The Dirt: Immigrants leading the charge on Detroit’s housing revival?

Who’s fixing up Detroit’s housing stock and a major contributor to its population growth ? A new study points to local investors from neighborhoods with large immigrant populations.

Meanwhile, the Renaissance Center is as empty as we thought — though the city might move in some workers — and Michigan’s largest distributors of housing vouchers aren’t distributing any.

Sweat equity

Around 17,000 previously vacant Detroit homes are now occupied, according to research from Alex Alsup, vice president of research and development at parcel data company Regrid. A substantial number of these homes have ties to immigrant communities.

Alsup and another researcher took a granular look at the city’s Midwest neighborhood near the Dearborn border and found that 125 homes had been reoccupied since 2019, increasing occupancy there by 22%. Most of the homes are owned by people with addresses in Hamtramck, Dearborn, or neighborhoods like Chadsey Condon and Springwells — all of which have significant immigrant populations.

The city demolished another 53 homes in the neighborhood — perhaps too quickly, as the pace of rehabs has slowed this year, likely due to low housing supply.

It’s impressive that so many homes have been restored and reoccupied in the last five years, especially considering the roadblocks the city can put in the way of small-scale developers . (The Chargeback, Outlier Media)

Ghost tower

Only 20% of pre-pandemic office workers are present daily at the Renaissance Center (paywalled), according to a Downtown Detroit Partnership analysis. That’s not a huge surprise. Owner General Motors Co. has been working with Bedrock Detroit to explore future uses for the office complex once the automaker relocates employees to Hudson’s Detroit.

Two key findings stand out: First, the RenCen was already losing office workers before the pandemic, dropping 19.2% from 2018 to 2019. Second, other parts of downtown are doing comparatively better. This past July, the number of daily office workers downtown was 59% of what it was in July 2019. That’s far from robust , and one real estate broker said tenant concessions (paywalled) are at an “all-time high.”

Sources told Crain’s Detroit Business that the City of Detroit may move (paywalled) some of its 10,500 employees into 100,000-200,000 square feet of the RenCen. Most of the city’s employees work out of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, but the city also has offices in several other buildings. (Crain’s Detroit Business, Outlier)

Holding on

Michigan’s largest distributors of Section 8 vouchers have stopped issuing new ones for much of the past year.

Around 85,000 households are on the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) waitlist for vouchers, which provide subsidized rent. But MSHDA stopped drawing new names last fall. Similarly, the Detroit Housing Commission (DHC), with 3,000 on its waitlist, hasn’t issued new vouchers for months.

Rising rents have strained housing authorities, but their budgets haven’t increased to match. The average rent in Michigan is $780, and MSHDA only receives enough federal funding to cover units costing $727 a month. The DHC has also struggled to verify annual eligibility for voucher-holders, costing additional funds. (BridgeDetroit/Detroit Free Press, Outlier)

Development news quick-hitters

Developers have started site work and submitted an updated plan (paywalled) for The Mid, a $377 million project near Woodward and Mack avenues. Nearly half of a 15-story tower must be completed by the end of 2026 to qualify for state subsidies. (Crain’s)

A Catholic church will sell an unused school building on the far northwest side of Detroit to the Volunteers of America Michigan, which will convert the site to supportive housing for people at risk of homelessness. The partners hope to start construction in 2026. (Detroit Catholic)

The city and Invest Detroit announced a $40 million third phase of its Strategic Neighborhood Fund to enhance Detroit’s commercial corridors. Funders have committed $23 million so far, with Rocket Community Fund contributing $15 million. This phase will focus on 10 neighborhoods, including Islandview, Jefferson Chalmers, Warrendale and Cody Rouge . (City of Detroit, Outlier)

The Dirt: Immigrants leading the charge on Detroit’s housing revival? · Outlier Media