Mayor, Council President cut ribbon on $22M affordable housing and retail development 

Mayor, Council President cut ribbon on $22M affordable housing and retail development 

• $22.5M development features 92 apartments, half of which are affordable housing as low as 50% area median income.
• Project is a partnership between Invest Detroit and Detroit-based Roxbury Group.

DETROIT – Mayor Mike Duggan joined state and city leaders, developers and the Islandview/Greater Villages community today to celebrate the grand opening of the Parker Durand, a new mixed-use building that brings 92 units – half of which are quality affordable housing – as part of the Strategic Neighborhood Fund initiative.

Developed by Invest Detroit and The Roxbury Group, the $22.5 million development at 8001 Kercheval offers 18 units at 50% area median income (AMI), 28 units at 80% AMI, and the remaining units are not to exceed 120% AMI. This means, that a one-bedroom apartment will cost as little as $750 a month. Residents will have amenities such as an in-unit washer/dryer, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, a rooftop deck and more.

"A couple of years ago, this corner of Kercheval and Van Dyke was just another empty lot along an under-developed commercial corridor. Today, it's a gorgeous new building that will be home to Detroiters of all income levels along an attractive new city streetscape," said Mayor Mike Duggan. "This is how we are rebuilding our city as a place of beauty where any Detroiter can afford to live in any neighborhood they choose.  I'd like to thank the Roxbury Group and our planning and housing departments for making this day possible."  

Parker Durand also offers opportunities for local small businesses to flourish, offering four first-floor retail spaces, two of which have already been leased, including FAIRCLOTH Boutique, a women's clothing-and-accessories store specializing in affordable and colorful clothing, and Konnected Fitness, a Black- and woman-owned fitness studio. Today’s ceremony was held inside Konnected, and its owner, Khari Dickey, took part in the festivities.

The 79,500-square-foot development replaced a giant vacant lot at the key intersection of Van Dyke and Kercheval, in the heart of the neighborhood. In addition to the affordable housing it creates, this makes Parker Durand a key step forward in beautifying Islandview/Greater Villages and enhancing the neighborhood fabric and walkability.

Parker Durand will bring 92 apartments to the Islandview/Greater Villages neighborhood, including 46 affordable housing units. 

Having half of the Parker Durand’s apartments dedicated as affordable housing is a key step in the mission of the Strategic Neighborhood Fund (SNF), which is about creating far more than just new apartment buildings.

“By creating more equitable developments and more cohesive, inclusive neighborhoods, we are making Detroit a better place for all,” said Marcia Ventura, senior vice president at Invest Detroit. “This development is such a major addition to the Islandview/Greater Villages community, and we hope the project inspires other developers to join us in working through the SNF to build back our neighborhoods.”

“The opening of Parker Durand means more opportunities for quality housing for people from all income levels, for businesses, and the community,” said James Van Dyke, executive vice president of The Roxbury Group. “We want to extend a huge thank you to our funders, partners and the neighborhood, without whom this project would not have been possible.”

The SNF is a $150 million private-public partnership administered by the nonprofit Invest Detroit and funded by six corporate funders and several philanthropic organizations. The SNF is dedicated to housing stabilization and improving parks, commercial corridors and streetscapes, as well as creating opportunity and equity for local developers and business owners of color. Mayor Duggan announced the fund in 2014 in three neighborhoods, and the program was expanded to seven more in 2018. There is at least one SNF neighborhood in each of the city’s seven council districts.

Parker Durand is the latest SNF project in the neighborhood. A $7.8 million streetscape overhaul of Kercheval Avenue has improved walkability, added bike lanes and better parking options, and improved overall neighborhood beautification. Butzel Playfield will wrap up $1.43 million in park upgrades early this spring. Though not tapping federal funds, the project is a key step in improving the quality of life for eastsiders who call the neighborhood home. Butzel is getting new playgrounds, a Nature Imagination area, a walking loop, picnic and grilling areas, a sledding hill, drinking fountains, baseball diamond, and landscaping, including a corner entry plaza. Its picnic shelter, horseshoe pitch and basketball court were renovated. In all, more than $10 million will be invested in the Islandview/Greater Villages neighborhood through the SNF.

Construction began on Parker Durand in December 2019 and was made possible in part through working with the City of Detroit’s Housing & Revitalization Department to secure $1.5 million in HOME funding.

Capital Impact Partners, another funder for this project, provided a $14 million senior loan, part of which was supported through the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF). The CMF is a program of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund, which provides grants to mission-based lenders to finance affordable-housing solutions and community revitalization efforts that benefit people of low incomes and communities nationwide.  Other partners who made the project possible include Invest Detroit, LISC and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which provided a $3.5 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program grant.

“On behalf of the administration and residents of this city, I would like to thank our SNF corporate funders, the MEDC and Capital Impact Partners for helping to bring more quality affordable housing to Detroit,” said Donald Rencher, group executive of Planning, Housing and Development for the City of Detroit. “The creation of affordable housing is one of our top priorities, and bringing new life to this key corner in the Islandview/Greater Villages neighborhood makes this an incredibly important project for the city of Detroit.”

“The Parker Durand is bringing vibrancy through the addition of new housing and space for small business to the West Village neighborhood of Detroit and serves as a promising sign of the continuing redevelopment of Detroit neighborhoods,” said MEDC Sr. Vice President of Community Development Michele Wildman. “At MEDC, we are committed to supporting transformative projects that help create vibrant, resilient communities, while supporting our strong economic recovery statewide. We’re pleased to work with our partners to support this project and look forward to seeing the additional investment it will encourage in other Detroit neighborhoods.”

"Supporting mixed-use, mixed income projects that are anchored by affordable housing is a key component of our inclusive growth strategy that we have been implementing for the past decade,” said Ellis Carr, president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. “We are thrilled to work with all of the partners involved, as well as support through the Capital Magnet Fund, to create a project that ensures long-term affordability for Detroiters in a developing neighborhood targeted for tens of millions of dollars of investment.”

About Invest Detroit

Invest Detroit is a nonprofit lender, investor and partner that supports business and real estate projects that will ignite economic growth in Detroit and the region. Its goal is to increase density and job opportunities in a way that is strategic and inclusive. Go to www.investdetroit.com for more information.

About The Roxbury Group

The Roxbury Group is a real estate development and investment firm founded in 2005. The firm specializes in complex real estate and economic development projects.  Since its founding, the Roxbury Group has developed $250 million in projects with $150 million in projects in the pipeline. Most recently, they completed the redevelopment of the long-abandoned Metropolitan Building, as well as the Kamper and Stevens Buildings on Washington Boulevard, and have just announced the $59 million renovation of the Lee Plaza, Detroit’s last vacant great high-rise, into senior affordable housing.

About Capital Impact Partners

Through capital and commitment, Capital Impact Partners helps people build communities of opportunity that break barriers to success. We work to champion key issues of equity and social and economic justice by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities. Learn more at www.capitalimpact.org and www.investedincommunities.org.