The Opportunity
A full block on West Vernor Highway — Southwest Detroit’s primary commercial corridor — had sat vacant for more than a decade. The opportunity was to repair a visible gap in the neighborhood with housing, storefronts and community space shaped by local priorities.
The Challenge
A catalytic project on a prominent corridor had to be financially feasible and authentically community-driven at the same time, delivering deep affordability, viable commercial space and a design worthy of the neighborhood.
The Approach
Co-develop with SDBA and make community engagement part of the development process itself. More than 200 residents helped shape the project’s name, design and amenities, and layered public and private financing, including the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, carried it to completion.
The Result
La Joya Gardens opened in January 2025, turning a long-vacant block into a $25 million mixed-use development with 53 apartments — 42 of them affordable — plus retail and community space on West Vernor.
Why It Matters
The first significant project in Mexicantown in decades shows what community-led development means in practice: not simply locating a project in a neighborhood, but letting residents and local institutions shape what fills an important gap in it.