Developers will spend $77 million to bring more than 300 new residential units, 8000 square feet of retail space and a one acre of public open space to the vacant site of the former Wigle Recreation Center, helping meet the ever-increasing demand for housing in the City of Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan announced today.
PDH Development Group, a partnership between Detroit-based developer Roderick Hardamon and New York-based developer Mario Procida, will transform the 7-acre vacant lot into one of the largest residential and commercial developments in Midtown. Under the current terms, PDH will purchase the land from the City for $1.8 million.
The development, known as Midtown West, will include 335 new residential units, 175 of them rental units and 160 for sale units. Thirty-five of the rental units will be affordable housing for residents making a maximum of 80 percent of the area’s median income.
“Demand for living in Detroit continues to grow and the Midtown West development will help us to meet the demand while putting seven acres of vacant city owned land back on the tax rolls,” said Mayor Duggan. “As with any residential project that receives city support, the developers have agreed to reserving 20 percent of the rental units for low-income residents.”
The $77 million development also will be subject to the City’s Community Benefits Agreement, which will require a community engagement process as the development moves forward. The project is the first residential development to go through the CBA process and the first in District Six. The project is also subject to Executive Order 2016-1, which requires that 51 percent of the hours worked on the project must be worked by Detroit residents. Two hundred temporary jobs related to construction will be created, with over 100 jobs expected to go to Detroiters. Eleven permanent jobs will also be created.
The project, which is expected to break ground by fall 2018, will be completed in two phases.
Phase I will include 167 of the 335 proposed new residential units. Phase I also includes the construction of 8000 square feet of new rental space, the one acre public open space, and a new street grid. The new grid will see the reopening of 4th Street from Selden to Brainard and the rebuilding of Tuscola from 3rd Street to the Lodge access road.
Phase II will see the completion of the residential units and some commercial space.
Midtown West, which will fill the largest city-owned vacant parcel in Midtown, will have a significant impact on the surrounding community. Not only will it bring hundreds of new residential units to the neighborhood, it will also create permanent and temporary jobs.
Developers
The City chose PDH Development Group, LLC as the developer for the Wigle site. The group is a partnership between native Detroiter Roderick Hardamon and New York-based developer Mario Procida, a Bronx-based developer with an expertise in market rate, and affordable housing. Procida has previously worked with the City of New York and local community groups in Brooklyn and the Bronx to bring innovative, affordable housing to the neighborhoods.
Procida is partnering with Detroit native Roderick Hardamon’s URGE Development Group, a real estate development and business innovation firm based in Detroit. Hardamon brings 20 years of experience in strategy, business innovation, mergers and acquisitions and operational transformation to the partnership.
“Our team is excited to have been selected to develop the Wigle Rec Center site. We expect that our development will transform and anchor the western edge of Midtown and will positively benefit the community and its surroundings,” said Procida. “With its commitment to high level architecture and sustainable design, Midtown West will be an award winning development and most importantly, be a spectacular place to live.”
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