An Early Childhood Education Center operated by Starfish Family Services and led by IFF is in the pre-development stage currently, she said. Other neighborhood projects on tap include: a green stormwater project, streetscaping and placemaking along corridors and the new 10th Street Greenway to connect Michigan Avenue down to the developing Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park.
Heritage Works, a youth and community development through cultural traditions, arts and education, will lead programs at the new, 8,000- to 12,000-square-foot economic empowerment center slated for the former school site in North Corktown.
“Heritage Works is excited to be developing the NoCo Culture Hub, which will be a mixed-used development that blends cultural, commercial and community uses to meet the economic, physical, and social needs of the Corktown community,” Executive Director Rhonda Greene said in a forwarded statement.
Labov said the new center will house the nonprofit’s arts and education programs as well as a retail tenant to meet commercial requirements of the Choice Neighborhoods grant and provide a possible avenue for the nonprofit’s youth employment programs.
“That’s part of what they want to offer with this space to help youth sort of develop the skills to be employable and manage finances and things of that nature in addition to the arts and cultural programming,” Labov said.
In terms of a developer, the city is “looking for a partner who will share (Heritage Works’) vision and support them in being owners or co-owners, with the developer because that’s a goal and important to Heritage Works,” Labov said.
Request for qualifications from developers for the new neighborhood center are due by July 26.
Housing development has led the Detroit Choice Neighborhoods project, with half of 120 mixed-income apartments set to come online late this summer as part of the $42 million “Left Field” housing project, developed by American Community Developers on property formerly home to Tiger Stadium, along the Fisher Service Drive and Cochrane Street.
Construction on a second housing development, Preserve on Ash, is set to break ground late this month, bringing 69 mixed-income townhomes of the total 160 planned. The Community Builders is the developer on the project.
“As you get closer to the freeway and to Michigan Avenue, you’re starting to see more projects come in market rate and middle income …but we want to ensure that there’s affordable rental here,” Labov said.
