Will you please call the roll?

Good morning.

Council President Pro Tim James Tate.

Here.

Councilmember Fred Durhall.

Member Durhall did indicate that he is uh under the weather today, but uh so he is uh his absent his absence is excused, excuse me.

Work will note, Councilmember Letitia Johnson President.

Uh Council Pro Tim, we have quorum.

Thank you, man.

We have a quorum which means we're now in session.

Good morning, Member Johnson.

Is there a motion to approve the minutes?

Seeing no objections, that action shall be taken.

Wanna let everyone know that we have a very full agenda today.

We have four public hearings.

In addition to that, we have the MOU discussion and uh approvals that we're gonna send out today for the amendments.

So uh we'll let you know in advance that we're gonna abbreviate uh many of our public comment opportunities to make sure that we well, at least the the general public comment to allow for more time for the public hearings.

And with that being said, we'll now like to open up for public comment.

If there's anyone from the public who would like to speak, please raise your hand now.

If there's anyone from the public who would like to speak, please raise your hand now, going once, going twice, going three times.

Collection of public comments have now concluded.

Now, if you are calling in about one of the public hearings, you can lower your hand.

You'll have an opportunity to do that.

Uh so please take the time to lower your hand if you're calling in about a public hearing because there will be an opportunity for public comment during the public hearing.

Want to give you an opportunity to lower your hand if you are in that category.

All right, going once, twice, three times.

Now the collection of public comments have now concluded.

All right, Tim, how many callers do we have?

It doesn't appear to be anyone in the committee of the whole.

How many do we have online?

Mr.

Chair, we have 11 hands online.

All right, we have 11 hands online.

I do apologize, everyone, but again, because of this aggressive agenda today, we're gonna give everyone 45 seconds.

45 seconds for general public comment, but we'll have more time for the public hearings.

General public comment, 45 seconds.

Let's that clock up, y'all.

All right.

Who's our first caller?

Our first caller is not that Karen.

Not that, Karen.

The floor is yours.

General public comment.

Thank you for joining us.

Uh yes, ma'am.

Yes.

Um, thank you for your punctuality this morning.

Uh, and thank you for your 45 seconds and and public comment time.

Um Detroit retirees, we don't need a fast track resolution.

What we need is uh to be made whole.

We need our money back.

We don't want to get on the list to get in line to wait until we die to get nothing.

We invite you guys to take action now.

Um, it's getting cold outside.

Let's repurpose some of these public buildings as opposed to demolition.

And if we secure them adequately, they won't be in such disrepair when we get around to you know, to rehab it.

So I think that should be our focus, not the demolition, not the allowance of stripping of everything, so it has to be demolished.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller ending in one six nine.

Caller ending in one six nine.

The floor is yours.

General public comment.

Caller ending in one six nine.

Are you there?

Caller, are you there?

All right, let's put that caller at the end of the queue and go to the next caller, please.

Our next caller is owner Papa.

All right, caller.

The floor is yours.

General public comment.

Caller, are you there?

Uh good morning, and through the chair.

Carolyn Hughes, may I be heard?

Yes, ma'am.

Uh 45 seconds is the disgrace.

That's awful.

Um, you have all of these um uh things on your agenda, and none of these people get stunned in what they have to say.

Um you guys voted in uh 16.2 to give our surplus dollars.

You hear Ms.

Winston call in all the time and ask to make the retirees whole.

We had 267 million dollars in surplus when you guys sat down.

You guys said you didn't have 75 million dollars to get the retirees off of the hook, but now we want to support uh corporate income tax shortfalls.

You guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves, but I know you're not, but you really ought to be.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Miko Williams.

All right, Mr.

Williams, Miko Williams, the floor is yours.

General public comment.

Miko Williams, are you there?

Yes, I am.

Uh so I'm going on with the Zoom and also point of order, Mr.

Tate.

45 minutes is not enough when you could have given us 60.

Now you you playing with us, and you know we'll get ready to come down the pike.

And I don't even see the clock on the Zoom.

So I'm not sure where I'm at, but my thing is I'm still against the MOU.

It is not done properly.

It was not given due process.

Again, sir, you are shirking responsibility.

This is not a criticism.

This is an observation.

It's nothing at you personally.

This is business, and you're not doing the business of the people that elected you.

Oh, I guess you are.

You're hooking up your friends, family uh and uh donors that given to you all these years to get them land bank housing except res regular residents, poor residents by that.

All right, thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is iPhone.

IPhone, the floor is yours.

General public comment.

Uh good morning to all within the sound of my voice.

If you a senior and you need help in your home, please call DAA 313 uh 446 4444.

Ask for the MI choice waiver program.

My choice waiver program.

Especially if you're normally uh not eligible for Medicaid.

This program might be the program for you.

Please call, ask for that my choice waiver program.

And if you earn uh less than $2,900 a month, you're eligible for Medicaid through this program.

Get the help that you need at your home.

And if you don't need it, share this information.

Get the word out.

It's a wonderful program.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Cunningham.

Brother Cunningham, the floor is yours.

General Public Comment.

3134449114 and on Facebook, not enemy.

This Tuesday, uh Council approach him, take really treating me kind of bad.

I've been doing this for a long time, and usually people can piggyback off of my public comment as long as they're seconds allowed.

I've never had a problem before.

But I'm asking everyone to pray for me and my mom, show them reliance at the nursing home.

Uh brother Cunningham praying the Holy Spirit chant.

I've been doing it periodically throughout the day.

If they scratching their head, that's the prayer that I want you to do.

The fervent effectual prayers of the righteous obey as much.

That does not mean perfect because I am not.

Thank you, sir.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller ending in one, two, four.

Caller ending in one two four.

The floor is yours.

General public comment.

Good morning.

May I be heard?

Yes, ma'am.

Yeah.

I second the emotions of Damiko Williams and owner of Papa.

Mr.

Tate, the way you run this is disgraceful.

You couldn't even give you got you stacked the agenda, which means there's more stuff that you guys are talking on, and your people get to go on in 99 about.

But but we, the people who you were allegedly elected to serve, then we barely get to comment.

It's disgraceful.

You couldn't add another 11 minutes because the administration's too busy ramming stuff.

I want to know who authored this massive zoning change.

Please answer my question.

Who with a name?

Specific name authored it.

And absolutely no to the MOU.

You are shirking your responsibility.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is William M.

Davis.

Mr.

William M.

Davis, the floor is yours.

General public comment.

Good morning.

Can I be heard?

Yes, sir.

Okay.

I like to start out by saying I agree that the city chart retirees need to be made whole, especially to need to discontinue the new declared back.

They're taking money to our savings.

Also separately, as it relates to the land bank.

I think it's disgraceful that the land bank can take people's homes on nuisance abatements.

And when you drive out throughout the city, most of the homes that need nuisance abatement brought up against them is land bank property.

I think that's evil because the land bank can alter take properties, then they could benefit from it.

So I think that needs to be discontinued.

I think the land bank needs to go back to his original purpose.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Tyson Gersh.

Tyson Gersh, the floor is yours.

General Public Comment.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes.

Thanks.

Um, 45 seconds isn't much time.

Um I guess it does feel like there's just way too much on this agenda.

Uh, I know you guys are trying to get a lot done before the election, but uh I think the the procedural defects in conducting yourselves this way are it's not good.

I uh I think a lot of the stuff is gonna end up coming back and biting everybody in the butt.

Um, there's a good proper way to do this stuff, and I don't think this is it.

Uh big change should not be rushed, and people's opportunity to participate shouldn't be restricted.

Thank you so much.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Miss Marguerite Maddox.

Ms.

Margaret Maddox, the floor is yours.

General public comment.

Good morning.

Um would love to see more people.

Getting by making policy with the I mean the at one point, the bad person.

Up there you should be crying under the ADA.

This should be at the room shit.

Shit.

Right.

Um thank you very much.

Complain.

I'm done.

Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Mannox.

Next caller, please.

We are back at number ending 169.

Caller up before we go forward, like to call the 10-15 public hearing and recess get to the call of the chair.

129.

169.

Caller inning in 169.

The floor is yours.

General public comment.

Hello, can you guys hear me?

Yes, sir.

Okay, great.

Um, I just want to say prayer.

Does prayer still work?

Um, thank you for praying for brother Cunningham.

I want to bring to your attention a quote by Hippocrates.

He says to make a habit of two things to help, or at least to do no harm.

Um churches and powers they be.

Do not reharm, do not reharm, do not reharm, less harm.

Please, in God's name, let your revenge happen naturally, not force.

Use your unity for bigger causes, not to hold Cunningham down.

Thank you for my time.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

That concludes public comment, sir.

All right, that takes us to the end of our public comments.

We shall now uh reconvene the 1015 public hearing.

Will the parties for participating please cue up?

The 1015 public hearing is regarding a uh request for a public act 225 district to establish a commercial reveal redevelopment district for the buildings that uh build uh community development LLC in the area of one two four zero zero Kelly Road, Detroit, Michigan.

Again, in accordance with Public Act 22425 of 1978.

Will the parties who are participating?

When you see yourselves on the screen, please introduce yourselves for the record.

Justice Cook, Housing and Revitalization Department.

Morning.

Good morning.

Alton Williams, DEGC.

Morning.

Um participating, you may uh Attorney.

My video won't.

I can't get my video on.

But Attorney Marcia Spivey.

I am the developer.

Good morning, Attorney Spivey.

Omar Udin, uh, principal of Uden Development Consulting and the Development Consultant on this project.

Morning.

Mr.

Chair, um, my architect Laura Walker should be um provided access as well.

Okay.

We're going to if she can wave her hand if we don't have her number.

Mr.

Chair, I do not see Laura Walker online.

Can she change her name or raise her hand?

What are the are the last digits of her number?

It is 1457.

As we pull her up and bring her over, we will allow you to begin the presentation.

So, Mr.

Cook, the floor is yours.

Thank you.

To the chair, building that bill community development LLC is requesting a commercial redevelopment district at 1240 Kelly Road.

The legislative body of a qualified local governmental unit may establish a district on its own initiative or upon written request filed by an owner.

This, the petitioner and DEGC is present to answer any additional questions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Justice.

Uh, to the chair, may I share my screen, please, sir.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

All right.

I think we can all see that.

Okay.

So uh today we have come before this honorable body to request the establishment of a commercial redevelopment district for the hub laundromat and cafe project being led by Marcia Spivey Esquire.

Hub Laundromat and Cafe is a 1.5 million dollar commercial development located at 12400 Kelly Road in the Denby neighborhood on Detroit's east side.

The project consists of redeveloping the current structure into approximately 4,500 square feet of laundromat and cafe space that will also serve as a community space for events and local engagement.

The commercial facilities exemption act provides for a reduction in the future increase in property taxes as a result of the improvements to commercial properties, including new construction or renovations.

If you turn your attention to year zero, you'll see that the taxes were not collected previously, as this was a city-owned property prior to the developer's purchase.

