Moving Forward in Northtown: Revitalization Strategies for the Seven Mile Corridor & Surrounding Neighborhoods

Abstract

The Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) is a social-service organization that has provided services to Middle Eastern populations in Southeast Michigan since 1979. In 1995, ACC also committed itself to the Seven Mile Project, focused on the neighborhoods surrounding its campus on Seven Mile Road (the Seven Mile Corridor) in north central Detroit. Currently, they provide social services to residents of those neighborhoods and act as a partner with Penrose Village, an affordable housing community just north of Seven Mile Road.

ACC asked our team of eight University of Michigan urban planning graduate students to help them identify a path forward for their organization’s efforts to facilitate meaningful neighborhood revitalization within their community. We will refer to this area as NorthTown throughout the report, an area that includes the State Fair and Grixdale Farms neighborhoods. ACC seeks growth through targeted economic and residential development. Before development of any kind is possible, however, certain steps are necessary to stabilize the surrounding neighborhoods and create an attractive environment for investment. This report outlines steps that ACC and others can take to create that environment and lay a strong foundation for future outcomes. These outcomes could include dense, multi-family housing and a diverse mix of retail destinations along the Seven Mile Corridor, surrounded by stable and healthy neighborhoods.