By Biba Adams, Staff Writer and Report for America corps member
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield joined developers Brandon Hodges, Chase L. Cantrell and Damon Dickerson and neighborhood residents to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new artisan market coming to Bagley. The entourage also included Amanda Elias, deputy chief of Neighborhood Economic Development for the City of Detroit; leaders from Invest Detroit, The Kresge Foundation, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and Live6 Alliance.
The nearly $9 million, 15,600-square-foot development will serve the Bagley and Fitzgerald/Marygrove neighborhoods and support 20 to 25 emerging small businesses. It will be housed at 7326 W. McNichols, where a long-vacant structure on a former brownfield site in the Bagley neighborhood. A long-vacant one-story building has been cleared to make way for a newly constructed two-story building that will be home to an artisan market, event and office space designed to help emerging entrepreneurs make the leap into brick-and-mortar retail.
Once completed in late 2027, the building will include:
- Artisan market on the ground floor, offering affordable storefront space for 20 to 25 emerging small businesses ready to move into brick-and-mortar retail
- Event space on the second floor for community gatherings, celebrations, pop-ups and programming
- Office space on the second floor for entrepreneurs, small firms and neighborhood organizations
“Breaking ground on 7326 W. McNichols is a milestone for Bagley, Fitzgerald/Marygrove and every entrepreneur who has been waiting for a real shot at a storefront of their own,” said developers Brandon Hodges, Chase L. Cantrell and Damon Dickerson. “The retail landscape has changed, and the built environment has to change with it — this building was designed around the ever-evolving needs of today’s small businesses, with flexible, affordable space where 20 to 25 emerging entrepreneurs can launch and grow.”
They added, ““We’re grateful to the funders and City partners who helped turn this site, which once featured a long-vacant building, into a much-needed amenity in a new, two-story building, and we can’t wait to open the doors to the community in late 2027.”
The project adds to the growing revitalization of the W. McNichols corridor following a new streetscape created by the city in 2023. The new ground up construction is directly across W. McNichols from the ongoing new construction of the Sawyer Arts apartments, which also is being led a team of Detroit developers, that will deliver 38 new units of affordable housing when completed.
“7326 W. McNichols is an example of what my administration wants to help create more of, which is more investment in all neighborhoods and opportunity or Detroit developers,” said Mayor Sheffield. “This is the type of high-quality development Detroiters deserve. It will be a new neighborhood anchor that will help to attract even more investment into the Bagley and Fitzgerald neighborhoods.”
The Livernois and W. McNichols commercial corridors have always been a place where Detroit entrepreneurs get their start, and our neighbors have been advocating for more spaces where local businesses can put down roots,” said Caitlin Murphy, Executive Director of the Live6 Alliance. “Seeing a long-vacant site become a new home for 20 to 25 small businesses shows what’s possible when residents, developers and partners invest in this corridor together. We can’t wait to shop, gather and celebrate here.”
“Bringing 7326 McNichols back into use is another important step in strengthening a commercial corridor that residents and local businesses have worked hard to revitalize,” said Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director of the Detroit Program at The Kresge Foundation. “Through our partnership with Invest Detroit and the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, we’re building on years of investment in Livernois-McNichols, alongside the work of Live6 Alliance and our partners on the Marygrove campus. We’re proud to support this project and the shared commitment to a neighborhood where longtime residents and businesses can thrive.”
You can reach Biba at Biba.Adams@MIChronicle.com