Upon completion of the project, the assessor will reassess the property, and as a result of the improvements, the property's value will increase.

If we move over to year one, this bar reflects the total amount of taxes that we project based on the investment of 1.5 million dollars that will be made into the project.

The green bar represents the amount of taxes the developer will be responsible for, and this comes out to approximately $3,000 per year.

The yellow bar reflects the abated portion of taxes, and this amount equals approximately $6,500 per year.

Assuming that they receive the full term of the abatement in year 13, after the abatement has expired, they will be responsible for the entire amount of taxes, which is approximately 11,000 per year.

The request before you today is for a district only.

The district does not in itself create a tax exemption.

Only property owners who commit to specific investments and to the property will be eligible to request an exemption certificate in the proposed district.

Future property owners will need to apply to the city of Detroit for a certificate and would be subject to approval by the Detroit City Council and the Michigan State Tax Commission to receive the exemption.

On July 25th, 2025, the assessor's office wrote a letter confirming that this project meets the eligibility requirements for a commercial redevelopment district.

Based on our initial review, the DGC is recommending the establishment of a district to support the future investment.

A recommendation on the term of the abatement will be made when a certificate is applied for.

That concludes my presentation, Mr.

Chair.

I will now turn it over to the development team to offer some more detail regarding their project.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

You may proceed.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I do apologize earlier.

I am attorney Marcia Spivey.

I was born and raised in the city of Detroit.

I actually lived in the same community, walked these neighborhoods, lived there for about 25 years.

I'm a graduate of Finney High School.

I'm developing in the Denby neighborhood where I attended for about 30 days.

But I'm a graduate of Michigan State University as well as a graduate of Thomas M.

Cooley Law School.

A few of my um just some of my real estate development and community engagement experience.

Um I am, I did complete the Building Community Value.

My project actually was the first commercial project that won a financial incentive.

I did win second place.

That was exceptionally exciting to bring the energy and the synergy to District Four.

I am also an Urban Land Institute, Larson Center for Leadership Alumni.

I provided and worked to provide technical assistance for the Pro Pro Pope Francis Center.

Um I am also, I completed the SEDAM Real Estate Bootcamp in 2023.

SEDAM has featured me in some of their newsletters and featured this project.

And so it's amazing to see so many of our development projects being shared across the state.

I am a past board president for the Regent Park Community Association, where the council has had a lot of familiarity with me related to my advocacy and my neighborhood.

I am a resident of District 3.

However, many know that district three and district four, we operate as first cousins.

I'm a past board member of Boldly Moving Education Ahead, formerly Black Male Educators Alliance.

I am also the former board chair for the East Warren Development Corporation and will continue to stay involved in the development that's taking place on East Warren as East Warren is very, very special to me.

As I mentioned, I am a graduate of Finney High School, now East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney High School.

I'm also a former past board member of community development advocates of Detroit.

As an attorney, I represent children in the foster care and neglect system.

I also represent children by filing lawsuits against school districts for the benefit of students who have special education services under the Individuals Disability Education Act.

I absolutely love what I do.

I am very, very excited about this development project.

We've already begun our community engagement work and in this neighborhood.

And so that's a little bit about me and my commitment to working to revitalize the Denby neighborhood.

And I will allow my consultant to share more technical information about the project.

Thank you so kindly.

Thank you.

I'm Laura Walker, the architect working with Marcia.

So the building was formerly a bank, and it has been vacant for several years.

And we're redesigning it to be a laundromat and uh cafe and really a community asset.

And this includes uh developing the parking lot, providing around 28 parking spaces, two of which are handicap accessible, as well as landscaping around the parking lot.

And we're being intentional around handicap accessibility.

So the interior design of the building and the layout will be accessible.

We'll provide barrier-free bathrooms as well as washers, dryers, and folding tables that are accessible.

Um, and this also includes um redesigning the entry so that the entry is uh wheelchair accessible.

We're looking at sustainable measures uh in terms of the perimeter, having insulation, uh, the roofing, having insulation, replacing the windows, as well as a whole new um rooftop unit.

So mechanical and electrical systems uh will be um high efficiency.

The appliances and the washer and dryers will also be high efficiency.

And we're also looking at using reclaimed and upcycled furniture and other casework elements in the design.

Um you may proceed.

Any additional you're on mute, Marcia.

Um, what you see here, um, Mr.

Chair and to um the Honorable Councilwoman Johnson, um, Invest Detroit has provided a letter of support.

They are my primary lender on this project.

It's my understanding that council will be able to look into these letters a little bit more thoroughly um after this.

However, um, I did I thought it was important to note that Invest Detroit is currently a financial partner and lending supporter, um, supporting this project.

In addition to the Whittier Business Association, the benefit of my development is that I've already had relationships um in my community engagement with many of the entities that signed under well, all of them actually, that signed the um Whittier Business Association letter.

And so um that is them expressing their support as well as the need for this project in our community, in addition to Demby Neighborhood Alliance, um, Sandra Attorney Hannah Handy, who oversees the Ninth Precinct Community Relations Council as the board chair has provided support as well.

And what's really awesome is that these entities have been engaged.

I've as the developer, I've been working on this since 2022, and these entities have been engaged for a significant amount of time.

I would like to add that um the additional funding that I have received.

Um, great communities now provided a grant um for some signage that's um under the leadership of Jackie Perkins, in addition to Tech Town, has provided some support um for the project as well.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I believe that concludes your presentation uh to the panel.

That's correct, sir.

All right, thank you.

All right, uh, Member Johnson, any questions, comments, concerns?

The floor is yours, ma'am.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, and good morning to all of you.

Uh thank you for the presentation.

Really do appreciate the work that has gone into this particular project.

Um, attorney Spivey, I did just want to ask.

So you you mentioned that you had gone through building community values.

Was this particular site part of your project that you presented and won an award for?

Yes, yes.

Yes, it was.

Okay.

All right, excellent.

Um, I know we've seen the project before.

I'm I'm excited about it, looking forward to it.

We do have the Demby Whittier planning study that is kicking off in a few days in that particular area.

Um, and I look forward to this being part of activating um that corridor, not only Whittier, but also Kelly Road.

So really excited about it.

We have some great things that are taking place in that area and look forward to this project coming online if my colleagues are in support of it, as am I.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you.

I have no questions at this moment.

Um just want to commend you for moving forward with this particular project and um would love to see duplication throughout the city.

And so looking forward to it.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Before we go any further, I'd like to recess the 1015 public hearing to the call of the chair.

I'd like to now call to order the 1030 public hearing and recess it to the call of the chair.

We are now back at the 1015 public hearing.

We'll now go to public comment.

If there's anyone from the public who would like to speak, please raise your hand now.

If you would like to speak on this project, that is line item five, the 1015 public hearing.

That is the presentation that you just saw.

Please raise your hand now.

Going once, going twice.

Going three times.

Collection of public comments have now concluded.

How many callers do we have?

Mr.

Chair, we have 10 callers online.

All right.

Uh, we're gonna give everyone a minute 30 for public hearings.

Well, you know what?

Let's do a minute.

We're gonna do one minute for um public comments because again, we do have two more, three more public hearings and the MOU discussion.

So we'll give everyone one minute again.

I apologize, but we have a full agenda and we have to address the issues that come before us.

We cannot just toss them away.

All right, let's go to our first caller.

Mr.

Chair, our first caller is Millie Gibson.

All right.

Let's get the clock up so they can see it.

Just one clock.

All right, Skipson, the floor is yours.

You have one minute regarding line item five.

All right, we're gonna put Ms.

Gibson at the end of the queue and go to the next caller, please.

Our next caller ending in one two four.

Caller ending in one two four.

The floor is yours regarding line item five.

Yes, good morning, may I be heard?

Yes, ma'am.

Um, I'd like to know is attorney Marcia Spivy that it sounds like a uh a development that is uh needed, but is uh is uh this related to uh Andre Spie, please answer me that.

Also, I'd like to know.

I think she said she's a small developer.

Thank you for your work in foster care chip with foster care children.

But did you have a hard time navigating all of this?

Like some people are claiming, and that's why they want to ram through a massive zoning amendment, because it sounds like this lady's very capable.

And I and I and so I'd like to know has this been difficult for her?

And is she related to Andre Spivey?

Um also I again you just to not give people when you got a full agenda, you should give more time at general public comment, Mr.

Tate.

It's really you're blowing us off.

And uh, but please answer my question.

I think we deserve to know.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

With one second left.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is William M.

Davis.

Mr.

William M.

Davis, the floor is yours.

General Public, I'm sorry, for regarding line item five.

Uh good morning.

Can I be heard?

Yes, sir.

Okay, my question is this very simple.

Um, is there any discussion about um the water and the the volume of wallers that's going into the system?

And also, uh, will Paul space be going into the system?

Because that could be problematic.

That's all I have to say.

And to me, it doesn't matter who she's married to.

No, she'll clarify that.

Um next caller, please.

Our next caller is inclusionary planning matters.

All right, caller, the floor is yours regarding line item five.

Caller, are you there?

I already thank you.

But if you can get my questions answered, I'd appreciate next caller, please.

Our next caller is Chase L.

Cantrell.

All right.

Uh Chase L.

Kentrail, the floor is yours regarding line item five.

All right, good morning to this honorable committee.

You may have you heard.

Yes, sir.

All right, my name is Chase Cantrell, and I'm here to speak in support of buildings that build community development LLCs, request to create a commercial redevelopment district.

I'm the executive director of building community value, a nonprofit based here in Detroit that supports Detroit residents who wish to pursue real estate development projects in our neighborhoods in our commercial corridors.

Marcia Spivey, who's the owner of the entity making this request, is a graduate of BCD's in-person training, better buildings, better blocks.

She took the course not because she's out here trying to make a dollar, but because she truly believes in Detroit and what it takes to build community in this place.

Part of our curriculum entails presenting a final project to be judged by the class and a panel experts.

And notably upon evaluating Marcia's presentation, she was awarded one of our final prizes due to the high quality of presentation that she worked diligently to create and presents.

And on a human level, I just want to say that Marcia's unparalleled entrepreneurial spirit coupled with her dedication to community, have played a pivotal role in her success in the classroom and beyond.

So I hope this committee supports and approves this request.

Thank you.

Thank you for the work that you do as well, sir.

Uh, next caller, please.

Our next caller is not that Karen.

Not that Karen, the floor is yours regarding line item five.

Yes, hello.

Hello.

Yes.

Um, congratulations for one thing.

I'm concerned about uh we constantly approving more um businesses, and we we have already have a gap in the funding source.

So I'm I'm worried about that.

I think we should lay off a little bit until we get that um financial part stabilized, you know.

We shouldn't keep digging a ditch and we're already in a hole.

Um, also wonder about your uh construction route for your debris and for your incoming and outgoing materials.

I wonder uh hopefully we won't be creating any more uh particular matter in these construction areas.

