DETROIT (PRNewswire) — The Kresge Foundation announced a dramatic $180 million investment in the neighborhoods of Detroit, an announcement that included the foundation’s decision to move its headquarters from Troy to the Marygrove Conservancy Campus in Northwest Detroit.
“The announcement builds on more than a decade of investments Kresge has made in improving the quality of neighborhood life in Detroit,” said Kresge’s CEO and President Rip Rapson. “Those investments will continue across the city. But this constellation of commitments focuses on the neighborhoods in the Livernois-McNichols corridor, bringing the foundation’s total investments in the area to nearly $400 million. The new investments are unprecedented in their magnitude, ambition and long-term potential to leverage support from others.”
Kresge will invest more than $180 million over the next five years in housing stabilization, home ownership, commercial corridor revitalization, public space enhancements and financial support to residents and businesses in the Fitzgerald, Bagley, University District and Martin Park neighborhoods.
The investments will be grounded in extensive and deep community engagement that is designed to generate approaches that can be sustained over the long-term and that is rooted in honoring the desire of existing residents who plan to stay in the neighborhoods.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who spoke at the announcement, lauded the foundation.
“The fact that we’re able to be here today at Marygrove is possible only because of The Kresge Foundation’s vision and the commitment Rip Rapson made seven years ago to this campus and to the people of Detroit. There was never a doubt that Kresge is all-in for Detroit and today’s announcement puts an exclamation point on it. This is where Kresge belongs, in the heart of the community it is doing so much to uplift and build.”
Neighborhood Investments
During the announcement, Kresge pledged $50 million to fund initiatives that promote home ownership, home repair, wealth building, improvements in the physical environment and rental assistance.
“Residents of these neighborhoods have made it clear that promises for improved quality of life have been made time and time again, but too few have been kept,” said Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director of Kresge’s Detroit Program. “These investments are about bringing long-standing community aspirations to life.”
Kresge’s initial commitments include the creation, in partnership with the Live6 Alliance, of a Resident Investment and Opportunity Fund, which will prioritize:
- Vacant land stewardship, beautification and side lot activation
- Resources for home maintenance, critical repairs and accessibility improvements
- Property tax relief
- Support for renters
In addition, Kresge will invest in public spaces by completing the Ella Fitzgerald Greenway by extending it east to Livernois Avenue and by making enhancements at Ella Fitzgerald Park. The foundation will also provide support to small businesses on the McNichols commercial corridor for interior and façade improvements, and for marketing support.
Those investments reflect years of community input, shaped by resident priorities and further honed through the Livernois + McNichols Neighborhoods Action Agenda process. Convened by Kresge, Live6 Alliance and the Marygrove Conservancy, with the support of Urban American City and the Detroit Collaborative Design Center, more than 100 neighborhood and civic leaders have helped inform a longer-term vision and future investments.
“Over the next year, we’ll invite more residents to engage in the process through community gatherings, block clubs, District 2 meetings and neighborhood association meetings,” said Live6 Alliance Executive Director Caitlin Murphy. Residents who wish to participate in the Livernois + McNichols Neighborhoods Action Agenda process are encouraged to sign up for the Marygrove Conservancy newsletter or contact the Live6 Alliance to receive updates.
Campus Investments
Kresge will partner with the Marygrove Conservancy and landscape architect Hood Design Studio to develop a campus plan that will improve pedestrian circulation among the students, families, educators and nonprofit tenants on campus. The team will also create publicly accessible spaces, upgrade building systems and spaces to make them more climate-resilient and integrate the new Kresge headquarters fully into existing activities on campus. Kresge investments will support these changes.
“In just seven short years, Marygrove has become home to a vibrant and ever-growing community of early learners, K–12 students and families who see this campus as a place of possibility,” said conservancy CEO Tom Lewand. “This is an ideal moment to reimagine the grounds as more pedestrian-friendly and environmentally sustainable so that the campus can someday serve the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of today’s students.”
Kresge Headquarters
The final component of Kresge’s multifaceted announcement is to relocate its headquarters to a newly constructed facility on the northeast quadrant of the Marygrove campus, with an anticipated opening in 2028.
The new home for the $4 billion national private philanthropy will serve not only as an operational base for its 130 staff, but also as a community asset shaped by and for neighborhood residents. Planning is underway to design and construct a 70,000 square foot facility that will serve as the foundation’s offices and provide spaces for community use, including generous public spaces and meeting areas for its partners and collaborators.
“Kresge’s move to Detroit is a recommitment to our hometown as the epicenter of our mission, and a launchpad for our next century of work here and in American Cities,” Rapson said. “We envision our new facility to be much more than a headquarters, but rather an ‘HQ-plus’ that is intentionally designed to serve campus tenants, partners and neighbors alike, and is backed by on-the-ground investments in the people and economy of Northwest Detroit.”
