$16 million housing and retail development coming to Mexicantown

For months, the city of Detroit had identified parcels on Bagley Street behind Michigan Central Station as prime real estate for development. Not only is the long-abandoned train station being redeveloped by Ford, but the vacant land sits across from Honey Bee Market on a well-trafficked street.

Yesterday, it was announced that Detroit-based Woodburn Partners will develop the site and turn it into 60 apartment units and 5,000 square feet of retail. The project will cost around $16 million and is slated for completion in late 2020.

Though details about rental rates haven’t been released yet, the city’s original request for proposals stipulated that at 20 percent of the units (12 in this case) would have to be affordable at 80 percent of the area median income.

“We look forward to creating a development that will be truly exceptional and reflective of the vibrant legacy of Hubbard Richard, Mexicantown, and the entire Southwest,” Clifford Brown, managing partner of Woodburn, said in a press release. This is one more brick in building upon what are already strong neighborhoods and communities.”

This is yet another development in greater Southwest Detroit, which is primed to undergo major changes in the coming years. The city of Detroit has targeted the area for its Strategic Neighborhood Fund and will soon implement streetscape alterations on West Vernor Highway and Bagley Street on the other side of the pedestrian bridge. It also put out a request for proposals for a $12 million mixed-use project at Vernor and Hubbard, which, assuming it clears the final zoning hurdles, is expected to be completed by 2021.

And like the rest of the city, houses prices have been steadily rising. But they’ve been rising even faster in Southwest because of the area’s proximity to Michigan Central Station and the expected boon resulting from its redevelopment.