The other thing is uh how many other laundry mats do we have in that area?

Is this gonna uh just create competition or just make it uh an abundance of launder mats in the same area?

Last thing is are we gonna reuse materials?

Are you gonna I heard you're gonna be using some furniture?

Are you gonna recycle some furniture?

I hope you reuse some materials that are gonna be sustainable and don't create any more um debris.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is owner Papa.

All right, caller, the floor is yours regarding line item five.

Good morning through the chair, Carolyn Hughes.

May I be heard?

Yes.

Thank you.

Um I believe that this is a um a good project for the area.

I don't know how many laundry mats that there are, but I'm sure that it will be an asset to the area.

And these projects, this Ms.

Spivey is the exact kind of person that we want to support in the city, someone who's come from the city, lived in the city, and understand the people of the city.

Thank you.

I am in the support of this project.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Brandon Hodges.

Brandon Hodges, the floor is yours regarding line item five.

Hi, good morning, everybody.

Uh Brandon Hod is principal of prod development.

We also own a real estate development consulting firm and a brokerage in the city.

Uh I just wanted to express my extreme support for this project and Marcia personally.

Uh I'm also involved with building community value um as a teaching assistant.

We have also initiated a handful of these kind of commercial corridor projects, and we know the vitality that they can bring to the neighborhoods.

We also know the difficulty that it takes to pull these off.

And so while these tax abatements aren't always ideal as uh as a topical issue, they are critically necessary for getting these small deals done.

Um, I think this developer has been uh outstanding in terms of community development in terms of outreach in terms of her commitment to the city of Detroit.

She's also fielded the development team with a roster of experience with Omar and uh Laura Walker, so I am fully behind this development and look looking forward to see it launch.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Pastor Alonzo Bell.

Pastor Alonzo Bell, the floor is yours regarding line item five.

Pastor Bell, are you there?

Pastor Bell, are you there?

Hello, can you hear me?

Yes, sir.

Can you hear me?

Yes, sir.

Okay, sorry, I was unmuted.

Uh uh here as uh president of the Whittier Business Association to support Marcia and this wonderful project.

Uh, as we are working together with Councilmember Johnson and the other community leaders, we are looking to support projects like this and businesses like this that support our community and build up our corridor.

And uh this is the type of business that we need.

I'm also the executive director of Redeem Detroit, nonprofit that works with uh young mothers.

We have them graduate high school college trade school, as well as uh uh provide wraparound services such as housing and different things like that, and this is a much needed service that she's gonna provide, and we've been knowing uh Marcia from the neighborhood from working on different projects together, feeding people in the community, her expertise and law, she's helped so many of us, and so now we're here to support her, especially uh entrepreneur that comes that comes from the city and wants to give back and is giving so much back.

So thank you.

The next caller, please.

Our next caller is Miss Marguerite Scarlet Maddox.

It's Marguerite Scarlet Maddox.

The floor is yours regarding line item five.

Yes, thank you.

Um that would you in public that too?

I mean that would assess not anymore.

Um we let you not do that with because we we're learning to eat.

Thank you for that idea.

Um they're gonna be okay.

And I'm less and the design.

I'm done.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Mr.

Chair, we're back at Millie Gibson.

All right.

Ms.

Millie Gibson.

The floor is yours regarding line item five.

Ms.

Gibson, are you there going once?

Going twice.

I'm here.

Can you hear me?

Yes, ma'am.

We can hear you.

Good morning.

Okay.

I I can understand why you're so anxious and so quick to get rid of me.

But I would like to apologize.

Uh last council meeting, you made this, you made the statement that uh next time uh we speak, that we must uh uh adhere to the topic at hand.

I tried to reach you for the general um public, but uh I guess something was going on with the system, but I needed you to know that my comment was in regards to the project uh or the line uh topic that you had discussed there.

I'm still very much concerned about development when it comes to housing and who is managing these development and if the development company are the owners and whether or not the development companies are also uh leaving that position and coming into the position once the project is completed and managing the company.

It's horrible here at the Dr.

Mayo Angelou Village apartment, and we can't seem to find out who the developer.

So, ma'am, this this again, uh these are not my rules, these are rules of the open meetings act.

What I will do is I'll I'm not familiar with the conversations you're you're you're discussing, but what I will tell you is that please give my office a call so we can connect because you just talked about a building that's located in district one 313 224 1027.

We will not get it resolved by going back and forth through public comment, but through conversation, we can make that happen again.

313 224 1027, because I absolutely want to know what those concerns are that you have.

All right, I think that takes us to our end of our public commenters for line item five.

All right, gonna give the panel an opportunity to respond to the questions.

The floor is yours.

Attorney Spider.

Hey, thank you so much, um, Mr.

Chair.

I want to start by saying that um I am not the wife of um former council member Andre Spivy.

Um it's to our understanding, we have tried to identify is if there's some familial family relationship.

Um, and I'd like to say that if you research any spivy in the city of Detroit, you will find that all of us um ironically are engaged in public and social service, and so um I would like to believe that somewhere in our genes in our ancestral um genes that there is there these individuals who um are have created this internal commitment that you see um that you've seen me display.

Um challenging there was another question.

This development has been absolutely challenging, and it's not gonna stop.

Um, and so uh, but being a Detroit public school graduate who was able to obtain my law degree as well as pass the bar exam the first time.

I know that I am committed, I am capable, I have the legal as well as the professional expertise to make sure that this project lives on beyond all of us.

That's the commitment.

Um, there was a question regarding water in the sewage and how that will impact um the output of the water.

I I can guarantee um that viol that um community member that I am working with the required professionals, um, civil engineer, structural engineer, as well as engineers and the mechanical electrical plumbing.

And so best believe that in addition to making sure that I am um making sure that my community is protected and not exploited, that um I'm going to make sure that the best plumbing is is um installed in that building.

There was also a question about debris.

I want to mention that one of the things I am committed to doing is hiring contractors who are um female, black and brown, and uh when it comes to debris and making sure that we are respecting the neighborhood, because again, I think I mentioned I'm from this community.

Um I have family in this community.

This this neighborhood is a part of my regular travel to and from work, taking my children to school.

And so um when there's blight, if there's debris, I'm actually um the one that's advocating one of the few that are or the many that are advocating for um that neighborhood to be respected and cleaned up, and I've engaged in motor city cleanups in this neighborhood often.

So debris will certainly be addressed.

Um there are three.

There was another question about how many laundromats are in the community.

There are three laundromats within a five mile radius, but in the coin laundry association in that industry, those laundromats are what we would call more like zombie mats.

Um, they are not a community space, they are not welcoming, they are not respectful, I would say, to the community.

Um, and so it is it is far time for Detroit's residents to have a laundromat cafe space that respects them that gives them a beautiful building that they can come in and complete an essential service, support another local food entrepreneur, as well as potentially here have engage in a homeowner's workshop.

And so the cat the hub laundromat cafe will certainly be um unmatched with the exception of the commons on the east side.

Um upcycling and sustainability.

I must say that um it's only because of my architect and learning about um the importance of protecting our environment and just the the where we are today.

I've learned from so many residents, and I'm so committed to making sure that all the professionals I bring on board that we are um upcycling material.

I've actually saved some material in my home that I like to actually incorporate into the building, wood pieces and things of that nature.

And when it comes to sustainability, um, that is exceptionally important, and my professionals understand that um that these are things that are very important to me as a developer.

I have to say there was another question.

Oh, to our resident Margaret, Marguerite.

Um I have heard her so many times, and she has provided me with so much um, I I have to say, just this level of she's made me reflect in on how we are building buildings and making sure that they are accessible.

And so I have actually um I'm a I've I've reached out and I learned from Detroit Disability Power as a part of the Pope Francis Center, um, as a part of the Urban Land Institute, Larkson Center for Leadership, they were introduced to me.

And so there's only one develop there's only one laundromat distributor that provides um accessible machines.

And so those are very expensive.

But what I am going to do is I'm gonna make sure that I have um a few of those because it is very important.

I have a I think we're having a little technical difficulties.

Uh attorney spy, if you want to take off if you want to turn your camera off, because I know you're having some issues earlier uh because you're breaking up a little bit in your Wi-Fi.

But you may be you may continue with your your statement though.

Thank you so much.

So with respect to my commitment to accessibility, the restrooms will be accessible and there will be two large parking um spots right at the front of the entrance for the laundromat.

And another another consideration, and that you don't see this often is sliding doors.

While sliding doors are more expensive than the doors, to me, it's better to make sure that I am developing and building a building that is providing access to all of our residents.

There's a dialysis center right across the street from this development.

And there are individuals that I've actually observed that are coming in and coming out who are our mobility um challenged.

And so that is absolutely a commitment.

And this is needed for um the sustainability and the volatility to make sure that this project can um can be feasible and and and be active long after all of us that's here have retired and are looking to raise grandchildren.

Um so for that, I thank my community.

I think I love my city, and I thank this um honorable committee for the time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Sounds like every question I have on my list was responded to.

Uh member Johnson, any further questions, comments, concerns on this particular item.

No.

Oh, seeing none.

Is there a motion now?

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I move to send line item five to formal with a recommendation to approve.

There's a motion to send line item five to formal with a recommendation to approve.

See no objections, then action shall be taken.

I wish you all the best, and we'll see you shortly.

Now uh we will now close out the 1015 public hearing.

Like to call back to order the 1030 public hearing.

The parties were participating.

Please cue up.

That is line item six.

Line item six.

Uh this is a request for a public act 198 district.

This is for the establishment of a plant rehabilitation district for one five three zero winder Detroit, Michigan.

Again, in the accordance with Public Act 198 of 1974.

Will the parties for participating?

Please introduce yourself when you see yourself on the screen.

Justice Cook, Housing and Revitalization Department.

Hello again.

Alton Williams, DEGC.

Jonathan Uptech.

Um developer applying for the uh abatement.

Good morning.

It's Richard Burr from Honigman on behalf of the applicant.

Good day.

All right, Mr.

Cook, the floor is yours, sir.

Thank you.

To the chair, 1530 winder LLC is requesting council approval for the establishment of a plant rehab district in the area of 1530 winder.

The legislative body of a local government unit may establish a plant rehabilitation district or an industrial development district on its own initiative or upon written request filed by the owner or owner of 75% of state equalized value of the industrial property located within a plant rehabilitation district.

The petitioner and DEGC is present to answer any additional questions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Justice.

To the chairman, I'll share my screen, please, sir.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh so today we have come before this honorable body to request the establishment of a plant rehabilitation district for the project located at 1530 winder.

There we go.

1530 Winder consists of a 4.7 million dollar conversion of a vacant warehouse into 18,800 square feet of food production incubator space.

The developer will provide space and support for early stage Detroit-based consumer packaged goods companies.

The project will consist of four to six production bays that will be leased to local businesses at affordable rates, as well as a commissary kitchen, cold and dry storage space, storefront, and co-working space.

