Friday, April 12, 2024     |     WWW.DETROITMI.GOV

Detroit Celebrates $1B Investment
in Affordable Housing

Mayor Duggan joined members of the City Council and other local leaders at the April 12 celebration event to mark a huge milestone in the effort to build Detroit as a place for everyone: the investment of $1 billion into creating thousands of affordable housing units in Detroit over the past five years.

Since 2019, a total of 71 multi-family housing projects have been responsible for more than 4,000 units of affordable housing. On display at the event was a 75-foot long gallery of project boards representing all 71 projects that make up the 5-year, $1 billion investment.

The celebration was held on the site of the project that put the City of Detroit over the $1-billion investment threshold. The project, led by developer Amin Irving, will begin construction on E. Jefferson in the next two weeks.

Mayor Mike Duggan will deliver his 11th annual State of the City address at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church on Wednesday, April 17. The address is by invitation only and not open to the public.

The livestream of the event begins at 6:30 p.m., with the Mayor’s address beginning at 7 p.m.

The Mayor delivered his first State of the City address in February 2014, when the City was in bankruptcy, under emergency management and struggling to provide basic services.

Since that time, Detroit has seen historic rises in property values alongside comparable reductions in crime and unemployment, while shifting from a strategy solely of removing blight to one of also creating beauty through renovated parks, neighborhood streetscapes, public art and renovated vacant historic buildings.

The State of the City address can be viewed on the following City of Detroit platforms:

• Channel 21 (Comcast) and Channel 99 (AT&T)

• Website: detroitmi.gov

• Facebook: facebook.com/CityofDetroit

• YouTube: youtube.com/cityofdetroit

The city of Detroit is gearing up to host the NFL Draft in downtown April 25 – 27 and local leaders and partners across the region have been working behind the scenes for months to ensure visitors have all the information they need in advance to plan a safe, fun, and easy trip to enjoy the festivities.

Mayor Mike Duggan was joined by City officials and transit partners this week to announce the plans.

While some of Detroit’s Central Business District will be closed to vehicular traffic, making the trip downtown will be well worth it. In addition to the NFL footprint, there are fun activities planned for fans of all ages at several locations throughout the downtown and across Detroit. Fans should not sit on the sidelines due to concerns about transportation.

The three secure entry points to the 2024 NFL Draft will be located at:

• Jefferson Ave. & Randolph Street
• Jefferson Ave. & Griswold Street
• Cadillac Square & Randolph

For access to the Draft Experience, fans are required to register for free entry by downloading the NFL OnePass app or online at NFL.com/DraftAccess. For those without a smartphone, registration on site via Fan Services staff is also permitted.

The next phase of road closures has been announced in advance of this year’s NFL Draft, and will take effect on Monday, April 15.

This phase will have the biggest impact on people driving around Detroit, as it includes the closure of both eastbound and westbound Jefferson Ave. in front of Hart Plaza.  The Jefferson closure will allow for the build-out of the NFL Draft Experience presented by Rocket Mortgage, a free fan festival taking place during all three days of the draft.

Phase three closures will begin April 15 at 12 a.m. and last until Monday,

May 6 at 5 a.m.:

• SB M-10 exit to Jefferson Ave. downtown will be closed – Exits 1A (W. Jefferson) & 1B (Larned) will remain open at this time
• Westbound Jefferson Ave. from Beaubien St. to Washington Blvd.
• Eastbound Jefferson Ave. from Washington Blvd. to Randolph
• Bates St. from Jefferson Ave. to Atwater St.
• Atwater St. from Civic Center Drive to Bates St.
• Southbound Brush St. between Larned St. and Jefferson Ave.
• All tunnel traffic must use I-375 during the M-10/Jefferson Ave. closures
  • Windsor-bound traffic should use Jefferson to Randolph to access the tunnel

Construction & Demolition Dept. celebrates 6,000th residential demolition during Demo Week

Welcome to Detroit sign unveiled ahead of NFL Draft

Detroit’s new gateway sign was unveiled this week, welcoming residents and visitors to the city.

The eight-foot-tall letters, mounted on two-foot-tall concrete blocks, are along eastbound I-94 between Central Street and Cecil Ave. The City of Detroit, DTE, MDOT, and FHWA made the project possible.

The new gateway sign, crafted by Fairmount Sign Company, will welcome visitors and residents alike to Detroit ahead of this year’s highly anticipated NFL Draft.

