In Tuesday evening's community benefits ordinance meeting, Olympia Development, Related Companies, and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) presented a breakdown of the tax incentives for the upcoming $1.5 billion District Detroit development. The developers will tap into a new Detroit Development Authority (DDA) Fund for affordable housing, plus tax abatements and tax captures.
This includes:
- A $23.7 million loan from the DDA for deeply affordable housing (approved Wednesday afternoon)
- A $25 million reimbursement from the DDA for public infrastructure
- $616 million in Michigan's "transformational brownfield plan," which will capture taxes from the development for 35 years
- $37 million in Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) funding
- $96 million in commercial tax abatements
The 10 buildings proposed in this plan call for residential, office, and hotel space, with both new construction and renovation of existing buildings. Out of the 695 newly built residential units, 139 would be "affordable" for those making around $31,000 per year.
Three buildings would start construction this year, including the Detroit Center for Innovation, the Henry Street building rehabs, and a new office building constructed in front of Comerica Park. In total, the development would bring 1.2 million square feet of office space, 146,000 square feet of retail, 467 new hotel rooms, and 865 residential units (695 new, 170 at the Cass & Henry rehab).
The plan and incentives still need approval from City Council, the Michigan Strategic Fund, and the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. Presentations from the past CBO meetings can be found here.
The transformational brownfield plan has been used recently in Bedrock's Hudson's site and Book Tower developments.
