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New apartment building in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood promises affordable housing
City of Detroit leaders are celebrating the grand opening of a new apartment building, in one of the city's most desirable areas.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - City of Detroit leaders are celebrating the grand opening of a new apartment building, in one of the city's most desirable areas.
More affordable housing is now available and the person behind it is a native Detroiter.
"Development is problem-solving - constantly," said Richard Hosey.
But Hosey and his team got to see his vision completed on Monday, celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. His new. state-of-the-art, 36-unit apartment building built right in the heart of a historic Midtown neighborhood is now located at 655 W. Willis.
Hosey said he wants to make sure his daughter has a vibrant Detroit to call home, like the one he grew up in. Hosey spoke about the obstacles his project had to grapple with, like the global pandemic.
"The overall team kept pushing and pushing and the city kept supporting us all the way through," he said. "I want to thank Capital Impact Partners for financing us."
The city of Detroit sold the land to Hosey helping secure affordable housing as part of the project.
"It’s very exciting and not only are we going to build it in this neighborhood, but we’re going to make it fit-in economically with 25% of those units set aside as permanent affordable housing," Mayor Mike Duggan said. "So people of all incomes will be living here."
The project not only helps to provide affordable housing but also helps put development on lots that would otherwise be vacant.
"How do we redevelop under-utilized vacant sites in the City of Detroit - and this is a representation of what can be possible," said Kenyetta Bridges.
Hosey says he’s proud to see this project though, and is happy that some already have the opportunity to call it home.
Mayor Duggan says he’s also proud and looks forward to the city benefiting from more of Hosey’s problem-solving.
"And maybe what I’m most proud of is what we’re seeing more and more of in the city: Black developers rebuilding the city with our projects being more and more Black-owned," Duggan said.