Looking ahead at new businesses and development on East Warren

On Detroit's east side, the business corridor along East Warren has seen a lot of changes in the past few years, with many businesses and new developments still to come. The area has made news lately from upgrades due to the city's Strategic Neighborhood Fund and the groundbreaking earlier this year of The Ribbon, a new construction that will bring both residential and business to the neighborhood. We talked to Joe Rashid, executive director of the E. Warren Development Corp (EWDC) about what's been happening and what's on the horizon in the neighborhood.

"The Ribbon as been a great development to start with; developer Eddy Carrington and his GC Artisan Contractors have been able to move very efficiently to get the building up and it’s really taking shape," says Rashid. In addition to the Ribbon, Rashid says there are three other developments in the works in the neighborhood.

• The Deco: Developed by Brandon Hodges and Damon Dickerson, which will take an old beauty school and turn it into retail anchored by La Jalisciense, a second location for the Southwest Detroit-based restaurant, as well as six residential units above.  
• The E. Warren Public Market (above): E. Warren Development is redeveloping an old Pizza Hut into two commercial kitchens and a large prep space to incubate local food based businesses. Next door to this building, EWDC will develop a 8,500-square-foot building that will house 12 units of micro retail, a 26-stall four season farmers market, and a 700-square-foot mini mart that will mainly offer local produce and prepared foods from the kitchen. The second story of this building will house EWDC’s offices, as well as supportive services for community businesses. 
• The Arthur Murray: Real Estate Interests (REI) is developing this space with 32 units of affordable housing and office space on the first floor.  

Along with the numerous businesses along East Warren, two new businesses are opening this week, with another opening later this year or early next year. Each offer their unique products and services, as well as space for the community to connect. They are all Motor City Match awardees.

• MorningSide Cafe: Coffee x Vibes owner Jeffrey Lewis is a born and raised MorningSide resident who wanted to bring a coffee shop to the neighborhood that raised him. 
• Next Chapter Books- Sarah and Jay Williams are opening the first new and used bookstore in the neighborhood in years. After popping up at the Alger Theater for six months and being a finalist for Hatch Detroit, they found a permanent space at Kensington and E Warren.   
• Terri’s Cakes Detroit: Owner Garnet Terri James is a neighborhood resident. (Expected to open this winter).

The Strategic Neighborhood Fund has been helping neighborhoods around Detroit with revitalization efforts specific to each neighborhood. We often see the new bike lanes, changes in street design, and park upgrades it brings. It also helps with development and businesses.

"The Strategic Neighborhood Fund is really about getting neighborhood commercial corridors bankable again and doing so while supporting Detroit-based developers to develop spaces with community," says Rashid. "That means that community engagement and  participation is key to the development of the larger projects to make sure that development is happening with our community and not to the community."

This is vital to an area that directly impacts three large and established neighborhoods in the city. 

"In terms of the community and their reactions to the changes, we take a restorative approach to facilitating development," says Sarah Feldman, operations and special projects manager for EWDC.  "It's important for us to work with our neighbors instead of doing development for or to them. We went to our community for input on who they wanted to see development from and what types of businesses they desired. For example, our neighbors wanted more sit-down restaurants and local developers. From their feedback, we brought in Eddy Carrington, a local developer and within his building [The Ribbon], Gajiza Dumplins will be opening, providing a sit-down atmosphere. Jasmine, owner of Gajiza, is also a resident of the neighborhood. The work does not stop, though, as we continue to host community input meetings, soliciting feedback for future projects."

For anyone interested in seeing what's been going on along the corridor, the EWDC is hosting E. Warrenfest on Thursday, September 21 from 4-9 p.m., with over 35 vendors open - including the three new businesses highlighted - along with food trucks, live music, a kids zone, and a shuttle for accessibility. 

*An earlier version reported that Terri's Cakes would open this week. This has been delayed for a few months.