Dans
le cadre de la renaissance de Detroit, des initiatives émergent pour
maintenir le dynamisme économique et démographique observé. The Live Midtown est un de ces
programmes mis en place par trois institutions de la ville – the Detroit
Medical Center, Henry Ford Health System et Wayne State University. Il a comme
objectif d'encourager les
employés de ces entreprises à déménager dans le cœur de Detroit en leur fournissant un canevas pour obtenir des ressources financières et une aide juridique. Devant le
succès rencontré par The Live Midtown, d’autres entreprises de premier plan ont décidé de participer à ce programme tout en élargissant le périmètre d’intervention géographique à d'autres quartiers qui promettent le même engouement. Ainsi, le « Great Center » est-il né avec la future ligne de tramway, une effervescence culturelle et une vitalité économique garantes d'un retour de population dans ces zones.
Rejoignez-nous sur www.lecanart.com
Five years after the launch of an incentive program to encourage people to move into areas in and around Detroit's Midtown, organizers of the effort say it has been a success at bringing a diverse mix of people into the neighborhood — so much that the incentives will likely keep going even after the pilot project comes to an end.
The Live Midtown program was
designed as a five-year deal to offer rental assistance and help employees of
businesses in the area purchase homes, condos and lofts as Detroit and the
nation emerged from the worst of the recession. It’s funded by three major
employers — Wayne State University, the Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford
Health System — that, along with the Hudson-Webber and Kresge foundations, have
spent about $1 million a year on the incentives. The goal: to encourage workers
to move in and stay in the neighborhood — and in their jobs.
To date, it’s credited with
bringing nearly 1,000 new residents to Midtown, part of a rush to an area that
has raised rents and encouraged new
developments, according to new data from Midtown Detroit Inc., the development
agency that manages the program.
(...)
Midtown Detroit’s executive
director, Sue Mosey, said the Live Midtown incentive program has proven more
popular than anyone thought it would be — with applications for incentives
increasing every year. Each year, there were more applicants than money
available, and that's the case again for 2015. The incentive area stretches
roughly between the Lodge Freeway, I-75 and from downtown up to the
Boston-Edison neighborhood.
(...)
More than a third of the
participants were already Detroit residents, about 30% were from Detroit's suburbs
and a third were from out of state, Midtown Detroit said.
And about half of the
recipients of rental incentives had yearly incomes of $30,000-$50,000 a year,
and half of those who received purchase incentives had incomes of
$20,000-$50,000, the data show. The incentives have supported $10.8 million in
rental payments in Midtown and nearly $8.9 million in sales of homes, condos
and lofts, according to Midtown Detroit.
Mosey said the program also had
a core mission of encouraging the employees of the three companies to be a part
of the revitalization of the neighborhood, an enticement that would help the
companies retain workers.
Mosey points to the income
levels as showing that many of the participants were service workers employed
by WSU, the DMC and Henry Ford, not only higher-paid professionals.
“This has been a very good
program to continue to create the diversity of this neighborhood,” she said.
“We have helped a lot of home buyers, a lot of workers in these institutions,
have an ability to buy a place that whey would never have had the ability to
do.”
That was helped, as well, by
depressed property values in Detroit after the national recession and
foreclosure crisis hammered the city. Mosey said many of the participants got a
good deal. Those kinds of prices, Mosey said, are long gone.
Longtime residents and
newcomers alike say Midtown's walkable concentration of culture, entertainment,
dining and nightlife is why more people are moving into the area.
Baumann said the area feels
safe, with police from both the Detroit Police Department and Wayne State
patrolling the area (...).
Qijing Yu, 25, a graduate
student in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience at Wayne State, said she
appreciates the large number of restaurants to explore and the area's museums.
"It's beautiful," she
said, except for what she says is endless construction, particularly on
Woodward where the new M-1 Rail streetcar line is being built.
Milburn Mitchell, 53, a
resident for 20 years, said he stuck with Midtown because it has so many
amenities within close proximity to his apartment.
"You got everything you
need; you can't go wrong with Woodward," said Mitchell, who's on
disability. "You've got restaurants and places to shop. You can walk to
Comerica Park and to Lions' games."
Andy Worden went to medical
school at Wayne State and is now in a five-year surgical residency at Henry
Ford Hospital. He said he wanted to stay in Detroit and remain close to
downtown and Midtown, so he bought a house in the Virginia Park neighborhood
with help from a $20,000 Live Midtown loan that will be forgiven if he stays
five years.
The Live Midtown program's
boundaries for home-purchasers like Worden were expanded to include areas such
as Boston Edison, Woodbridge and the North End because Midtown proper is
weighted heavily toward rental housing, with fewer options to buy.
"There's a lot of fun
stuff to do," Worden said, from dining out to fishing on Belle Isle.
"I like living in the big city, but the New Center area is a little
quieter than being in the heart of downtown. It's also a three-minute drive to
work, which doesn't hurt."
How
the incentives worked
Live Midtown and a companion
Live Downtown incentive program are credited with bringing more than 2,500 new
residents to downtown and Midtown neighborhoods since 2011.
(...)
The
good (…) about Midtown
Midtown Detroit Inc. surveyed
people who’ve bought or rented in the area and used the Live Midtown incentive
program about what they like and dislike about living there. Out of 320 Live
Midtown participants, more than 90% said they would recommend Midtown living to
others, and 75% said they’d stay in the area even after the Live Midtown
incentives. Here’s what they had to say.
What’s
great …
Location
:
It’s close to downtown, dining and entertainment and major employers, including
Wayne State and the Detroit Medical Center, as well as arts and culture
anchored by the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Restaurants
and bars : It’s home to an eclectic mix of places for food and drinks.
People
:
The area is diverse, with people from all backgrounds, income and education
levels, and neighbors are friendly.
Walkability
:
You can do a lot without having to drive.
Extrait d’un article du Detroit Free Press publié le 02.11.2015
Journaliste : Matt Helms
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