DETROIT (WXYZ) — Five communities near affordable housing developments in Detroit will see improvements to their alleyways as a part of a new pilot infrastructure project.
They include:
- Xavier Square
- Parker Durand
- Campbell Street Apartments
- Wesson Ave. Apartments
- The Summit at Piety Hill
All will see full reconstruction repair of the alley nearby including resurfacing, landscaping, and any utility and sewer work needed.
“Each of these developments have an alley that is near them that is necessary to be able to access parking for that affordable housing. And so this is improvements to the alleys and so there’ll be resurfacing, if there are any utilities that need to be moved to accommodate the improved alleys that work will be done. We want to make sure that residents are able to safely traverse an alley in order to get to and from nearby parking necessary for the development,” said Julie Schneider, Director, Housing and Revitalization Department.
The city of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department is using $1.45 million of the department's already allocated federal relief funds for improvements near the new affordable housing developments.
City Council recently approved the plans.
While it is a separate program from the alley clean up program, some residents reflecting on that project, say it’s good to see money being spent on something often overlooked.
“Safety, beautification. It just makes an overall clean neighborhood,” said Dontez Moss who lives nearby an alley that was cleaned.
That program was also partially funded by federal COVID relief dollars.
“It’s accessible because many people on this block don’t have driveways so having to go to the back of the alleys, definitely makes life more easier,” said Moss.
The alley cleanup program is now closed. It’s been a focus for residents who flooded to apply through block clubs or neighborhood associations when the program opened in 2020.
Four years later, the work can still be seen across the city because of community members maintaining them. It's also been used by the city to tout its revitalization and beautification efforts.
“To help uplift the people in the community when they come out in the community and they see it look beautiful. It helps lift their spirits. When you come out and you got a lot of blight people become down. The environment looks depressing,” said Detroit resident Markus Kirksey.
The alley improvements and infrastructure will progress alongside the housing development process.
“Anytime we’re investing in affordable housing we want to make sure it’s safe it’s quality for all residents both of the housing as well as surrounding neighborhoods as well as well as surrounding neighbors. So we wanted to make sure that these developments are particularly dependent on their alleys in order for that safe accessible access to both the housing and their parking were completed so that people would have that really fostered experience, ” said Schneider.
