Higginbotham School to go from empty to art residences
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A rendering shown outside the Higginbotham School. Photo: Courtesy of the city of Detroit via Flickr
Construction is starting on a rare development in Detroit: reusing a historic, vacant school building.
Why it matters: Detroit's landscape is dotted with old, vacant public school buildings, remnants of nearly 200 closures between 2000 and 2015, per a Regrid report. With the high cost of repairs or repurposing, the city has accelerated demolition efforts.
- It's rare, though not unheard of, for a school adaptive reuse project to get off the ground here.
The latest: The William E. Higginbotham School in northwest Detroit will become the Higginbotham Art Residences, a $36 million project from Detroit-based URGE Development Group that includes 100 residential units and space for community organizations.
- The group aims to celebrate local artists, with an outdoor sculpture garden and artwork throughout the buildings.
Between the lines: URGE plans to renovate the school and build two new residential buildings, using $8.4 million in federal ARPA funding provided by the city of Detroit and $14.1 million in tax credits for building low-income housing.
- The units will be offered at a rate designated "affordable" for people making 30-80% of the region's median income ($67,200).
What they're saying: "We wanted to come up with a plan to show an example of, 'How do you revitalize a school and thus start to revitalize a neighborhood?'" Roderick Hardamon, URGE's CEO, said at a groundbreaking event Monday.
The intrigue: Hardamon said that while development can raise the values of nearby homes, he wants to ensure longtime homeowners benefit. To achieve this, URGE plans to invest its own funds in facade and exterior improvements to nearby homes.
- He plans to share more details on the effort from URGE and partners this spring.
Flashback: Some old schools hold architectural and historical significance. The Higginbotham School was an all-Black elementary school for more than 80 years, with Mediterranean Revival-style architecture, according to the City Planning Commission.
- Built in 1926-27, it served the Eight Mile-Wyoming neighborhood, which was home to working-class Black families moving to the city around that time. Racist redlining policies at the time restricted where Black residents could live, per city records.
- It eventually became a charter school in 2006 before closing in 2013.
