Wayne State style; new residential options have people talking about Midtown Living

Detroiter, June-July, 2007 by Irvin D. Reid

The headlines are filled with pessimistic stories about the decline of Detroit. Unemployment and foreclosures are up, the automobile industry is struggling and the housing market is flat. Yet, in spite of these doom and gloom characterizations, Wayne State University continues to expand its vast campus with new academic and residential developments are transforming Midtown Detroit into a vibrant collegiate neighborhood.

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Wayne State's urban mission is to educate the best and brightest and embrace those who have the potential to be the best and brightest. I realized from the beginning of my tenure as president nearly a decade ago that we could not possibly hope to fulfill out" mandate without becoming an active and vital part of the community we serve.

In practical terms, community involvement means promoting residential and economic development in Midtown. We want our 33,000 students and 9,000 faculty and staff to live where they work and learn. In addition to constructing beautiful new residence halls on our campus within the last few years, we broke ground last month on South University Village, a five-year, $50 million project that encompasses a two-phase, mixed- use residential apartment housing and retail development supported by a Wayne State-operated public parking structure. Erected on the site of the old Vernors Ginger Ale factory by Grand Rapids-based Prime Development, South University Village is scheduled for completion in the spring/summer of 2008. Phase Two will add another $20 million of new construction in 2010-2012, providing a second five-story apartment or condominium project along Canfield.

South University Village is the first market-rate apartment and condo rental development built in Detroit in more than 30 years. It is one of many tangible examples of Wayne State's economic commitment to Detroit. In addition, Wayne State and the University Cultural Center Association (UCCA) are partnering with Detroit Renaissance and the Midtown development community to market newly constructed properties to Wayne State faculty and staff. "Midtown Living: Detroit Style" is a glossy brochure that highlights these residential housing options with incentives offered by each developer to Wayne State-affiliated purchasers. Regular open houses and events are a key component of the program.

Wayne State's expansion and efforts to populate Midtown's neighborhoods are clearly good for Detroit, the region and the state. Our inspiration, however, is a shared vision of the furure -a.relaization, of what Midtown is poised to become. We see our neighborhood as a hub of cultural and social activity and as a destination point for local residents as well as tourists. students and suburbanites. Wayne State must continue to work with public and private partners to plant these seeds of growth in Midtown. Clearly our labors are beginning to bear fruit.

By Irvin D. Reid. PhD

Dr. Irvin D. Reid is president of Wayne State University.

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Erected on the site of the old Vernors Ginger Ale factory by Grand Rapids-based Prime Development, South University Village is scheduled for completion in the spring/summer of 2008 and is expected to generate more than 195 temporary construction-related jobs and approximately 65 new jobs associated with a bank, retail operations and parking structure at the site.

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