City releases RFPs for two Villages developments

In the next few years, the Islandview and West Village neighborhoods are expected to get a lot more infill housing. The city has taken the next step in that process, releasing two Requests for Proposals for separate projects.

The first RFP is calling for the rehab of eight duplexes which will house 16 mixed-income rental units. These duplexes are located throughout the Islandview neighborhood between West Vernor and Charlevoix.

Courtesy of the City of Detroit

The city is hoping to create more affordable options in the area, citing in the RFP, “In the last 24 months, the average rent for a 1,300 square foot flat has increased from $700-$750 per month to $1,400-$1,500 per month confirming the need for the City to intervene to ensure more affordable options.”

At least 20 percent of the housing created must be “affordable,” or available to residents earning 80 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). Always noted, this is area median income, which is considerably higher than the city median income.

The second RFP is looking for developers to build multi-family residential closer to West Village in Islandview, plus rehab two existing duplexes. This land covers 11 vacant parcels on Townsend Street and two vacant parcels on Sheridan, and the vacant duplexes are on Townsend.

Courtesy of the City of Detroit

Developers have a December 21 deadline, and the city will choose developers for the projects February 1, 2019.

These are part of a greater Villages development plan discussed earlier this year, which will include new construction at Kercheval and Van Dyke, enhanced streetscapes, well as improvements to the nearby Butzel Playfield. It’s also part of the greater Strategic Neighborhoods Fund; the Villages was one of the first three neighborhoods named in the program, which has now expanded to ten neighborhoods across Detroit. The Coe in West Village was one of the first residential developments completed in that program.