The ambition of expanding Detroit's healthcare and housing just scaled a significant hurdle with the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority voting heavily in favor of backing a gigantic $3 billion project led by Henry Ford Health. The authority's approval at a 7-1 vote paves the way for the Future of Health Transformational Brownfield Plan to proceed to the Detroit City Council, according to The Detroit News.
The plan, if passed by the city council, will see an estimated $231.7 million in tax capture reimbursement leveraged to aid the development which, sprawling across five major components, aims to rejuvenate Detroit's New Center area. In a move sparking considerable debate, this incentive will primarily serve the development of 662 mixed-income housing units associated with the Detroit Pistons organization, leaving the $2.2 billion hospital expansion without seeking benefits, as reported by Yahoo Finance.
This mixed-used bonanza is set to include a new research center anchored by Michigan State University, a commanding 400-room patient tower designed for privacy, a bustling commercial corridor, two residential buildings, and an 800-space garage to accommodate the expected influx of visitors and tenants. These incentives, totaling over two hundred million, would stretch over the next 35 years, as per agreement details outlined in the brownfield plan.
While the development is eyed by some as a potential catapult for economic growth and job creation, it has drawn criticism for the housing element it entails. A notable dissent came from authority board member Maggie DeSantis, who abstained from the vote, having asserted her position stating, "I have an extremely hard time understanding why a transformational brownfield benefit is even necessary or important. This is a huge subsidy." Her point of contention lay with the absence of a contribution to the city's Affordable Housing Leverage Fund and the Detroit Housing Trust Fund, as per The Detroit News.
Denise Brooks Williams, Henry Ford Health executive, said, "The housing is a critical component to this and we thank the Pistons for being a part of that." Industry voices like John Perkins, representing the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters & Millwrights, are in favor, telling the panel that the project will support Detroit workers and help create middle-class futures for local families. Nonetheless, critics like Theo Pride from the activist group Detroit People's Platform argue that luxury housing projects do not align with the needs of the community and may trigger unwanted gentrification, per The Detroit News.
The forthcoming steps for the incentivized plan, once through the city council, would be to seek the favor of the Michigan Strategic Fund board, a required move to seal the deal on this ambitious blend of healthcare innovation and urban real estate development.
