(CBS DETROIT) – A new $23 million mixed-use housing project has been completed near the newly renovated Michigan Central.

The Brooke on Bagley is a mixed-use and mixed-income housing development at 2420 Bagley. It consists of 78 apartments, 16 of which are affordable housing units, and more than 2,100 square feet of retail space. 

The building is less than a mile from the newly renovated Michigan Central and, according to the city, will bring ” much-needed affordable housing” to Detroit’s Southwest neighborhood. 

“Just a few days ago, we celebrated the reopening of Michigan Central Station and today we celebrate the opening of this beautiful new mixed use, mixed income building just a few steps away. People living in The Brooke on Bagley will be within easy walking distance of the Southwest Greenway and riverfront, Michigan Central and Roosevelt Park, Mexicantown and Corktown. With its great location and amenities, this will be city living at its best.”

The development was done by Woodburn Partners, a Detroit-based Minority Business Enterprise development company led by Clifford Brown. Gensler Detroit led the design. The project includes 38 one-bedroom, three two-bedroom, and 37 studio apartments.

According to the housing development website, studio apartments start at $1,344 a month, one-bedroom apartments at $1,366 and two-bedroom units at $2,200 a month. 

In addition, there will also be 16 affordable housing units for residents at 80 percent of the area median income.

It also has a fitness center, 24-hour emergency maintenance and a dog park for residents. 

The city says turning the vacant lot into housing will give Detroiters the opportunity to participate in the changes in the Corktown and Southwest neighborhoods.

“We are thrilled to see this project come to life; it’s a vital and much-needed addition to the thriving Southwest Detroit community,” said John Jourden, Architectural Design Director at Gensler Detroit. “What was once a vacant lot is now positioned to be an equitable, active hub for community and hospitality-driven living at the nexus of Mexicantown and Hubbard Richard.”   

The Brooke on Bagley was made possible through the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, a $150 million partnership between Invest Detroit, a nonprofit, and the city that is supported by six corporate funders and multiple philanthropic organizations to invest in housing development projects, parks, commercial corridors, streetscapes and opportunities for local small business owners of color. 

“The Brooke on Bagley is a welcome addition to Corktown, another key investment in this redeveloping, resurgent neighborhood,” said Damon Hodge, Senior Loan Officer for Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations. “Clifford is bringing new, modern housing — including affordable housing units — so that more Detroiters have the opportunity to enjoy Corktown. We’ve been proud to work with Clifford for years. His impact on Detroit will resonate for years, both through developments like this and from his incredible mentorship of the diverse developers who participate in our Equitable Development Initiative.”

DETROIT – As Detroit’s Riverfront Conservancy tries to stabilize operations, its leadership let donors know they will try to get every dines back of the stolen $40 million and vows to continue its mission.

Detroit’s Riverfront Conservancy kicked off its fundraising season with an event unlike any other simply because of the position its former CFO stands accused of putting it in.

William A. Smith has been charged with siphoning some $40 million from the non-profit over a decade.

Board Chairman Matt Cullen addressed donors at Monday (June 10) night’s party.

“We’ve all been betrayed by a bad guy we trusted who has now been charged by federal prosecutors, Cullen said. “The consequences of that betrayal are devastating on all of us.”

The investigation into how Smith allegedly pulled it off is ongoing, but the conservancy has already replaced the CEO, who resigned.

The group’s mission continues; it’s already midway through developing a massive new park on the west riverfront, which now hangs in the balance because of those depleted coffers.

Cullen and the entire team vowed to continue the work. Karen Slaughter Duperry, a former GM executive, has been brought in to oversee construction.

“Remember who you are building this for,” Duperry said to the crowd of supporters and donors. “You’re building it for kids who can barely get to Cedar Point, and you’re building it for kids where Disney is out of the question so they can have that fantasy and those beautiful childhood memories.”

DETROIT – Owning a home can be life-changing not only for the homeowner but also for their descendants.

Homes can be a mechanism to build generational wealth.

“This is just not a home to lay your head down,” said Jeanine W., who has a home on Detroit’s east side that has been in her family for generations. “My daughter is now residing in her great-great grandmother’s bedroom. Who can say that.”

Her great-grandmother, Jesse, bought the home sometime in the late 40s or early 50s.

Jeanine became the latest owner following the passing of her grandmother, Virginia.

“She knew the importance of going down, deed work,” Jeanine said.

However, many Detroit homeowners don’t take the necessary steps to keep their homes in the family.

According to a report released this year by the think tank Detroit Future City, about 5,500 family-owned properties inherited through generations have unclear ownership.

They’re known as heirs’ properties.

“They believe that they are in the property because it was inherited. But there’s no will. There’s no trust. And their name is not actually on the deed,” Detroit Future City CEO Anika Goss said.

Although heirs’ properties are all over Detroit, the report found the neighborhoods with the highest concentration of them are Schaefer 7/8 Lodge, Schulze, and Bagley on the west side, Airport Sub, Hawthorne Park, and Cadillac Heights on the east side, and Boynton in Southwest Detroit.

“It’s a significant problem that can really detract from the growth and opportunity in our neighborhoods,” Goss said.

Heirs’ properties are more at risk of falling into disrepair.

Heirs may be unable to get homeowners insurance or access home loans or grants for home repairs.

“If you have a succession plan for the house where there’s a clear, owner and successor identified, it is more likely that house will remain occupied, that it will remain intact,” The Villages CDC Executive Director Mac Farr said.

That’s the focus of The Villages CDC’s Keep It In the Family program.

“We make sure that folks actually own their homes. And if they don’t, then we’ll put them on the legal track in order to get them set up,” Farr said.

Jeanine knows the payoff of doing so and said her daughter will, too, one day.

“My great grandmother, I hope she is smiling down,” Jeanine said.