A major step in the redevelopment of Detroit's Fitzgerald neighborhood is underway. According to a release, the Fitz Forward team announced Wednesday that it has closed on the purchase of the first 128 parcels of land in its groundbreaking development plan for the Fitzgerald neighborhood. In total, 300 parcels of land will redevelop the northwest Detroit neighborhood. The Fitz Forward team, led by Detroit-based developers Century Partners and the Platform, closed on the purchases of 119 additional properties for the Detroit Land Bank Authority, following nine that were acquired previously, a release states. One hundred vacant and historic homes will be remodeled in the redevelopment process. There will also be installation of green infrastructure and the demolishing of homes that cannot be saved. Rehabbed homes are expected to be completed by 2020. The redevelopment of the Fitzgerald neighborhood is made possible by public and private investment. For more information on the redevelopment project, visit www.fitzgerald-detroit.com.<doc-sep>Candice Williams The Detroit News Detroit — A two-story house on Lilac Street was once filled with debris from the basement up. It’s now been gutted and is undergoing a complete renovation as part of a $4 million project the city announced last year in an effort to makeover a portion of one Detroit neighborhood. The developers, known as the Fitz Forward team, are working to improve the Fitzgerald neighborhood on the city’s northwest side. The group, which consists of Century Partners and the Platform, showed off the house on Lilac Wednesday while announcing it had recently purchased from the Detroit Land Bank Authority an additional 119 parcels for the development, bringing the total to 128. “This house was in really, really rough condition,” said David Alade, co-founder of Century Partners, as he stood on new wood flooring in the living room. “A low- to moderate-income household will be able to purchase what is really a whole new house.” The house was stripped down to the studs and given new mechanicals, flooring, drywall and light fixtures. “It’s a real full gut rehab,” he said. “It’s really great for a first-time homebuyer or a young family.” The group hopes to replicate that work throughout a quarter-square-mile area bounded by Puritan, McNichols, Livernois and Greenlawn. Development work includes rehabbing 102 vacant homes, installing green infrastructure, such as paths and parks, and demolishing homes beyond repair. All of the rehabs are expected to be complete by 2020. The first three homes under renovation are expected to be complete in August, Alade said. The effort is a partnership between the Fitz Forward team and the city, which has contributed $1.7 million toward affordable-housing units. The city is also paying for the demolition of 26 single-family homes that could not be saved. Those demolitions will cost an average of $15,000 each, said Donald Rencher, director of the city’s Housing and Revitalization Department. Rencher said the city is pleased with the Fitz Forward team and its work. “It’s a mammoth type of project for any developer to do, but they have been very good partners and have been sticking with us and been at the table with us throughout the time,” he said. The cost to renovate each home starts at about $60,000, Alade said. As for what the homes could sell for, comparable sales in nearby Bagley are about $80,000, he said. Work will begin in September on three more affordable houses and within 30 days work will begin on six houses to be sold at market rate or higher, Rencher said. City officials hope the project will be inclusive for those seeking to live in the neighborhood. “This is our first step in this administration to do a very large, single family, scattered site project in a neighborhood,” Rencher said. “The community is involved, the city is involved and ensure that we’re actually building a neighborhood and revitalize and transform a neighborhood. The project is about selling the community, said Henry Bright, whose company, Detroit Expediting and Development Group, is a contractor for the homes under renovation. He said he grew up nearby. “I’ve seen this neighborhood, and I know what this neighborhood was,” he said. “The plan that they have in place is going to take it to something I know the neighborhood is going to enjoy. They’ve never had the green space, the parks. ... To bring the businesses back ... that’s what you want to see.” Those interested in housing can visit fitzforwarddetroit.com cwilliams@detroitnews.com Twitter: @CWilliams_DN<doc-sep>
One of the larger housing development projects in the city will take a big step forward this summer. The developers of the previously announced Fitzgerald revitalization have closed on 128 parcels, the first of 300 total parcels including houses and land to be redeveloped in the neighborhood. Century Partners and the Platform are leading this neighborhood redevelopment in a team effort called Fitz Forward. The group had nine houses and have added 119 more from the Land Bank. Over 100 homes will be renovated, some that cannot be saved will be demolished, and green infrastructure and urban gardens will be added to the neighborhood. The redevelopment will take place in between the University of Detroit and Marygrove College. Work started last year on a new park—Ella Fitzgerald Park—which is nearing completion. “This project has taken years of predevelopment planning and communicating with neighborhood residents,” says Century Partners co-founders David Alade. “It is a complicated development and there is no perfect blueprint or precedent to follow. However, our team is prepared and excited to take on the challenge. We believe so strongly in this city and the residents of this neighborhood. Now that we have closed on the first 128 parcels, residents will really see the difference as the plan ramps up this summer.” A new non-profit—Century Forward—has been formed to address many neighborhood concerns. The non-profit will work with block clubs to improve security, provide homebuyer education, develop free wireless infrastructure in the neighborhood, and provide grants to Detroit police officers looking to purchase a home. The redeveloped homes will be offered at affordable and market-rate for buying, and also single-family rental housing. The houses should be complete in 2020. While other large housing developments are underway in the city, this one is located far outside of the 7.2 miles surrounding the Central Business District, where most of Detroit’s development has occurred in recent years.