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Committee schedules Corktown NEZ hearing after HRD outlines plan for roughly 600 affordable units
Summary
The committee agreed to receive and file a request for a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone at 1728 Michigan Ave. HRD officials said a HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant will support about 600 units in Corktown, many subsidized at 30% AMI or below; members asked HRD for data on income verification and a public NEZ tracker.
The Planning and Economic Development standing committee on Thursday voted to receive and file a request for a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) for 1728 Michigan Avenue in Corktown and directed staff to schedule a public hearing.
Justice Cook, deputy director of tax incentives in the Housing and Revitalization Department (HRD), and Rebecca Labov, HRD’s chief of Development and Investment, told the committee the administration is implementing a large-scale affordable housing program in greater Corktown funded in part by a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhoods grant awarded in 2021.
"In total, we are bringing approximately 600 new affordable units," Labov said, adding that many units will be subsidized through project-based rental assistance so residents pay roughly 30% of their income, and that some units will be available to households with zero income. She said several hundred units are under construction and several hundred more are planned.
Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero said parking and the depth of affordability remain concerns for residents in Corktown and asked HRD to brief the committee on projects that will deliver deeper affordability. Pro Tem Coleman Young asked whether HRD and partner agencies could provide a tracker showing how many NEZs have been issued, the savings they deliver to property owners and any available data on incomes of residents benefiting from NEZ units.
Labov said HRD and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) have approval and compliance data for NEZs and that a compliance team is monitoring affordability commitments; she cautioned that income verification coverage varies by project year and said HRD would work with compliance partners to summarize what data are available. Labov also said the administration will coordinate with the law department before publicly posting granular income data.
The committee voted to receive and file the NEZ request and to schedule a noticed public hearing; the chair said HRD will provide follow-up information to members on compliance and any summaries of resident income data that can be shared publicly.
