The six-story, 600,000-square-foot building has been empty nearly 30 years.
But if a plan made public Monday wins approval by the Detroit City Council, the Fisher Body Plant No. 21 will be vacant no longer.
The plan, unveiled by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and developers of the new Fisher 21 Lofts project, would put 400 apartments and retail space into the long-abandoned building.
The $134 million project still has to go out for site approvals, expected to happen in the spring. Developers hope to complete the project by 2025.
It represents one of the most ambitious recent redevelopments of an abandoned Detroit building, especially because of its switch from industrial to residential use.
The project is being led by Gregory Jackson of Jackson Asset Management and Richard Hosey of Hosey Development, who will work in partnership with Lewand Development.
At $134 million, the project is believed to be the largest African-American-led development deal in Detroit’s history, according to a press release from the City of Detroit. The project team is all Detroit-based and dedicated to hiring city workers and contractors, meaning the Fisher Lofts will not only bring quality market-rate and affordable housing to the city, but jobs.
“This project is being done by Detroiters and for Detroiters,” said Gregory Jackson, who with Anika Jackson Odegbo, is part of the father-daughter team behind Jackson Asset Management. “This project is proof of the potential of Detroit, its spirit and its people. We are honored to become stewards of this forgotten piece of the city’s storied past and turn it into a key piece of its future, bringing catalytic investment, quality housing and destination retail to this proud neighborhood.”
To convert the building, developers will take the large factory floorplates and cut three atriums, each the width and length of a city side street, through floors three through six, according to published reports.
The project would create 433 for-rent apartments, with 20% set aside at below-market rents for income-qualified residents.
There also would be 28,000 square feet of commercial and retail space and 15,000 square feet of co-working space. Future residents would park on adjacent lots at 991 and 666 Harper.
“This project is being done by Detroiters and for Detroiters,” said Gregory Jackson, who with Anika Jackson Odegbo, is part of the father-daughter team behind Jackson Asset Management. “This project is proof of the potential of Detroit, its spirit and its people. We are honored to become stewards of this forgotten piece of the city’s storied past and turn it into a key piece of its future, bringing catalytic investment, quality housing and destination retail to this proud neighborhood.”
The project includes the primary building at 6051 Hastings St., in Detroit’s Medbury Park neighborhood, as well as two adjacent lots at 991 and 666 Harper, to provide parking for residents.
The building will be rehabilitated into 433 market-rate and affordable apartments, 28,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, and 15,000 square feet of co-working space. At least 20% of the units (at least 87) will be at or below 80% area median income (AMI), and will represent a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Duggan praised the involvement of the developers, pointing out he’d been leaning toward simply demolishing the building.
“(Jackson) said, ‘You’re looking at this all wrong,'” Duggan said, according to the Detroit Free Press. “Nobody would build a plant with multiple levels anymore. (Being) this close to downtown, Midtown and New Center — this is housing.”
The project is still subject to multiple approvals, including for the sale of the city-owned land to the developers. Duggan said the proposed sale price is under $1 million, and estimated that the city would have otherwise needed to spend $5 million to $10 million to demolish the building if not for the proposed redevelopment.
