June 25, 2019
Detroit has nearly 900 vacant industrial buildings and sites scattered throughout its extensive network of industrial districts. Innovative strategies will be needed to put these properties back into productive use in ways that promote equitable redevelopment in Detroit’s neighborhoods.
In this report, Detroit Future City examines a range of ideas for encouraging the adaptive reuse and redevelopment of Detroit’s vacant industrial buildings and underutilized industrial districts. Strategies are considered at the scale of the individual site, the industrial district and the city-wide system of industrial property.
The report examines trends in industrial district revitalization and cites examples of innovative projects and programs from around the country that have relevance to Detroit.
Read the full report here.
Around the world, communities are finding innovative and exciting ways to repurpose vacant industrial properties for new uses to spur new growth and revitalization. This document, prepared by the SmithGroup for Detroit Future City, highlights examples of industrial adaptive reuse in North America and Western Europe that leverage vacant industrial facilities to create dynamic spaces that support economic development, food production, research, and arts and cultural uses.
Case study projects are presented at three scales: the individual site, the industrial district and the city-wide or regional system.
Read the full report here.
Milwaukee Junction is a historic industrial district in the midst of a dramatic transformation. Detroit Future City (DFC) was engaged by the Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to work with Vanguard CDC and other stakeholders in Milwaukee Junction district to develop a framework for equitable growth and development in this rapidly changing neighborhood.
In this report, DFC makes recommendations for short-term and long-term actions to build on the development momentum already present in the district, while protecting the needs and interests of current residents, businesses and non-profit organizations. The report goes on to identify ideas for catalytic real estate projects, utilizing land owned by the City of Detroit or non-profit organizations.
The report is intended to inform strategies for LISC, Vanguard and other public, private and non-profit stakeholders to pursue to achieve a more vibrant, mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood.
Click to read the Milwaukee Junction Framework Study