If you turn your attention to year zero, you'll see a dark green bar representing the amount of taxes currently paid on the property.

This works out to be approximately approximately $6,800 per year.

Moving on to year one, you'll see that this bar increases and that represents the total amount of taxes that we project based on the investment of $4.7 million that will be made into this project.

Upon completion of the project, the assessor will reassess the property, and as a result of the improvements, the property's value will increase.

The owners will then be responsible for paying their current taxes as shown by the dark green bar on the graph.

And the total taxes that first year will be approximately $32,000, and the abated portion will be approximately $25,000, represented as the yellow bar on the graph.

Through the life of the abatement, the owner will pay the dark green portion shown on the bar graph.

Assuming that they received the full term of the abatement in year 13, after the abatement has expired, they will be responsible for the entire amount of taxes, which is just shy of 40,000 that first year.

The request before you today is for a district only.

The district does not in itself create a tax exemption.

Only property owners who commit to specific investments into the property will be eligible to request an exemption certificate in the proposed district.

Future property owners will need to apply to the city of Detroit for a certificate and will be subject to approval by the Detroit City Council and the Michigan State Tax Commission to receive the exemption.

On June 30th, 2025, the assessor's office wrote a letter confirming that this project meets the eligibility requirements for plant rehabilitation district.

Based on our initial review, the DGC is recommending the establishment of a district to support the future investment.

A recommendation on the term of the abatement will be made when a certificate is applied for.

That concludes my presentation, Mr.

Chair.

And I will now turn it over to the development team to offer some more detail regarding this project.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

Before we go forward, I'd like to recess the 1030 public hearing to the call of the chair.

Like to now call to order the 1055 public hearing and recess it to the call of the chair.

We are now back at the 1030 public hearing.

You may proceed.

So my partner Roger Ehrenberg and I have been active investors in Detroit real estate and Detroit businesses since uh 2018.

We some of our projects include Marrow and Marrow Detroit Provisions project on 2442 Ryapel, actually right uh adjacent to this building.

Um the tax abatement on that building has helped us to move forward with the project, and it should open by the end of the month.

Um that will bring a number of jobs to the area.

Um we've also invested in a number of uh emerging Detroit businesses, including a soda brand from the Pasamara Club, a new bagel shop in Core City area called Bev's Bagels, a uh cold plunge studio called Bass Detroit, and a business that's helping churches make money through uh using their unused space during the week called Church Space.

Um we're also partners and lead investors in Greatwater Opportunity Capital, which is uh a real estate development company that uh has rehabbed and we currently manage over 2100 workforce apartments in Detroit.

Um, really the at the level of market level affordability.

Um, and we're building new homes in the East Village of Detroit right now, and uh have I think about 18 in the ground with uh 26 sold.

Um we're also donors to the school at Mary Grove and the DPS CD and uh involved through the U of M Marseille Education Board uh helping with uh with the school.

Um so the project itself, um this is a building that's been uh unused and obsolete since 1990s.

Um, when we took it over, there were uh typewriters still uh in the building and and very old things that it hadn't been used.

Uh, we've been uh working on the plans and and uh the good news is that with the new MKT zoning that the council passed a couple years ago.

There's no need for uh parking requirements, uh, although there is ample street and public parking available nearby.

Um and there is loading and unloading zone located at the rear of the building off the Fisher Service Drive.

Um, as Alton shared, there are uh the plan for the building is to have uh a number of companies that are growth-oriented companies, they're small businesses with aspirations to be bigger and to grow into Detroit's next uh large employers and large brands.

Um the project will probably have about 20 construction jobs and about five full-time post-construction jobs working for uh an entity that supports the companies, and then the tenant companies will probably be about 25 to 50 uh employees at their companies working there.

Um, we've been uh considerate about uh universal design standards.

Um there are two ADA accessible toilet rooms in with grab bars and mounted accessories in the uh area of the plant and accessible to customers that come to the retail stores.

Um we've also the building sits on a higher grade than the street level, so we're planning to lower the retail spaces to grade so it's in order zero step street access and then create accessible ramps to the production area and office spaces, um, and then to have a well-lit space in the interior and exterior.

Um we're also planning to make the building much more sustainable through airtight spray foam and and uh better roofing, um, energy efficient windows and glass doors and new high-efficiency mechanical systems, energy star appliances, and everything we can do to uh reduce electricity use and improve the uh usage.

We have a number of support letters from uh Eastern Markets in support of this project.

I think one of the things that I would highlight is um Eastern Market's role in the ecosystem is promoting small business and small entrepreneurs in uh food service.

I would see us as a next stage.

Um, those that are starting to break out or have uh potential to reach the next level of uh of business.

So um not necessarily planning to be a small business, but aspiring to be a larger business, that's usually where businesses in uh Detroit end up hitting a gap, whether it be a gap in funding or a gap in in expertise on how to take the product to market in a bigger way.

Um, and so we see it as a very great partnership with with Katie and her team to be able to offer that next layer of of uh investment and support for companies.

Uh but we have support from many local businesses, including Grobels, which is a large employer in the market, and and Jason's a supporter, uh Detroit City Distillery, which is uh adjacent to the building, Strauss Brothers, um, and uh our neighbor uh the Wallnerman family that that owns the uh building with Shadow Gallery isn't across the street.

Um so uh really appreciate your consideration.

Uh this is gonna be a good project that creates lots of jobs and creates uh helps helps create companies that I think Councilman Tate asked asked what is what is some of the purpose and we want to we wanna this the companies that come out of here to be the next Fagos, the next Sanders, the next uh better maids, the next grobles, the next Wolverines that that become large employers in the city.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh questions, comments, concerns from the committee.

Member Johnson.

Oh, I'm late.

I'm gonna bring somebody around.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, and good morning.

Thank you all for the presentation.

I believe it was mentioned how many um spaces, storefronts you will have.

Can you um remind me of that?

Because I neglected to write it down.

And also, can you speak to the size of those spaces?

Yeah, the um uh the spaces will be about five spaces.

Um they could be combinable into larger spaces, but the intent is for them to be small, uh, between 500 and a thousand square feet.

A lot of uh a lot of small businesses in the city often have a difficulty leasing a uh a retail space in the city because they uh require a lot of square footage and tend to be expensive.

These are meant to be shops that highlight small businesses and and activate the winder street there, which is right now.

If you walk down that street, it's a nice street, but it's all walls.

Um we intend it to have five storefronts right there that are welcoming and um and also enable uh smaller businesses to operate and and show off their wares on market Saturday and hopefully during the week as well.

All right, thank you.

And so are you as the developer building out the spaces, or do you require um for tenants to do a portion of that?

I'm I'm assuming you're going to white box the spaces.

That's correct.

We'll white box because tenants will want their own features and and um you know we I think we intend to white box one of the spaces with a hood so that there can be food service in that space.

Um that way it'll attract a certain kind of business, but the other spaces um will will leave pretty much uh white box so that they can determine their uh their format.

Okay.

And can you speak to um it was mentioned that the rates would be affordable?

How do you calculate uh what affordability is for retail spaces?

And what does that look like?

I think the the main thing is is looking around at what a market rate is in the market and um trying to both both in terms of per square foot rate, but it also in terms of absolute rate, you know, and that's why we're making the spaces smaller, so the absolute rate and if you think about it, it's the entry price for a uh a company or brand to be able to afford a space.

If you give them 500 square feet and they can make the most of it, that makes it much easier uh for them to actually have a space.

And so um that's why a lot of companies won't take retail spaces because there are very, very few of those.

Um, but we also will look and try to make sure that the rates are um below what you would charge in around the market, and that's why you know having a tax abatement makes it makes the business or the building less expensive for us to operate and therefore um you know offer below market.

Okay, can you talk about timeline when you anticipate the spaces will be online and what the current market rate is?

Yeah, I I would uh anticipate that things would be online about 18 months.

Um and from a standpoint of retail affordability, um, I would say in the market the rates are around 20 a square foot.

Um if you're looking at a premium well done, nice retail space.

And so, you know, we would look to see them below that.

Can you provide any more insight as it relates to affordable rates?

How much below the 20 dollars per square foot?

I would I would say about 10 to 15.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

All right, thank you.

Um, no questions at this moment, uh, seeing that we're talking about the district.

Um you hit a couple of questions I had already, Member Johnson.

So we'll now go to public comment.

If there's any individuals from the public who would like to speak on, excuse me, line item.

Uh this is line item six, the 1030 public hearing.

Please raise your hand now.

If there's anyone who would like to speak on line item six, that is the 1030 presentation that you just saw.

Please raise your hand now, going once, going twice, going three times.

Collection of public comments have now concluded.

Uh Ms.

Ramsey, how many callers do we have?

Who do we have first?

Mr.

Chair, we have 10 callers with inclusionary planning matters first.

All right.

Caller, the floor is yours regarding line item six.

Caller, are you there?

Good morning.

May I be heard?

Yes, ma'am.

Um well, it's uh I'm glad to hear that local business local businesses people support this development.

I hope that's true.

And I'd like to know how much you paid Richard Barr of Heinigman Miller, because their firm was like really nasty to some of us and didn't support, even though the the local development north end landing wasn't supported by local people, and uh they didn't answer how they got a bunch of documents that I think they got from the BCA.

So, how much did you pay Heinigman Miller?

Because we're still trying to figure out why developers need this massive zoning change because supposedly they can't get the help of like people like Heinigman Miller.

And uh I got a photo of Mr.

Richard Barr talking to Jonathan Demers at our BZA hearing.

And I'm just working about this particular project.

No, this is very relevant, sir.

About how much it does sound like a good development.

You know, I like historic stuff, but please answer my question.

How much thank you?

Next caller, please.

Mr.

Chair, our next caller is owner Papa.

All right, caller, the floor is yours regarding line item six.

Uh good afternoon, and through the chair, may I be heard?

Yes.

Thank you.

Um, I like to ask the gentleman.

Um, Mr.

Updike, I think.

Do you have any incubator projects committed or in mind?

And uh how are your prior financial abatements uh progressing?

Uh you're meeting uh benchmarks.

Um I also would like to know what is your relationship with CREO and the construction uh aspect and and jobs that are uh provided to uh Detroiters, and in particular uh African American black Detroiters, uh uh committed.

Uh and if you if if you have not met those targets from CREO on your last um abatement, how do you plan on or do you have any plans to address that issue?

Um thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

One eight.

Our next caller is Tahira Ahmed.

Caller, the floor is yours regarding line item six.

T E R.

Yes, good afternoon.

I've I have the same concerns uh as the prior caller did, but I also want to know how many of these businesses are black-owned businesses.

We've seen uh an uptick in uh so much gentrification and monopolizing by people who are not black.

We want to see more black businesses.

Are you targeting uh black businesses to make sure that they know that they have the ability to indulge in your project?

Uh have you done that?