Volunteers needed for Keep Detroit Clean campaign on April 22 as part of Earth Day 2024

Sign up today here – Earth Day Clean-up Volunteer Registration.

The DCLEATED art installation – made up of 20 oversized cleat sculptures painted by local Detroit artists – will be auctioned online by Visit Detroit and the Detroit Sports Commission to benefit area charities.

The DCLEATED project, led by the City of Detroit and City Walls, was launched ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft to showcase the talent of local artists, while raising awareness and funds for vital Detroit-based causes.

The sculptures are displayed in and around the heart of downtown Detroit for residents and visitors to enjoy during the NFL Draft.

The online auction is now live and closes at 11:30 p.m. on May 3. Bidding starts at $2,500 per cleat, with the option to purchase a cleat for $10,000. Bidders will also have the option to donate online, with all funds being split evenly amongst the 20 charities. Local artists for the DCLEATED project were chosen through a competitive open call process and partnered with a local non-profit with a mission they are passionate about, integrating their story and message into their cleat design.

To fill out the survey, visit the links below:

If you are a Detroiter with a disability or you have trouble getting around your home, please fill out the survey here.

If you are a caretaker of a resident with a disability, please fill out the survey here.

The City of Detroit announced this week the ‘BeBot,’ introduced as part of the Belle Isle Conservancy’s environmental campaign, Keep Belle Isle Beautiful. This innovative initiative is part of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, a collaborative effort between the CGLR Foundation in the U.S. and Pollution Probe in Canada, targeting enhanced plastic litter removal and reduction on Belle Isle Beach. The BeBot is a completely electric beach cleaning robot operated remotely. With the capability to cover 32,000 square feet per hour, it efficiently clears away various sizes of plastic debris from the environment including bottles, food wrappers, cigarette butts, and fragmented plastic particles. Residents and visitors are also encouraged to participate in public clean-up events, such as the Saturday public cleanups and beach cleanups, which provide opportunities for hands-on involvement in maintaining the cleanliness of Belle Isle.

Mayor, local leaders celebrate rehabilitation of The Claire apartment building

Mayor Mike Duggan joined City leaders and partners last week to celebrate the beginning of the rehabilitation of a new multi-family affordable housing development.

The Claire is a $9.17-million project that will bring another 42 units of new affordable housing to Detroit.

Of the 42 units, a total of 27 will have rents set between 50 to 80 percent of area median income (AMI). Under the agreement, affordability of the apartments is guaranteed for the next 11 years.

Mayor joins former Lion Matt Stafford to celebrate expansion of Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park

Mayor Duggan joined former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and wife Kelly to celebrate the expansion of the east side’s S.A.Y. Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park, a repurposed after-school/athletic facility started nearly 10 years ago by founder Mitch Albom.

With the 15,000-square-foot enhancement, the state-of-the-art center at 19320 Van Dyke will add more academic and enrichment programs for hundreds of Detroit youth (ages 8 -18). It also features a black box theatre, multi-purpose classrooms and now serves adults through GED, vocational training, and workplace readiness programs.

The Staffords provided an initial $1million toward the expansion with partners offering additional support. Learn more at sayplay.org.

The City of Detroit, in collaboration with Bedrock, Michigan Central and the State of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME), announced plans to pilot a two-way, 10.8-mile autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle route, called the Connect.

The Connect pilot service will run from Michigan Central to Bedrock’s 200 Walker Street on the riverfront, and will open to the public this summer and run at no cost to riders.

Guided by the City’s Office of Mobility Innovation, Detroit will lead community outreach initiatives with residents before deployment.

Deadline for FEMA disaster assistance for 2023 storms extended to May 8

Homeowners and renters in Wayne County with uninsured or underinsured damage caused by the August 24 – 26, 2023 severe storms are encouraged to apply for FEMA disaster assistance. The deadline to apply for assistance has been extended to May 8, 2024.

Residents can apply for FEMA assistance online or in person:

• Go online here, use the FEMA Mobile App, or call 800-621-3362. If you use a relay service such as video relay service, captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service.
• Visit one of the following Disaster Recovery Centers in Detroit:
  • Kemeny Recreation Center, 2260 S. Fort St.
  • Butzel Family Center, 7737 Kercheval
  • Samaritan Center, 5555 Conner

For more information about the disaster recovery operation in Michigan, visit fema.gov/disaster/4757.