The District Detroit: Why CLTs Matter in Affordable Housing Development
Community Land Trusts (CLT) create real housing affordability because they treat housing as a human right and not as a for-profit commodity. In 2024, West Grand Boulevard Collaborative (WGBC) won a CLT in the Future of Health (FOH) Community Benefits process. This CLT will give community collective control over CLT land and housing in the impact areas of the development and will reduce displacement of low-income households in the face of rising rents and home cost.
In contrast, the Ilitch family’s District Detroit development project is removing affordable housing that could have been available to Detroiters in need of housing. Instead, this housing is now set aside as a recruitment tool for future residents most of whom are likely to have limited residency as students and employees associated with the University of Michigan Innovation Center. γ
How will Detroit’s Budget protect our families and children from Project 2025?
The implementation of Project 2025 is likely to reduce funding for public programs that provide basic needs to Detroiters; Section 8, SNAP, WIC, Medicare & Medicaid, Head Start, school lunch, public transportation and public education.
A Budget for the People and Not Downtown Billionaires Can Help - Detroit’s total budget is about $2.5 billion dollars. We have the money. The problem is that we spend too much on downtown development. Money should be moved from downtown investments and into our neighborhoods. This would increase funding in programs that serve the common good: affordable housing, public transit, libraries, parks and recreation. Investing in our community for the common good is more important than ever as the incoming federal administration will reduce spending for vital public services. Get involved in the Detroit’s budget process. Call your City Council and share your concerns. We need more investments in our neighborhoods in response to Project 2025.
Participatory Budgeting Can Help - In 2024, Detroit City Council passed a resolution to create a Participatory Budgeting (PB) program. The PB program will allocate funds to each district to fund programs prioritized by residents. The PB process gives residents some power over our tax dollars. During the PB process, Detroiters can support programs such as food assistance, childcare, after school programs, etc. Watch for the progress of PB during the upcoming budget process.
The RenCen Saga Continues
From our Instagram He’s back y’all--Dan Gilbert, the richest man in Michigan, got his hand out once again asking for our tax money. This time Gilbert wants $350 million of our tax dollars for a project that will tear down part of the RenCen and build a park on the Detroit Riverwalk. That funding plan also includes a $100 million investment from the Downtown Development Authority, better known as the (DDA).
Now remember, the DDA captures the increased property taxes on new investments and keeps it trapped downtown not to be shared in the neighborhoods or the general fund. The general fund supports much needed City services for Detroiters.
Look, we’ve already given $1 billion dollars to rich developers like Dan Gilbert over the last 10 years. And what have Detroiters gotten in return - nothing but a gentrified midtown and downtown that’s now turned into a big amusement area for suburbanites and tourist. Gilbert’s RenCen development is more of the same.
The $100 million investment should be invested in programs and services needed by Detroiters like more affordable housing, better public transit, libraries, and more investment in neighborhood small businesses and infrastructure.
Tell your neighbors, family, and friends, we got to organize! Let City Council and members of the DDA Board that “we refuse to give Gilbert another dime in corporate welfare while masses of Detroiters go without the things we need!”.