And uh will you, if not, will you in the future pay more attention to that uh aspect?

We need more black businesses.

I'm interested in what you've done to try to acquire more black businesses and the homeowners.

We want to know how many are black and tell me your other developments.

And um, are you also targeting those who uh need homes?

Um and and need to be homeowners.

Uh thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is William M.

Davis.

All right, William and Davis, the floor is yours regarding line item six.

Uh good morning.

Can I be heard?

Yes, sir.

Okay.

Um, I like the idea of redeveloping uh not used facility.

I like the idea of uh spaces being available.

I like the idea of this possibly being able to help uh small businesses because we need to make sure we do more to grow small business in the city of Detroit.

Um if a small business is moving to one of these units, will there be a commitment to make sure the price stays low for at least three years to make sure that they not being pushed right out of it?

And also is there gonna be a commitment to make sure that Detroit is get the first opportunity for those business locations.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Pauline KP.

Caller, the floor is yours.

You have one minute regarding line item six.

Hello, can you hear me?

Yes.

My name's Pauline.

I'm the VP of Operations of Marrow Hospitality.

So one of the companies that Roger and John has uh co-owned.

Uh, we are opening their last development at 2442.

It should be open by the end of this month.

And just want to say being now a employee at Marrow.

Um, my support for this due to me being um, I was running Eastern Market Brewery for the last three years, very involved in the Eastern Market area and just their commitments to bringing food businesses and production back to that area.

Um, and at the moment, the building that we are working on now, they have uh stayed true to all their commitments of investments.

We'll be hiring about 30 people and um looking forward to bringing on more small businesses in the eastern market area that do focus on food production and honoring that tradition.

Thank you.

And before we go forward, I'd like to recess the 1055 public hearing to the call of the chair.

I'd like to now call to order the 105, excuse me, 1105 public hearing and recess it to the call of the chair.

We are now back at the 1055 public hearing.

Uh, who's our next caller, please?

Our next caller is Madison Myers.

Madison Myers, the floor is yours.

You have one minute regarding line item six.

Um, hi, I just wanted to express my support for the use of a tax abatement in this case.

I think it's a really great project that will support the community.

I spent a lot of time in Eastern Market.

It definitely could grow a lot and is financially willing to like receive that kind of growth.

And I think it would be a successful project and a good use of the tax abatement.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is not that carrying caring.

The floor is yours.

You have one minute regarding line item six.

Yes, hello.

Hello.

Yeah.

Um, I've never heard that terminology white box.

Uh uh, like to hear more about uh what that means.

Um, I'm concerned about your construction route and your use of recyclable materials.

All of these older buildings are mostly full of asbestos and lead pipes.

So I'm concerned about how we're going to abate all that when we go into this construction phase.

Um, are we gonna use solar?

Are you considering solar in this in this endeavor?

Um will you be using recycled recycled materials?

I think that's gonna be interesting.

Uh, I mean, important that we we need to start using more recycled materials.

We can't keep filling the laugh bill with these debris from these uh recycled projects.

Um and the tax abatements, we need to be winding down on these tax abatements because we know property taxes are the one major source of revenue for the city.

So we need to stop winding, start winding down on giving out so many tax abatements.

Um that's pretty much my concern.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Tyson Gersh.

Tyson Gersh, the floor is yours regarding line item six.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes.

Thanks.

Um, I guess I just wanted to say thank you to Mr.

Richard Barr for being the only attorney at the insane BZA hearing for Northern Landing that attempted to do anything good when he when my computer died, he did try to give me a charger, which didn't end up working, but you know, in these proceedings, it's really rare for attorneys to even try and do the right thing.

And I appreciate that he in that instance did that for me.

Thank you.

Okay.

Next caller, please.

Our last caller is Miss Marguerite Scarlic Maddox.

It's Marguerite Scarlet Maddox.

The floor is yours regarding line item six.

Thank you.

And now the early books.

So um I know I know that you have many um be more.

Thank you.

That does not have a meat.

Yes, it does.

One more thing.

The people who I um do that.

Um thank you, Miss Manot.

I think that takes us to the end of our public commenters.

All right, we're gonna give the presenters an opportunity to respond to the questions that have been provided.

Um okay, so I will take it from the top.

Um the uh you know, we hired Honigman because they are uh an expert in the tax abatement process, and Richard has a lot of experience with it.

I think the um you know they're an attorney, not an advocate of particular policy, and and unfortunately, the tax, you know, getting a tax abatement in the city is not easy.

It's made to uh you know to go through a process, and that's what what we do, and we need experts to support the process, uh, even if it's a good cause.

Um, you know, and to be sure we're not asking for a zoning hearing or a change in zoning, we're we're actually able to leverage a zoning change that happened positively in Eastern Market Um a couple years ago called the MKT zoning, which uh made food production by right, um, eliminated parking requirements.

Um if uh when I when we did the marrow building, we actually had to go through a special land use hearing to put a meat packing plant in the meat packing district of Detroit, which was an was uh uh you know, which not logical and and a hassle at the time, but it was how it was owned.

So that has been corrected now, and and you can put food production plants in eastern market.

So I think the city's done a very good job, and the Eastern Market Corporations done a very good job of thinking through how they want things to be and making it easier to do the kinds of things that would add value.

Um the uh in terms of incubator projects committed, um, we've been working with and meeting with many, many startups throughout the city, uh, early stage food businesses.

Um, I can't, I don't think it would be fair to name because when we select somebody, that's a um, you know, it's an opportunity for them to have extra funding and be able to use space and it wouldn't be fair to announce anything before we've made decisions, but um, we've really tried to look everywhere and at everyone that that um you know it's come through various programs and and is uh you know we see as as uh you know scalable and um and also uh strong entrepreneurs and and we look for all sorts of positive aspects and and diversity in what we're doing.

Um in terms of the uh prior tax abatements, um we actually submit uh a log of all uh Detroit uh residents that participate and and work on our our project.

So in the case of the Marrow building, we submitted uh long lists of Detroiters who are employed during the construction process.

Um and as we hire up for the opening of the new restaurant and meat plant, uh we'll absolutely be uh hiring many Detroiters in in that approach.

Um there was a question about uh black owned businesses.

Um the uh in our group of companies, um, Tasamara Club Soda Company has two founders, one of whom is is black.

She's uh uh one of the principals in the business.

Um in church space, both principals are black.

They both grew up as as children of pastors, and so they're experts on churches and on experts on the finances of churches and how to help churches make more money.

Um is a BIPOC founder, an Asian uh and Asian founder who is also openly gay, and we have uh high amount of diversity in the companies that we invest in.

I can't say that we target specific diversity.

We we work to find the best entrepreneurs, and because Detroit has uh uh many black entrepreneurs, we will always be talking to black entrepreneurs in Detroit, no question.

Um in terms of home homeowners, um, I know that Greatwater has to report who uh some of the stats on who buys the homes.

I don't have those stats.

It's not something we try to look at.

We try to look at um helping people as much as we can.

We do a lot of things like a uh we've worked with Rocket Mortgage to create a program for um reduced down payments on homes.

I do know for a fact, just because I I've met them is there, you know, of the first three homes that we sold, I know there was a uh a black couple that moved to the homes.

So very clearly this is not um, you know, it's not a any push to not have diversity by any means.

Um it's a it's an opportunity for people to own in the city and own new new buildings again.

Um our commitments to price staying low in retail.

Our goal is for these businesses to grow out of our retail that and then to be able to give lower prices to the next tenants that come there.

We're helping to grow these businesses, and we'd like them like to see them go to a bigger space and be able to showcase their wider array of products.

Um so our our intention is for um the retail to to change over to the to reflect the companies that are in the facility at that time and working to grow their businesses.

Um in terms of uh a commitment to Detroiters, it's a commitment to to look at all Detroit companies and look at um all the different uh uh uh ideas and people coming out of Eastern Markets programs, people coming out of Prosperous, people coming out of Motor City Match, all these different early stage funding opportunities that give people of an initial leg into uh business ownership, but then who's who's succeeding and ready to take that next step?

Um in terms of the definition of white box, that just means having four walls, plumbing and uh a door so that somebody can come in and design their own space and that the space is ready to be occupied, but without decor and without equipment or or counters or machinery yet.

Um in terms of construction, um, our materials um and what we will abate.

Um, the the nice thing about this building is that it is literally four masonry walls, old masonry, it's very beautiful and and um has a lot of variety in the masonry, um, and then a steel superstructure inside so that there are um there's a more modern building that was built inside of this back in I think the 1970s.

Old masonry, it's very beautiful and and um has a lot of variety in the masonry, um, and then a steel superstructure inside so that there um there's a more modern building that was built inside of this back in I think the 1970s.

Uh, we will need to replace the roof, and there is likely asbestos in the roof, and we will use an abatement provider to to um to abate anything that the uh needs to come out of the roof before we replace it.

Um but otherwise, there's not a lot of uh other material to take out of the building.

Uh, we are considering solar, it needs to work economically to uh to reduce significantly reduce the electric cost of the building, and the we we are looking at getting analyses because there is a significant size of roof on the building, uh, but we can't commit to that because it should be economic for the building and not just not just for the for the good reasons, but also because it helps uh defray the electricity cost of these companies.

It shouldn't cost them more.

Um, in terms of recycle materials, we will always use what we can.

There are certain things in food service like FRP fiber reinforced plastic that is just how you have to build walls and food service so that you can keep spaces clean.

Um, and so there are certain things we will do the best of to the best of our ability, but um, but there are laws and health and safety laws that that we have to comply with, and so we'll do our best with that.

Um, in terms of uh ADA, as I mentioned, we're putting in ramps, lowering retail to the street level.

We'll have ADA accessible bathrooms, and we'll do everything we can to make sure that people can access the building and um use bathrooms in the building and work in the building.

Um, and because of the MKT rules, uh parking is not required, parking is not a requirement.

Um, I think these are more stroll by shops than drive-by shops, also.

So I if you think about how the market works, people park and then they walk from far away to see all the the fun stuff and cool cool wares in the market.

Um, I believe I answered all the questions, but if there's anything that um uh I've left off, please let me know.

Well, I think you did a great job.

You actually need to lead a course on how to respond to these questions because you literally went line by line by line, thorough and uh transparent and things you could not answer.

You you mentioned that.

So I appreciate uh your approach.

Thank you.

Uh member Johnson, any additional questions, comments, concerns?

All right.

Seeing none, is there a motion?

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Move to send line item six to formal with the recommendation to approve.

Thank you, ma'am.

There's a motion to send line item six to formal with recommendation to approve.

See no objections, that action shall be taken.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You just now closes out our 10 30 public hearing.

We'll now like to call back to order our 1055 public hearing.

Will the parties who are participating please cue up.

The 1055 public hearing is we a request to establish a commercial rehabilitation district for the Broad Towers LLC.

Excuse me, in the area of 10 Witherall Street and 155 Woodward Detroit, Michigan, in accordance with public act 210 of 2005.

