An old factory adjacent to Recycle Here and the Lincoln Street Art Park will soon transform into an 81-unit mixed-use development called Dreamtroit. The $20 million project, led by Matt Naimi and Oren Goldenberg, has started construction and could be completed by early 2022. 

“We believe it is the people and the culture that push our city into the future,” said Naimi, founder of Recycle Here. “For the past 12 years, we have been bringing people together through public programming, public space, environmentalism and art. We are ensuring that the working class, artists and innovators will continue to have a home and a platform to build the next generation of Detroit's cultural and technological revolution, while offering affordable housing to those who make Detroit such a unique and creative place.” 

The development at 1331 Holden Street will have 38,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, including a market and restaurant, with the intention of creating spaces for artists and creatives to gather. 58 of the 81 units will be considered affordable housing, with 17 reserved for households at or below 50 percent area median income (AMI), 41 units at 80 percent AMI, and the rest at 120 percent AMI. 

Funding has come from numerous sources, including the Detroit Housing for the Future Fund, Invest Detroit, Capital Impact Partners, IFF, Michigan Economic Development Corp., and historic tax credits.

“We believe we should be able to live affordably in the city of Detroit and be entrenched in the amazing culture of our city,” Goldenberg said. “This project is about reimagining old structures in new ways and contributing to Detroit's reinvention of itself and its icons.”

The building dates back to 1908, and served as a factory for Warren Motor Car Co., Lincoln, and Ford --Model Ts were made here for a while. It's also been a food warehouse and distribution center, and has also been used as a factory for different products. It's now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The apartments will have 13-foot ceilings with big windows and flex space. The development will include two-bedroom and one-bedroom apartments, along with studios with a communal kitchen. Parking will be offered on-site, and the development will also have an indoor event space and coffee shop.

Recycle Here remains open, and the Lincoln Street Art Park will continue to bring in artists and host events after construction is completed.