Historic Detroit school renovation gets state funding
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Jefferson Intermediate School at 950 Selden St. and 960 Frank St. Photo: Courtesy of the City of Detroit via Flickr
A $44 million historic school redevelopment in Midtown that was delayed by the pandemic is getting a financial boost from the state.
Driving the news: The vacant Jefferson Intermediate School, being renovated as office and coworking space, is among five planned redevelopments in Detroit sharing $14.5 million in new state-funded public incentives, the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. announced Wednesday.
- The funding from the state's economic development arm aims to help fill financing gaps to complete projects on underused or blighted sites.
Catch up quick: Built in 1922 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Jefferson school was purchased in 2018 by partners Midtown Detroit Inc. and Invest Detroit.
- The plan in 2019 was to convert the school by 2020, Curbed reported at the time. It's currently half finished and tenants are expected to start moving in by the middle of this year.
What they're saying: "This project was caught in the COVID epidemic, unfortunately, as a lot of projects at this stage were, so we experienced supply chain interruptions, labor shortages and cost variations," Marcia Ventura, senior vice president of lending for Invest Detroit, said during a press conference Wednesday.
- The partners are "still very committed to finishing this project" and activating the building as a gathering place for small businesses and others, Ventura added.
By the numbers: Jefferson got $1.425 million in funding. The other grants are:
- $4.75 million for the massive Fisher Body Plant redevelopment
- $4.275 million for the Broadway Lofts downtown
- $1.197 million for the Deco east-side commercial redevelopment
- $2.128 million for the Arthur Murray building, also on the east side