Fitzgerald revitalization to include 115 rehabbed homes, new park, green space

The city announced today the development team and plan for revitalizing the Fitzgerald neighborhood. The city has chosen a team called Fitz Forward, which includes Century Partners and The Platform.

The plan is part of the $30 million Strategic Neighborhood Fund the mayor announced in February.

The two-year plan for the Fitzgerald neighborhood includes:

• Renovating 115 currently vacant homes into a mixture of rental properties and for sale homes at the neighborhood market rate. 20% will be affordable for Detroit families making 80 percent or less of the area median income.
• Landscaping and maintenance of 192 vacant lots, creating productive landscape in place of overgrown and unkempt lots
• Creating a 2-acre central park (the Ella Fitzgerald Park) anchoring a new linked greenway, creating better connectivity throughout the neighborhood.

The plan for Fitzgerald will preserve neighborhood character and increase density without the need to construct new structures. Fitz Forward will begin rehabbing the 115 homes, demolition of the 16 blighted structures, and installation of landscapes on the 192 vacant lots this fall. The entire project, including getting families and residents into the rehabbed homes, should be done by Fall 2019.

Phase One of the investment addresses residential development, while Phase Two will see another $5 million from the city and Strategic Neighborhood Fund partners for commercial development.

City of Detroit

According to the release,

“The mayor is also asking City Council to approve this Tuesday the transfer of 373 total parcels of land in Fitzgerald from the Detroit Land Bank Authority to the development team and the city. Fitz Forward will receive 323 parcels of land to rehab vacant homes, demolish blighted houses and create new productive landscapes. The city will receive 50 parcels of land to create new public community spaces in the new Ella Fitzgerald Park and greenway.”

The city released an RFP last summer for the project, which garnered support from a $4 million Reimagining the Civic Commons grant.