New apartment complex Dreamtroit provides affordable housing, culture
(CBS DETROIT) - There's a new project developing in the Elijah McCoy neighborhood called Dreamtroit, where a vibrant community of affordable housing is emerging in a vibrant community.
Matthew Naimi and Oren Goldenberg are making a commitment to preserve the arts and culture community in northwest Detroit.
The pair secured $30 million to redevelop an auto plant built in the early 1900s.
"It was the Warren Motor Car Company and the original Lincoln factory," Naimi said. "Then it served many uses as a food wholesaler for a long time and a recycling center for the city of Detroit."
Dreamtroit will feature 76 apartment units to give everyday people a chance to live in a creative space at an affordable price.
Forty-one units are set at 80% below the area median income, while 17 units are priced at 50% below AMI.
The remaining apartments are reserved for residents 120% below the workforce housing level.
"Make-live affordable units, those are units where you can live, work, sell stuff or do both," Goldenberg said.
"Still home to the city's recycling program, Recycle Here. We're housing our non-profit Make Art Work, which is collaborative art and public art projects."
Plans for the complex also include 38,000 square feet of entertainment and retail space, bringing more life to the area near Lincoln Street Art Park.
It's a move developers say will preserve the original cultural landscape.
"Knowing what that price point is and knowing how to keep that price point as low as possible was the most important thing," Naimi said.
"We did not want to be a gentrifying force in the neighborhood. We wanted to make sure that culture was protected here."
Through the halls and inside the units' original moldings and graffiti grace the walls to restore the organic essence of the structure.
"You know, he's a garbage man. I'm a filmmaker," Goldenberg said.
"We're not high-net-worth individuals and we wanted to make sure to create a space that's sustainable for us and our community."