affordable housing units along the Beltline by the end of 2030. Additionally, a legacy resident program has frozen property taxes for long-term homeowners who, Hansen said, likely wouldn’t be able to “afford the home across the street” today.
“That would have been way more helpful a decade earlier when the Beltline was first starting to develop,” Hansen said.
There’s now a push to put the last part of Gravel’s plan into place: a light rail along the Beltline. A light rail has not been proposed for the Joe Louis Greenway.
A boost to home prices
Melvin Chuney has walked the 32 blocks of Russell Woods for years. Now, he walks his dog, Sassie, a white Pyrenees and standard poodle mix, three times a day at the park across the street from his house.
The retired Detroit Police Officer said he’s watched the neighborhood change from an area in decline with high crime rates and drug use, to a neighborhood that is “growing in every direction.”
“It’s awesome over here,” said Chuney. “These homes are irreplaceable. This is a historic district.”
Chuney is president of the Russell Woods-Sullivan Area Association. The 58-year-old has served four terms as president and was reelected as association president in June.
“I’m just truly thankful and grateful that God has allowed me to serve this way,” he said. “It’s a blessing to me to be able to serve this way.”
Chuney revels in the leadership position. In May, he stacked the agenda for the neighborhood meeting to include voices from residents, nonprofits, entrepreneurs and city council representatives to share information that may affect the neighborhood. The lengthy meeting outlasted the Boys and Girls Club building’s operating hours for the day. Still, most of the 40-plus people in attendance stayed through the end.
Chuney calls the greenway a blessing. When finished, the path will be two blocks from his primary residence in Russell Woods. He owns five properties in the neighborhood and said the collection of homes was purchased for $35,000. Now, he says they are worth at least $200,000 each.
Chuney said he doesn’t think gentrification is bad. He’s seen an increase in homeownership over the last eight years that he believes is good for the area. He hopes that the greenway will encourage business development.
“This part of the city was written off at one point,” he said. “There was nothing around here and people were just surviving. So just to see this bright light, if you will, it’s welcome.”
Rita Ross, whose family has owned property in the historic district since the 1950s, said she looks forward to the greenway as a way to showcase the city’s rich history. Ross anticipates murals, historical markers, and opportunities to connect through events and community centers to learn about Motown legends, like her sister, Diana Ross.
She imagines the greenway could turn the Russell Woods, Dexter-Linwood, and Nardin Park area into the next Black Bottom of Detroit. Sitting within Harmony Café on Dexter Avenue, Ross said that the greenway could positively influence the economic vitality of the area if the city invests in more than facades, parks, and entrepreneurial pop-ups. A foster parent to many Detroit youth over the years, Ross said the new developments need to be created with current residents in mind. She said the neighborhood needs investments in existing structures, new businesses, and affordable housing that fits the needs of families, rather than catering to single, young professionals.
“We don’t need apartment buildings, we need homes. But maybe they’ll say we need apartments because it’s cheaper,” Ross said.
Ross left Detroit as a young woman to travel and returned years ago. She’s lived in Russell Woods for decades and said their community has enduring relationships where neighbors care for one another. It’s something she wants to see continue as everything around them changes.
Dell, the realtor, supports the greenway and believes it will bring “vibrancy and jobs.” She said that homes are being renovated “for better or for worse,” but overall, she said that homebuyers are encouraged by the potential of future investment.
“The whole idea of that corridor coming back and having retail shops is absolutely a draw,” said Dell. “It is just going to do great things for housing prices, with the hopes that we don’t push people out. We can still continue to develop areas with good, well-priced, first-time homebuyer opportunity homes.”
Community ‘is priceless’
Mark Head, 41, purchased a home in Russell Woods with his wife in 2020. The couple, originally from Downriver, lived in the Midtown neighborhood for nearly a decade before deciding to purchase a home.
Head said the house was vacant for several years after a previous, elderly homeowner died. In the six years that they’ve lived there, he and his wife have gotten to know and appreciate their neighbors.
“My favorite thing about the house is the neighborhood,” he said. “A house is a house. You can let it fall into disrepair and you can improve it, but the people and the community, that’s priceless.”
When the greenway was first announced, Head thought it was “just another Detroit pipe dream,” he said. “But now it’s real, and it’s awesome.”
Like his neighbors, Head said he looks forward to the greenway’s completion so that he can bike from his home to Belle Isle Park. The homeowner said he hopes the project will increase economic activity — as long as it makes sense for the neighborhood. He doesn’t want a major retail area, and laments about luxury shops that are too niche to survive long-term.
“I like the walkability of the area and the thought of mixed-use spaces,” he said. “But if it’s like an Apple Store and some high-end apartments, that’s mixed-use, but you’re not mixing with people who can use it. Bring in a grocery store, bring in a diner, bring in something for the layperson as opposed to luxuries all the time.”
Davis and her husband are also looking forward to the potential of small businesses in the area.
Davis grew up on the east side. She left the city for work and spent over a decade living on the east and west coasts of the country. When she returned, she became a westsider. Davis and her husband lived in a family-inherited home 10 minutes from Russell Woods for the last five years.
When the couple began the house-hunting process, Davis said she looked for a large home to host family gatherings with natural light and access to parks and stores. They decided against taking on renovation projects — which eliminated much of Detroit’s older housing stock. They looked at homes in East English Village, Rosedale Park, and University District, among other historic neighborhoods, before settling on Russell Woods.
When the couple moved in, neighbors began walking by the house and introducing themselves.
“Russell Woods is a hidden gem,” Davis said. “I feel like we won in terms of cost comparison.”
While there is excitement for new developments, Davis said her neighbors are all in agreement: they want to see lessons learned from other city investments, such as decreasing traffic, opportunities for small businesses to flourish and quality, affordable housing options.
“I love being part of a historical neighborhood because I feel like there’s stronger roots and connections to the city,” said Davis. “I love learning about it, and the legends that used to live over here.”
This story was produced as part of Next City’s Local Reporting Hub, with funding from the Kresge Foundation.
