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LaJuan Counts has been at the helm of the city’s new demolition department for the past year — and what a year it’s been.
From Counts being the first Black female at the city’s Demolition Director to Proposal N passing, Counts spoke to The Michigan Chronicle about how things are shaping up for her and what’s next.
Counts, who has been with the city for 23 years in various roles has experience in construction management and contractor management. Her prior role was the director of the General Services Department.
Counts said that while she’s a trailblazer in her own right she prefers “flying under the radar.”
“I am from Detroit — born and raised here — and I came to the city [government] with the intent of working hard, keeping my head down, and staying focused,” she said, adding that when the opportunity came up, she took it.
Counts said that when the city increased opportunities for minority contractors, she wanted to grow the visibility of African American faces in the field she described as “dying” as far as the participation of Black people.
“I took the opportunity to let it be known … you can be an African American and woman and run a demolition program — anything is possible,” Counts said, adding that the construction industry is not just blue-collar. “It can start out that way and if that is what you can enjoy it can be that for you — you can become project managers and project executives. So, you run a series of projects.”
Counts added that she paved her own way to get into the construction industry and her supportive parents saw her vision down the line.
She added that with the passage of Proposal N, further strides are being made to tear down blight in Detroit. Recently Mayor Mike Duggan announced that the majority of the work to remove dilapidated homes and areas of blight in Detroit would be done by Detroit companies. That discussion came to fruition earlier in January with the first $30 million in demolition bid contracts recently awarded to seven companies. All of the companies are small ones headquartered in Detroit; five are Black-owned and one is Black woman-owned.
“I really feel like it is an opportunity, especially with work focused in the city — it is an opportunity for kids to see work around their homes and an opportunity for them to see people who look just like them do the work,” she said, adding that when people typically go on construction sites they see “only a few faces of color in the group … (This is an) opportunity for our youth to see the culture here, to see it in action.”
She added that detractors who might not want blight removed have to see the bigger picture.
“In order for the improvements to happen sometimes demolition is just a natural process,” she said, adding that buildings worthy of being saved can be saved. “The blight is not telling the story for us.”
Donald Rencher, director of Housing and Revitalization for the city of Detroit, told The Michigan Chronicle that he is looking forward to having a continued partnership with Counts, who he has worked with on projects before.
“We are looking forward to ensuring that we are doing a lot of blight elimination in the city of Detroit. Not only is it for safety precautions in neighborhoods, it also helps increase the value of ownership,” Rencher said. “Housing in the city of Detroit is probably one of the most important initiatives we have.”
In a city that housed 1.5 to 2 million people, it’s time to remove the dilapidated houses that remain abandoned relics in a city now with nearly 675,000 residents, Rencher said. Around the 1950s, Detroit peaked with nearly 2 million residents according to reports.
“We don’t have that (population) but the houses are still here,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to Counts working on the next phase of “how we get it down.”
“I think anybody who knows LaJuan knows that she is amazing and completely dedicated to … delivering on her promise to do these demolitions and improving neighborhoods in the city of Detroit,” he said. “And they couldn’t have picked a better person to lead that activity. … I’m looking forward to seeing how she carries out the initiative.”
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