Current affordable senior housing to be preserved and upgraded in Woodbridge neighborhood
Develop Detroit, together with Presbyterian Villages of Michigan, today announced the preservation and rehabilitation of The Village of University Meadows, a senior community currently providing homes to 53 low-income seniors in the Woodbridge neighborhood of Detroit.
The approximately $9 million investment will preserve rent- and income-restricted apartments that had been at risk of conversion to market, in a neighborhood of rapidly increasing housing costs. The effort will allow current residents to age in place, while promising affordability for current and future residents for decades to come. The development will additionally benefit the Woodbridge neighborhood and the city of Detroit, as the development will play an important role in helping to catalyze equitable growth in the community.
In addition to support from Develop Detroit and PVM, University Meadows received City of Detroit and MSHDA HOME funding as well as a $750,000 grant from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. Additionally, LISC Detroit supported this project through a pre-development loan. Forty-four project- based vouchers from the Detroit Housing Commission will ensure that residents of extremely low-income levels will be able to call University Meadows their home. Additionally, LISC Detroit provided a pre-development loan and US Bank made an equity investment to support this project.
The completed renovation will result in a full upgrade of the existing 53-units and all major building systems—with tenants in place—to create a safer, more functional living environment. As part of the renovation, a photovoltaic array will be installed on the roof to reduce the buildings carbon footprint while covering all common electrical demands of the building.
“We are committed to building vibrant, equitable communities and expanding opportunities for all residents to succeed,” said Sonya Mays, president and CEO of Develop Detroit. “We are thrilled to be supporting this development, knowing it will prevent resident displacement in a rising market and preserve affordable senior housing to those who have been living in Detroit for decades now. We are confident University Meadows will prove significant in its impact on the neighborhood.”
Along with repairs at University Meadows, supportive services and amenities will be enriched to help residents age in place and achieve a higher quality of living. This will include a resident services coordinator, exam rooms for visiting nurses and doctors and a healthy living curriculum, which will include weekly pop-up markets, a community garden, cooking classes and more. The Erb Family Foundation made a $700,000 grant to Develop Detroit to help create a replicable green development platform based on its work at the Village of University Meadows, including green stormwater infrastructure improvements, energy and water efficient appliances, installation of raised bed gardens, green operations and additional programming.
“PVM is incredibly grateful to our partners and funders who have helped in our solution to connect seniors with low incomes to affordable and safe housing at University Meadows, and truly create a place they can call home,” said Paul Miller, president of the Presbyterian Villages of Michigan Foundation. “This project wholly aligns with our mission to support Detroit’s most vulnerable older adults in having a quality, but affordable living lifestyle.”
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