The Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC) has approved a community benefits package for the next phase of the District Detroit. The development, led by Olympia Development and Related Companies, includes 10 new or rehabbed buildings to be built over the next five years.

The NAC voted 8-1 on the $167 million package, which now moves on to City Council for approval. The community benefits agreed upon include:

  • A goal of $100 million towards hiring disadvantaged and Detroit-based contractors for the development;
  • $12 million to area projects identified by the NAC, including an upgrade to the Cass Tech football field, job training programs, and parking and traffic studies;
  • A commitment to affordable housing, including acceptance of Section 8 vouchers;
  • Studies and improvements to green spaces, including Cass Park, the area near the upcoming Detroit Center for Innovation, and improvements within Brush Park; and
  • Matching funds with DDOT for a cap over I-75 (a big win for our urbanists).

The full presentation can be found here.

City Council will also soon take up the $616 million Transformational Brownfield funding approved earlier this month by the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.

With the current timeline of approvals, the developers could break ground on the first phase in July.