With the parties who are participating, when you see yourselves on the screen, introduce yourselves for the record.

Hi, Ari Durak.

Justice Cook, Housing and Radio Logisation Department.

Hello again.

Alton Williams, DEGC.

Good morning, Nevin Shogar, consultant to the developer.

Good morning.

Okay, Mr.

Cook, the floor is yours, sir.

Thank you.

To the chair, the Barduer Tower LLC is requesting a commercial rehabilitation exception district in the area of 10 Witherow Street and 1556 Woodward Avenue.

The legislative body of the local qualified government unit may establish a district on its own initiative or upon a written request filed by an owner.

This is only the first step in the process for a certificate.

And the petitioner and DEGC is present to the answer.

Any additional question.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Justice.

To the chair, may I share my screen, please, sir?

Absolutely, sir.

Thank you.

All right.

So today we have come before this honorable body to request a commercial rehabilitation exemption district for the Broderick Tower project being led by the development team of TIR equities.

The developer will invest 45.6 million dollars to acquire and renovate the Broadway Tower located in the heart of downtown.

This renovation includes 125 residential units, with 25 of them being offered at 60% AMI and approximately 8,900 square feet of commercial space to include a fitness slash wellness bar, a speakeasy lounge, and a bodega style market.

The commercial rehabilitation act provides a reduction on the future increase in property taxes as a result of the rehabilitation of commercial and residential properties, including new construction.

If you turn your attention to year zero, you'll see a small dark green bar representing the amount of taxes to be paid on the property.

This works out to be approximately 493,000 per year.

Moving on to year one, you'll see that this bar increases, and that represents the total amount of taxes that we project based on the investment that will be made into this project.

Upon completion of the project, the assessor will reassess the property, and as a result of the improvements, the property's value will increase.

The owners will then be responsible for paying a piece of the increase in taxes represented by the TIEL portion on the bar graph.

The total taxes that first year will be roughly $642,000, and the abated portion will be approximately 105,000, represented as the yellow bar on the graph.

Through the life of the abatement, the owner will pay the dark green and teal portion shown on the bar graph.

Assuming that they receive the full term of the abatement in year 11, after the abatement has expired, they will be responsible for the entire amount of taxes, which is approximately $680,000 that first year.

The request before you today is for a district only.

The district does not necessarily self-create a tax exemption.

Only property owners who commit to specific investments into the property will be eligible to request an exemption certificate in the proposed district.

Future property owners will need to apply to the city of Detroit for a certificate and would be subject to approval by the Detroit City Council and the Michigan State Tax Commission to receive the exemption.

On May 14th, 2025, the assessor's office wrote a letter confirming that this project meets the eligibility requirements for a commercial redevelopment district.

Based on our initial review, the DGC is recommending the establishment of the district to support future investment.

A recommendation on the term of the abatement will be made when a certificate is applied for.

That concludes my presentation, Mr.

Chair, and I will now turn it over to the development team to offer some more detail regarding this project.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

You may proceed.

Hi, my name is R Doraks from TIR Equities.

We're excited about the project, the Broderick Tower.

It's a building that I've grown up being a lifelong Detroiter.

It's a building that I've grown up looking at every day and imagining how great it's going to be.

We have some great plans to activate the first four floors with amenities for the residents that are currently there.

We plan on 20% of the units being affordable and not displacing any residents that currently are low-income residents in the building.

But we plan on renovating all the units to the same fit and finish as market rate units.

So part of what we're going to be doing in the building is from a sustainability perspective, we're going to be doing everything we can to use materials that are currently there and sustainable going forward.

Universal accessibility will be done as much as we can do in the units, especially.

As it relates to the signage on the units themselves as well as on the elevators, rail and everything else that has to be accomplished there will be done.

And is there anything else you want to add?

Maybe Nevin or through the chair.

So the parking is underground in the Grand Circus parking garage, which is not owned by the developer of the property.

It's owned by the city of Detroit.

And there's a long-term kind of licensing agreement in place that allows for the tenants that live in the building to basically almost independently rent parking spaces from the garage.

And so there's no, you know, there's no upcharge.

There's no uh money that actually goes in the developer's pocket for parking.

And uh and in this case, for the affordable tenants, uh, the developer is committing to actually um spending out of his own pocket uh to to basically reduce the price of that parking.

the tenants that live in the building to basically uh almost independently rent parking spaces from the garage and so there's no um you know there's no upcharge there's no uh money that actually goes in the developer's pocket for parking and and uh and in this case for the affordable tenants uh the developer is committing to to actually um spending out of his own pocket uh to to basically reduce the price of that parking um and so uh just wanted to sort of bring that up and then also on the support letters here uh we do have uh multiple residents we've gone out to um you know to this uh this community and spoken to them about this upcoming renovation they're very supportive uh so we have support letters from uh the residents as well as the property manager who will be uh retained by the by the new ownership um so uh thank you uh we appreciate your time all right thank you so I actually wanted to talk about the the the parking I was a little confused about that myself so you cleared up just a bit um but how much is the parking I know it it was indicated here that it'll be a 75 dollar a month uh discount if you will for those who have affordable units uh what what what's the full amount for those who are not in that category and how how does the discount come into play if if they're independently uh choosing parking spaces as opposed to being built into their rent so the park so sorry go ahead so the so the parking uh the the full price of the parking is 275 dollars per month um you know for whoever selects it um and uh this is from a parking agreement that has been in place for a number of years uh I want to say you know roughly 15 years and uh that original parking rate just grows at at five percent so it's it's at the rate that it is today uh basically from an antiquated uh parking agreement and so when this uh new developer comes in purchases the building one of the things that that we hope to address for for all the residents and including uh the affordable residents is to uh to potentially renegotiate this this parking agreement that's with uh it's essentially with the city of Detroit um in in that grand circus parking deck so we've reached out to uh to the director of parking to to hopefully um have a a positive conversation uh you know with him uh and and then your your point about uh the 75 dollar reduction so uh so it'd be 200 a month for for an affordable tenant to park um in in in the parking there um and that that reduction that 75 a month is is a direct sort of um uh cash flow you know negative cash flow item to to the developer okay and what what is the the capacity of the parking currently look like i mean i know some some days especially when you talk about city owned lots it gets packed quickly especially when you have employees who are um coming into work from various locations what does capacity look like sure so so the the current licensing agreement allows for up to 200 spaces and there is um there is some room in there i i don't i don't think all the spaces are taken in fact i think there's at least 50 or 60 parking spaces more that can be accommodated uh through this agreement all right any additional questions comments concerned member johnson thank you mr chair good morning um thank you all for the presentation um i do want to say thank you for providing recycling in the building i know it wasn't discussed but i did um see that in the information um can you talk about there are 125 units can you share with us the breakdown of the unit type in the building sure we have the building currently offers studios one bedrooms two bedrooms three bedrooms and it has three penthouses the majority of the units are two bedroom units studios run about 11% of the building one bedrooms are about 15 to 20 percent 18 percent of the building two bedrooms are approximately 45 percent of the building and olton uh if you could please do you have that slide that you could pull up that shows the the affordable um units as well there uh this should be roughly proportional throughout the building um you know in terms of uh in terms of the the number of units um and and then there the affordable units will be at 60 percent AMI okay thank you will you have an a penthouse that's affordable no I'm just kidding I'm only kidding um while you have the opportunity and I'm not sure of the full scale of the renovation because I know uh the apartments are occupied is there an opportunity to shore up the mechanics within the elevators and I only ask that because we have high rises that have a tendency to have problems with the elevators throughout this city talk about what you are able to do what you plan to do with the elevators in the building so to the best of our ability right now and in our knowledge the previous developer when they renovated the buildings they they basically put in all new systems in the elevators and we'll be going through a systematic and thorough uh inspection of that of the of the mechanics and of the equipment itself as of right now all the all the units are new or

Talk about what you are able to do, what you plan to do with the elevators in the building.

So to the best of our ability right now, and our our knowledge, the previous developer when they renovated the buildings, they they basically put in all new systems in the elevators, and we'll be going through a systematic and thorough uh inspection of that of the of the mechanics and of the equipment itself.

As of right now, all the all the units are new, or they're deemed as new.

And there was an incident, I think about approximately a year or two years ago, where all the upgrades were done in the last year after a large rainstorm had occurred in the building.

So most of most, if not all of the elevator mechanics and equipment right now is new.

All right, that's great to hear.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you.

Um, Member Johnson.

If we can keep that screen up, I appreciate looking at this number.

I mean, looking at this slide, because you know, we often talk about the number of bedrooms.

Um, and this project clearly has a number of three beds, uh uh two beds as well, um, which is you know far fewer than what we see.

I mean the the numbers far more, excuse me, than we see in other projects.

Uh is it safe to assume that the three bedrooms are the penthouse locations?

Three of the three bedrooms are penthouse locations.

Okay.

Um, and so the uh it's always been presented to me that three bedrooms is just not um an option for developers because it's not profitable.

You can't charge really what you would need for those particular units, and we see that these are not subsidized, none of these.

How are you how are you anticipating that you're gonna actually feel uh these these units, the three bedrooms in particular, all of them?

Currently, the three bedrooms are all leased.

Oh, see, there we go.

That market.

And it's a very interesting scenario because the people leasing those bedrooms obviously are families.

They're young couples with children or couples living, you know, cohabitating.

So we see that there is a demand for that size unit as well as that quality of unit.

So I'm not sure if I'm answering your question.

No, you're answering it perfectly.

Um I think there is probably a greater demand for that kind of unit, primarily because of the location and the building itself, frankly.

Gotcha.

No, you answered a perfectly and and and we'd love to have a conversation with you offline because again, we we constantly get developers and you know, not saying that they're not being truthful, it's just a matter of understanding the math and being creative and having you know potentially development team that knows how to pull this off.

How do we recreate not necessarily this facility, this this structure, this building, this uh entity all throughout the city of Detroit, but you just hit the nail on the head with the need for and desire uh for three bedrooms, certainly two bedrooms, but three bedrooms makes a lot of sense uh as it relates to the demand and needs that we have in the city of Detroit.

So I want to commend you for continuing uh in that direction, but uh team just want to have a conversation afterwards with the developer to uh discuss how we uh increase the number of bedrooms at other um units that we have within the city of Detroit, multifamily units.

Thanks again.

All right, we will now go to public comment.

If there's anyone from the public who would like to speak on the 1055 public hearing, that is line item seven, please raise your hand now.

If you'd like to speak on the 1055 public hearing, that is line item seven, the presentation that you just saw, please raise your hand now.

Going once, going twice, going three times.

Collection of public comments have now concluded.

Ms.

Ramsey, how many callers do we have?

And who do we have first?

We have 13 callers, the first being inclusionary planning matters.

All right, caller, the floor is yours.

You have one minute regarding line item seven.

Good morning, may I be heard?

Yes.

