East Warren has carried Detroit’s contradictions for decades — community pride and neighborhood neglect, side by side. On one block you’ll find long-standing homeowners tending to their lawns, and on the next, a row of boarded storefronts waiting for someone to believe in them again.
This stretch, known as the East Warren–Cadieux corridor, has been a living record of what happens when investment stops just short of the neighborhoods that need it most.
That’s why the redevelopment of the long-vacant Arthur Murray building goes beyond just another construction project. For some, it’s an answer to what residents have been asking for: proof that reinvestment doesn’t have to skip Detroit’s East Side.
Real Estate Interests, LLC has broken ground on The Arthur Murray at 16621–16653 E. Warren Avenue, converting the midcentury building that has been empty for over five years into 32 new apartments and community space. The development, part of the city’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund initiative, will include affordable housing for Detroit families and commercial space for local entrepreneurship.
This is a visible sign of the city’s promise that revitalization will reach beyond downtown, a concern Detroiters have raised for years.
“The Strategic Neighborhood Fund is about bringing investment and opportunity into Detroit’s neighborhoods, not just downtown,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “The Arthur Murray project shows exactly what can happen when public and private partners work together. This historic building will be restored, families will have access to quality, affordable housing, and new neighborhood businesses will grow — all right here on East Warren.”
For the residents who have stayed, this kind of progress has been long overdue.
Originally built in the early 1950s, the Arthur Murray building carries deep history for Detroit. It once housed the first Arthur Murray Dance franchise run by Doris Eaton Travis, one of the earliest women to lead a business of its kind.
Now, decades later, it is being revived as a cornerstone for housing, entrepreneurship, and community life.
Six of the new apartments will be reserved for households earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income, thirteen for those earning between 61 and 80 percent, and the remaining units for families earning up to 100 percent. The layered affordability approach is designed to keep current residents in place while still welcoming growth.
The redevelopment will also feature 8,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, to be occupied by Activate Detroit, a neighborhood-focused organization committed to building local ownership.
“Activate Detroit is thrilled to be part of this project and to make our home on the first floor of The Arthur Murray,” said principal Terence Thomas. “We believe in the power of community-driven development, and being located in this historic building gives us the opportunity to serve residents and contribute to the growth of East Warren in a meaningful way.”
The East Warren–Cadieux corridor is one of ten neighborhoods designated under the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, which pools philanthropic, public, and private dollars to invest in housing, small businesses, and public infrastructure. The initiative has already leveraged more than $262 million across Detroit, with visible progress along East Warren: new sidewalks, improved lighting, protected bike lanes, and an $8.8 million streetscape overhaul between Three Mile Drive and Cadieux.
Emery Matthews, CEO of Real Estate Interests, said the project represents a partnership between residents and developers who see Detroit’s future as inclusive and attainable.
“This project is about creating opportunities for residents and businesses to thrive,” Matthews said. “We are grateful to our partners, lenders and the residents of this community who have worked alongside us to make this vision a reality. By restoring the historic Arthur Murray building and expanding its purpose, we’re honoring Detroit’s history while building for its future.”
The project’s financial backing reflects that philosophy.
It received a $2.2 million Revitalization and Placemaking grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, alongside support from Michigan Community Capital, Invest Detroit, LISC Detroit, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, and the EBIARA Fund.
Rod Hardamon, CEO of the EBIARA Fund, said this is the model for sustainable, Black-led development.
“EBIARA exists as a fund of Developers building Developers, to support talented emerging developers who are building transformative projects in Detroit’s neighborhoods,” Hardamon said. “The Arthur Murray is a perfect example of how trust and investment in local leadership can create affordable housing, spur entrepreneurship, and generate wealth that stays in the community.”
The Arthur Murray building sat empty for years because investment rarely reached this side of the city. Families who held on through decay, foreclosures, and rising costs kept these blocks alive without the support they were promised.
The new construction on East Warren isn’t a cure-all, but it’s tangible progress, a project that merges memory with momentum.
“The Arthur Murray project reflects exactly what our affordable housing strategy is all about,” said Julie Schneider, Director of Detroit’s Housing & Revitalization Department. “Through partnerships like the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, we’re creating high-quality, affordable housing and vibrant community spaces that allow Detroiters to stay in the neighborhoods they love while welcoming new investment and opportunity.”
Detroit’s growth story has often been told through its skyline but East Warren tells it through its survival — through residents who stayed, storefronts that reopened, and now a building once left to decay being rebuilt into homes and opportunity.
