Last week, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) approved funding for three developments across Detroit with affordable housing components.

The most notable development is of the Higginbotham School, located at 8730 Chippewa Street near Wyoming and 8 Mile. The historic school, listed on the National Register for Historic Places, will have two additional new construction buildings next to it, with a total of 100 units between the three buildings. All units will be reserved for tenants between 30% to 80% Area Median Income (AMI). A community and non-profit space is also part of this development.

The $36 million development is led by URGE Development. MSHDA approved $25 million in total funding. 

MSHDA also approved funding for upgrades to the Peterboro Place Apartments, located at Peterboro and Woodward. The board approved $14.7 million for the project, which has 70 permanent supportive housing units, with seven of those as accessible units. Residents of the building have rental assistance options for homelessness and support services.

The third development, Minock Park Place Apartments, is for seniors in the Grandmont Rosedale neighborhoods. The $22 million project received $12.8 million in loans. The new four-story building will have 36 one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom apartments, with 24 for tenants earning up to 60% AMI, and 18 for tenants earning up to 50% AMI.

“The developments approved by the Board this month will have a large impact on some of Detroit’s most vulnerable residents,” said Amy Hovey, CEO and Executive Director at MSHDA. “Projects like these reflect our mission of partnering to provide quality affordable housing.”

(CBS DETROIT) – Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are maintaining their encampment at Wayne State University on Monday, despite the university saying it must be disbanded. 

The encampment has been in place since last Thursday. The university asked the group to disperse, citing safety concerns, but the group refused. Organizers said they are planning to stay in place until the university meets with them on their terms.

“We’re here today, defending our encampment. Because our only and main goal is divestment and they are declining meeting with us on our own terms,” said alumnus Zaynah Jadallaa.

On Monday evening, demonstrators gathered and prepared for a possible dispersant of their encampment when they ignored the 6:30 p.m. deadline to evacuate. 

“Across the country, they have been using tear gases, they have been using other harmful methods. So we’re just preparing ourselves,” said Jadallaa.

She and others say the pro-Palestinian encampment is a demonstration of their right to freedom of speech and expression.

In a message to students, faculty, and staff, Wayne State University president Kimberly Espy wrote, “Wayne State is a university of inclusion that supports free speech and the right to protest. … At the same time, we must distinguish free speech from actions that violate laws, threaten health and safety, or disrupt campus operations.”

A Wayne state spokesperson says the university asked the group to remove the encampment by 6:30 p.m. Monday, and they did not.

“It’s basically an ultimatum. Either that we accept their meeting on their terms, or we would have to remove the encampment. And that’s not acceptable,” said Jadallaa.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlib joined the demonstrators at the encampment and offered her support. Organizers said they have no plans to leave.

“We’re going to stand our ground because we believe in human rights. And it’s not controversial to say we do not want to invest in war,” organizers said.

The demonstrators are now requesting a meeting with the university on their terms. They are asking to meet with Espy and the Board of Governors at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas, stars of Detroit-based HGTV show “Bargain Block,” are teaming up with several area nonprofits to raise money for new roofs in a Detroit neighborhood.

Bynum and Thomas are looking to raise $100,000 to replace 10 roofs in Detroit’s Fitzgerald neighborhood as an effort to “Roof The Block,” as the project is called.

“This initiative is really focusing in on the people that have lived in these neighborhoods for a long, long time, and to stay in their house, they need a new roof,” Bynum said in a video posted to the duo’s Instagram pages.

On “Bargain Block,” the team renovates old, often abandoned houses around the city of Detroit, doing the necessary repairs to make them safe and livable. They then sell those homes for $100,000 or more, with a focus on boosting the values across whole neighborhoods by working on clusters of houses. In the third and upcoming fourth season, the show is centered in the Fitzgerald neighborhood on the city’s west side.

Repairing roofs prevents water damage and and is one of the most important ways to stop homes from becoming unlivable, the effort says on its GoFundMe page.

Through their design office Nine Design and Homes, Bynum and Thomas have paired with nonprofit Brilliant Detroit and the Relentless Care Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Community Financial Credit Union, for the fundraiser.

On the show, Bynum and Thomas have flipped more than 50 homes, according to their Instagram post. The couple joins with Shea Hicks Whitfield, who serves as the real estate agent for the homes. Bynum and Thomas, who met in Colorado before moving to the area in 2017, even documented the process of flipping the Detroit home that would eventually become their own, including later renovations to expand on it.

The fundraiser, which can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/rooftheblock, had raised more than $4,300 in the first few hours after it was posted to social media.