Yeah, well, frankly, I don't understand the need for this because I read my bike by there.

There's already tenants, he's already said the penthouses are full.

How much uh do the penthouses go for?

And uh please a specific dollar amount also.

Um, how much would the so-called affordable units go for?

Please give a specific dollar amount.

And if the building is already full, then why is there the need?

Is it just because you have a new owner and you want to overall increase the uh rents?

Because that's what it looks like.

And where do you and uh are your all your units full?

And uh if not, where do you expect to get them?

And just curious, uh not to uh disclose their privacy, but do the people who live up top, are they American citizens?

I just I just just curious to know.

And uh next caller, please.

Our next caller is not that caring.

All right, caller, the floor is yours.

You have one minute regarding line item seven.

Thank you.

Um yeah.

I'm glad to say that this is a 10-year abatement, not 12.

That's a good thing in my estimation.

Um, um heard talk of the Grand Circus Park parking facility, but I believe that particular parking facility was part of the uh grand bargain.

I don't think the city owns that anymore.

We deeded that over during the bankruptcy for the pension and um the other uh things that were given during that grand bargain.

So I think that we need to research that a little bit better, unless it's been needed back to the city of Detroit, it no longer uh that went along with the DIA deal and all of that thing.

So I think we need to definitely research that.

Um I'm glad to see that we're trying to rehab some of the current buildings as opposed to demolishing them.

And um that parking really has me worried.

I don't think anybody did a deep dive to find out who's the owner of grassroots park parking structure.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Mr.

Chair, our next caller is concerned broad tenant.

Right, caller, the floor is yours.

You have a minute regarding line item seven.

Hi, thank you.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Great.

Um, so I think it's ridiculous that uh there's this much money for redevelopment, but the building currently the elevators and hot water are going out almost monthly, if not more.

Uh negatively impacting all tenants, especially those with disabilities.

Um, second, this is clearly just a ploy for rent for all other tenants expecting to go up, and the prices that they've shown you today on that 125 unit breakdown is not accurate to the prices that are being charged to tenants today.

Uh they keep trying to spin this as a historic redevelopment, but it's clearly about increasing rents and revenue, as evidenced by the massive advertisements covering up the whales in the skyline.

Uh lastly, Broadrock does not own the parking.

Um, it's complete garbage that they can't control the the price increases and hoping to have a positive conversation about it is flimsy at best.

And lastly, uh I'm speaking anonymous anonymously today on behalf of multiple tenants for fear of retaliation from Broad Arc Management, uh including rent prices.

Thank you.

All right.

Well, ask the caller if you feel um inclined to please give my office a call so we can dig a little deeper into the allegations that have been presented by you 313, 224, 1027, again, 313, 224, 1027.

We'd like to uh get additional information.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is owner Papa.

All right, caller, the floor is yours.

You have a minute regarding line item seven.

Good.

Oh, morning still through the chair.

May I be heard?

Yes.

Yes, please call her.

Don't call his office.

He's he doesn't investigate anything.

What he wants to do is tell them who you are.

Uh currently, I'd like to ask the presenter, what is the rate of occupancy today in the buildings, the 125 units that he has?

And you as a body understand our needs as a city is we need three bedrooms.

We need family-oriented, and they're all taken.

So why would we want to use abatement for this particular project?

When you have homes that can be uh not demolished but re uh uh paired, and and we can have families put in them instead of giving uh people who have penthouses in their building abatements that um really most Detroiters would not be able to afford as you have data from the statistics of the poverty level in the city of Detroit.

So please, this is not one project that we should support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Sam Jarbo.

Sam Jarville, the floor is yours.

You have one minute regarding line item seven.

I don't know why my name is labeled that.

My name is Dylan Hannah.

I'm also a developer in town, and I just want to voice my support of this project.

I'm very familiar with the developer.

They've always come through on their other projects.

Uh, the more housing and the more high quality housing we can have in downtown, the better.

And whatever it takes to help developers, I think is important.

And I think that this will be a great project.

Uh and um it'll bring uh it'll bring to life a lot more um habitable units than what's currently there.

All right.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Kate Remus.

Caller, the floor is yours.

You have one minute regarding line item seven.

Hey, may I be heard?

Yes.

Wonderful.

Thank you.

Um I'm calling and trying to raise similar points to what have been raised by several others, um, specifically with regard to reassuring uh that the abatements are being used in a way that is good for cities and city members.

Um I think that some a lot of the paperwork that has been put on the screen and a lot of these communications have been holding Broadwreck out as having landmark status.

And that is something that in general I would love to agree with.

I think that this building is iconic on the skyline and those the the whales and the art on the side of the building are as well.

However, I think that Broadwick is not treating itself as a landmark.

They're covering the art with advertisements and there are tarps on the side of the building that are being paid for with advertiser dollars, and that is not how landmarks are viewed.

So I think that if they're taking money and demanding to be recognized as a landmark, they must recognize what that looks like for the city of Detroit.

Also, several other things I've been brought up regarding recycling.

Uh, my thank you.

Just want to revive remind everyone we have to give everyone the same amount of time.

So keep your eyes on the clock, please.

Next caller.

Our next caller is Doug Senior.

All right, caller, the floor is yours.

You have one minute regarding line item seven.

Hello, thank you.

Uh yeah, so I own a and operate a corporate housing company that places people who uh getting employed in the city and they just need a place to stay while they look for a permanent place in the city.

And uh uh these uh quality improvements will help the the buildings kind of falling behind for at least what we do.

Um also I think it's awesome that we want to attract high income people, which pay more taxes, but yet balance it with the affordable.

The question I have is uh how is the construction in the units going to take place?

Is it gonna be as they vacate, or are you gonna be doing this while people are living in the unit?

How does that whole construction process work?

But in general, I'm very much for this this uh project and think it's well needed and think it will serve the city, both in taxes and balancing high income with the affordable.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Madison Myers.

Caller, the floor is yours.

We have one minute regarding line item seven.

Hi, I'm a uh tenant, I've been a tenant for a few years.

I have a lot of concerns with this project.

I don't think it's a proper use of a tax abatement.

And also they want to offer amenities that I don't think will benefit tenants.

The like co-working space that has been thrown out a couple of times.

I've lived places that had that.

I know people that live in units that have access to that.

Nobody uses it.

It's just basically a way to raise rent without adding value to tenants.

Um, I do think using that space for commercial or retail.

There are plenty of cities that have commercial and retail on second, third, fourth, fifth floors, and you could use the space for that, and that would actually bring in more tax revenue for the city without raising rent on tenants.

Also, for the affordable housing, there are plenty of people that live right on that line that wouldn't have access to that that will then be kicked out of their homes just because they don't make $50 less or $100 less a year.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Kelly Herman.

Caller, the floor is yours regarding line item seven.

Hello, can you hear me?

Yes.

Okay, thank you.

Um I'm Kelly Herman.

I support the tax abatement for this project.

It is a icon of the city, and it you know, had the opportunity to be revitalized in 2012.

And um, this tax abatement allows this project to really experience the benefits of what it could be and be continuously an icon, not to just the uh tenant enhancements, but also the amenities and commercial opportunities of activation on the streetscape that have gone dark for way too long.

Um, and this will help revitalize that corner and enhance the adjacent areas around.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Tahira Ahmed.

Caller, the floor is yours.

You have a minute regarding line item seven.

Yes, I'm I'm in agreement with prior callers.

I'm against this uh project, against more abatement for high-end people.

This should be given to people who actually need the abatement.

I'm interested also in how much per month would the uh with the the people be paying, the renters be paying per month for even the three bedroom, uh luxury apartments, and um and how how many black people are living in these in this structure, or will be living in this structure.

I'm concerned about gentrification, and it's usually used.

Um the the amount of money being charged is used to keep black people from owning or are living in uh downtown.

Uh also uh how much can you actually own a condo?

Would it be a condo-like thing?

We need ownership, and black people have been uh kept from ownership from the hundred million dollar um theft.

Next caller, please.

Our final caller before public comment was um cut off is Miss Scar Scarlet Maddox.

It's Margaret Mannox Scarlett.

The floor is yours.

You have one you the floor is yours regarding line item seven.

Thank you.

Um you would virtually it's just the virgin.

Uh days.

Oh uh they um we're doing the euro.

Um we we uh maybe amenities.

Oh no, we do paint baby in shape and how many how many was it.

Um thank you.

I believe that takes us to the end of our public comments.

I'm gonna give the presenter an opportunity to the presenters an opportunity to respond to the questions.

You may begin.

Uh thank you.

Hopefully, I took comprehensive notes, so I'm just gonna try to go through them as I took the notes from the callers that were participating.

Um, the penthouse rent depends on square footage, but it's approximately two dollars a square foot.

The penthouses range in size, so I can't off the top of my head give you the exact amount, but that they all range because they're all different sizes.

Affordability that we're targeting is 60 percent affordable units based on the AMI chart for Wayne County.

The building, the affordable units will be throughout the building, and they'll be pro-rata for each of the unit types and each of the sizes.

The need for the tax abatement is because at the in the event of the investment, taxes become the major line item on the expenses of the operations of the building.

So the abatement allows us to not have to raise rents to a point where they're not affordable.

The occupancy of the building currently is approximately 96 96 percent, 95 percent.

And we have no way of knowing um the citizenship of the residents, so I don't know how to respond to that question.

The parking facility, how I've understood it is it's a contract, as Nevin explained, it's a contract with the grand circus parking authority, whoever that is, and that contract has systematically gone up year over year over year, five percent with no halting of that.

Our goal is to hopefully negotiate a better deal to take into account the six uh the 20 percent of the spaces that we have to the the 20 percent of the affordable units that we have to provide spaces for, assuming they opt for that service or not.

Um the elevators and the hot water.

I want to touch on that.

And so the hot water, we we are aware that the hot water goes out at times of peak usage.

Uh we have a plan in place to address that so that that doesn't happen going forward.

Um the elevators themselves, they they have gone out and they have been fixed.

We'll be doing an assessment as we go through the the maintenance of the building over the next 90 days and figure out what else has to be done there.

If there is anything else that has to be done, but from what we understand, there was upgrades done within the last year, and the elevators are now very much more stable now than they have been in the past.

The the historical redevelopment and the rent increase and the parking, the parking I've addressed the the rent increase.

Unfortunately, uh we all experience increases in expenses, and therefore rent increases have to occur.

Um the taxes, as you notice from the presentation from the DEGC, the current taxes on the building are approximately 182,000 a year.

The tax increase that is going to occur post abatement takes the taxes to 493,000 a year.

So after our redevelopment of the building, the taxes are going from 493 to $642,000 a year.

So that is a significant increase, almost a three-fold, almost three and a half fold increase in tax expense alone on the building.

So we're gonna have to manage that somehow.

And one of the ways we do manage that is by having the advertising on the side of the building that's been approved by the city.

