The District Detroit received final approval of the Transformation Brownfield incentive, “which would allow the project’s developers to capture up to $615 million in future local and state-level tax revenues generated by the project over 35 years,” The Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday evening.
According to third-party forecasts, the project will generate 12,450 temporary construction jobs and 6,000 new and permanent jobs, provided that the building can quickly achieve full commercial and residential tenancies.
“The project calls for 10 new or rehabilitated buildings in and around downtown Detroit, including 1.2 million square feet of new office space, nearly 700 new apartments and two new hotels. Twenty percent of the apartments must be set aside for those with lower incomes, who could use Section 8 vouchers,” the Free Press said.
Even at that, some Detroiters aren’t feeling this, especially when it comes to its effects on Black and Brown communities.
According to Axios Detroit, attorney and activist Tonya Myers Phillips called the deal a “reverse Robin Hood proposal.”
“What about the inevitable displacement of Black and brown residents around the district? Where will they go?” Phillips asked during public comment, which lasted 2.5 hours before the vote in Lansing.
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