We do believe it's a historical redevelopment because of location of the building, the identification of the building, and its overall locate, it's overall just it is an icon of Detroit.

I grew up and born and raised in Detroit, and I can't remember a day I didn't think about that building as being part of Detroit.

Current occupancy is like I said, 95%.

All dollars coming into the building and the abatement that we are that we're going to experience, all that money is getting invested in the building.

Advertising on the whales has been something that's been from what I understand has been litigated as well as has gone through extenuate ext extensive hearings and city hearings and motions and the like that I'm not privy to, but from what I've understood is that um the advertising on the whales also is legal, and it also allows us to offset some of the rent increase that would have to be in place since some of these expenses are going up.

The construction and the redevelopment.

So the construction on the first four floors will occur um as it is today because there's those those spaces are vacant.

The redevelopment or renovation of the units will happen as those units get vacated and through attrition, and they'll happen as systematic as we can line up lease extensions that would then expire all on the same floor, so we could do one floor at a time.

That's going to take a little bit of time to do, but that was that's the intent.

When we have to do common area work, that work will be done with the least disruption to in-place current occupants and residents as possible.

The amenities that we're discussing are amenities that are not just for the building, but they also activate the space from a commercial aspect for the residents at large in downtown Detroit.

I'm not at liberty to talk about what those are right now because we're in the middle of negotiations with some people, but it's going to be a very big addition to the city and a great addition for the building and the residents, not just in the Broadway, but also the residents that are all in downtown in this area.

How many?

I I don't know how to address the question of how many African Americans live in the building.

Um we operate by, and I'm I'm assuming everybody who's operated the building and manages the building operates by the fair housing standards, and there's there's no discrimination, and I would assume that whoever applies, if they get approved, they get moved in.

Um there are no condos in the building.

The building is a four-rent building only, and there is no I there is no thoughts or plans to turn the building into a condo building.

Um the last caller mentioned what all units have washers and dryers, and as well, we have a uh laundry room that handles larger items.

I think I addressed all the comments, Chair.

Um if there's anything I missed, can you please just let me know and I'll address it right away?

We'll do.

Uh the the question for more specificity regarding the uh laundry was in terms of excuse me, the uh for the certainly the ADA um accessible units, are they stacked or are they side by side as we know those who maybe in a wheelchair will have more challenges with a stacked unit as opposed to side-by-size?

Are there any side-by-side laundry units that are in the uh units that you have available?

So all units have what they call a combo unit, and the combo units at at it's it's not a stack unit.

It's one washer dryer unit all in one box.

Got it.

So a handy get person can access has access to that at that level.

Okay.

Tell us a little bit more about the plan.

Thank you for that.

Tell us a little bit more about the I know you said that you're working on a plan to address the hot water uh going out during high usage.

Give us a little more details about what that looks like.

Sure.

So what we've understood is that there's this peak time of draw in the system where the hot water runs out.

Our goal there will be to increase the overall storage capacity of the current hot water system.

So we'll be increasing that probably two to three hundred percent, so that we're storing more hot water for to just alleviate that those peak times where the water runs low.

Do you have you have a timeline for that?

That will be one of the first things we do in the first three to six months of starting the renovation.

Okay.

Uh also the uh how many affordable units are we talking about on the first floor?

Uh there's no living, there's no residential units on the first four floors.

The first floor that has residential units starts on floor five.

Okay.

Talk to us about where they located as well as the ADA um accessible units.

Are they located?

So they're gonna be located throughout the building.

So from floors five all the way up to probably 25 is where we're gonna be locating all of the affordable and ADA units.

And so we'll be picking a unit or two on each of those floors as we go up the building based on the unit based on the unit mix and distribution that we have to hit to meet the 20% affordable component.

Okay.

And now that there's going to be some renovations taking place, what what are we looking at in terms of rate of rent increase?

Uh is what's what's the scientific way that you determine these rates going up at your facility?

Well, at this point in time, the way we we calculate that is based on a specific well, one, we have dollars spent and dollars expended, and then it's also about making a return and covering the expenses.

We know taxes are going up a lot.

Uh at this point, taxes are going from 180 to 43 for probably the first year, and then when we're done with the renovations, they're probably gonna go up as stated, they'll go up to 642,000.

So at a minimum, we're gonna have to cover that.

So what does it look like?

Give me a little give us a little bit more of in a public hearing.

Sure.

So what I'd like to say is I can't do that.

I'm just gonna do the math math off the top of my head at this moment, but it's probably somewhere around a 15 to 20 cent per square foot increase over a period of a year.

I mean, a period of month to start to cover that.

Now we are myself as well as the current owners are working on ways to alleviate as much of that as possible because we know that's not a palatable increase.

So what's gonna help us do that is the ads and on the back wall on the wild.

So in addition to the conversation that I want to have with you about the three bedrooms, I want to dig a little bit more deeper into that as well.

Um and then the last question that I have here is you kind of alluded to it just now.

So there are intentions to uh keep the advertising over the the well mural.

Yes, there is.

Okay.

All right.

Uh member Johnson, any additional questions, comments, concerns?

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Um, I would like to clarify.

So there was indication about a 15 to 20 cent per square foot increase, but earlier there was um an indication that the affordable units their rates would not change.

Can you clarify that?

Sure.

So through through through the chair, I I I can address that.

Um there is currently no affordability, you know, covenant or restrictions uh in the building today.

The building today is 100% market rate.

And so as a as a function of of this um, you know, tax abatement, uh 20% of the units will be affordable at 60% AMI.

And that 60% AMI rent is I think 1060 for a studio, uh, maybe around 1100 for a one-bedroom unit.

Uh, and so these will be lower rents than what these what these units are currently going for today.

Um, and so uh the and the question about the rents uh that came up, um, you know, hopefully that addresses it on the on the affordable side.

So it makes it a little foggier.

So initially, earlier on in the conversation, there was an indication that anyone who is paying um, maybe I I can't remember how it was worded, but it was relative to affordable units that their rent would not increase, but now you're saying that there are no affordable units, that they're all market rates.

So the affordable units are just part of this current conversation, not any existing tenants.

Uh no, so so through the chair, um, and I appreciate the the clarification.

So as the building currently exists today, there is no affordability provision.

Um and so what we're what we're saying as a as a function of doing this development, and we we went into um the building, met with the community with HRD representatives, UCHC, uh, we've surveyed the tenants.

Um, and so we're any any affordable tenants, and there's probably less than a handful of affordable tenants in the building today, they will all be protected.

There will not be uh a rent increase on those tenants, and we're working out and finalizing that agreement with the housing department.

Um and so we've we've already sort of gone back and forth and had some conversations, and and so there will be no displacement of any residents.

Um, and and and so uh we're working closely with the housing department to ensure that that happens.

Um and going forward, the the 20% of the units, so so essentially there'll be more affordable uh tenants coming into the building um as as a result of this development.

So you're indicating that you will base that on any current tenants' income as how to move forward as it relates to the affordable units.

Um so the the 60% AMI rate will apply to 20% of the units.

So there's currently today there's there's maybe only uh a couple of affordable tenants in the building.

Um and and so we're gonna sort of protect them, keep them at the rates that they're at today, uh, and then allow more affordable tenants to move into the building.

Uh and and so that that is a function of sort of what we're discussing today.

Okay, and and just to clarify that, so the tenants that you're identifying as being affordable tenants today, you will identify them based on their income.

That's right.

There was a survey that was that was done as part of this you know abatement process and and us sort of doing fact-finding on on the property and and the tenants.

Um we've done that in conjunction with HRD and the UCHC.

Okay.

Um I I would like to ask if someone can send me the current rental rates, um, because I think that helps us to understand better.

If we're looking at future rental rates, what the current rates are, and if you have, because they're all market rate, you can just kind of share that based on square footage or what have you, and we can compare that to the chart that was provided and shown on the screen today.

Um, my other question is so you talked about addressing the hot water issues.

Have you not considered a commercial tankless water heater or or multiple commercial tankless water heaters?

Right now we have a boiler system in place that for all intents and purposes is actually really efficient.

Um the tankless water heaters we haven't looked at, but we'll take a look at that if you so desire.

Yeah, it would probably make it challenging with the boiler.

Um okay, all right.

It was a thought.

And then since you have owned the building, talk to me about what you are aware of as it relates to the elevators being down.

So I got uh involved as of September 16th.

I've been working on the transaction with the current ownership for about a year.

During that time, I was made aware of a couple of the instances where the an elevator or two had gone down.

At one point, I was made aware of three elevators had gone down, and it was a result of a large rainstorm we have had we had had either a day or two prior where the control panels had gotten flooded out.

And when they flooded out, they shorted out, and then the elevators obviously went down.

From what I've understood, and what I've seen is subsequent to that, all the control panels have been replaced and new equipment has been put in place so that doesn't occur again.

And um, so you have no recollection or no understanding of what one of the callers mentioned about the elevators still going down, or you're saying that that the improvements have addressed what the caller mentioned.

From what I understand, the improvements have addressed what the caller has mentioned.

I'm sure that it's a mechanical system.

So if it goes down, I know that they're being addressed, then there's a contract that we pay that right now.

The building pays a contract to maintain the elevators.

But I do know that I'm sorry.

Go ahead.

Okay, thank you.

And I will just say as I'm getting more familiar with high rises in the city of Detroit, um, water tends to be the challenge.

Uh and I'm not sure how the water is getting into the elevator shaft.

And I'm not sure if this is the same elevator company.

Um, but this is something that seriously seriously needs to be looked into and addressed properly, so it's not something that we continue to hear about because this is a high-rise building.

I I'm not even sure how many floors you have.

Um, but how many elevators do you have in the building?

Uh it's 34 stories tall.

It has three main elevators that serve the first floor all the way to the 33rd floor.

It has a service elevator, and then it has a elevator that serves the commercial area off the Woodward entrance.

Okay.

All right.

You know, the elevators is something that is very, very serious that um really needs to be addressed.

I'm not sure how you get it addressed with the elevator company, but it is I would say urgent.

It should be something that you address immediately so that it's not something that continues to come to this body.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you.

All right, member Johnson.

Any additional questions, comments, concerns regarding this particular item.

Um is there a motion?

Um Mr.

Chair, I know we brought up a a lot of things.

Um, and one of the things I would like to get a better sense of is the current rental rates and compare those to the future rental rates.

Um, and so I would like to bring this line item back or this public hearing back as a line item in one week.

If we can have some greater discussions offline to address some of the challenges that were raised today.

All right.

There's a motion to bring back line item seven as a line item.

The public hearing uh in line item seven.

That's a 1055 public hearing.

Bring it back as a line item in one week.

Seeing no objections, that action shall be taken.

Looking forward to the conversations as well uh regarding the questions that we have.

All right.

That action shall be taken.

Thank you so much.

This now closes out our 1055 public hearing.

And uh member Johnson like to recess to the call of the chair.

Uh I have a move I've got to make real quick.