MC Digital Edition 7.27.22

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It’s Time to Recession-Proof Your Small Business in 2022 Money. A5

Michigan Chronicle

Vol. 85 – No. 47 | July 27 - Aug. 2, 2022

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COMMENTARY:

Our Story By Kofi Bonner Bedrock and the Rock Family of Companies have been in the news a great deal lately around the Hudson’s Site development. The biggest takeaway from our recent work on the Hudson’s Site is actually how much work we have to do to tell the story of our commitment to all of Detroit. The truth is, we spend so much time doing the work in the neighborhoods that we don’t spend a lot of time talking about it. And so, much of our work is like the proverbial tree in the forest. If it falls and nobody hears it, does it make a sound? So, with that in mind, I’ve asked the Chronicle for a bit of space to communicate some things that I am certain most folks don’t know about. And I appreciate their grace in giving us this opportunity.

Kofi Bonner is the Let me CEO of Bedrock start with Detroit this, the fact

that the Hudson’s development site is located within the Downtown Development Authority district (DDA). That means that the requested tax abatement only affects taxes that must stay downtown to support other downtown projects. It’s the law of the land that has existed since the 1970s to spur investment in downtown urban cores. We can debate whether it is working, or whether the law should be revised, but it is the law of the day. Let’s move on to the real story I want to tell: our work throughout the City, much of which is probably unknown. For the past five years, our Family of Companies has led the fight against tax foreclosure in Detroit, resulting in a 94% decrease in foreclosures among atrisk households. How did we do it? Working with more than 20 community partners, we launched the Neighbor-to-Neighbor program to knock on more than 60,000 doors every year— and conduct hundreds of workshops—to help Detroiters apply for the Homeowners Property Tax Exemption (HOPE) to reduce or eliminate their property taxes. In the year we began this effort, approximately 2,500 HOPE exemptions were approved. In the five years since, more than 45,000 HOPE exemptions have been granted for Detroit families in need. We didn’t stop there. HOPE only addresses homeowners’ current year taxes, but far too many Detroiters had back taxes that constantly kept them at risk of foreclosure. So we went to Lansing, and we led the fight to

See OUR

STORY page A2

Exterior View Photo courtesy of SHoP Architects.

Tax Abatement Approved: How the Hudson Project’s Tax Abatement Could Affect Detroit

By Sherri Kolade Detroit’s J.L. Hudson’s site on 1208 Woodward Ave. is at the center of controversy after billionaire Dan Gilbert’s real estate firm, Bedrock, sought a $60 million tax abatement from the Detroit City Council to develop the site — leaving some Detroiters with a bad taste in their mouths over the request, which they feel would take dollars away from libraries and schools. Others argued that Gilbert, a well-off businessman, doesn’t need a tax break as this project is one of many his firm has already bought up; Bedrock has dozens of properties in Detroit’s central business district.

Mike Duggan

Nicole Small

Kenyetta Hairston Bridges

Mary Sheffield

Chris Jackson

A tax abatement provides tax breaks to finance the revitalization of an area. According to their website, Bedrock’s redevelopment of the 685-foot-tall Hudson site would include 1.5 million square feet of office, retail, food, beverage, hotel, residential, event and meeting, parking, and activated open spaces. A new plaza would also be situated between two buildings that will cut through the center of the development with designed office spaces, event venues, around 100-plus residences, and a hotel at the downtown location. The original building shuttered in 1983. The 49-story building, initially approved by City Council in 2017, is proposed to cost $1.4 billion. Bedrock said in a Detroit Free Press article that the project’s costs had substantially increased to $1.4 billion, which is a jump from the $909 million when the development began in 2017. The abatement is vital to obtaining bank loans. Gilbert initially withdrew his tax abatement request in late June after City Council had previously delayed the vote on the matter. On Tuesday, July 26, the City Council approved the long-awaited vote for the tax abatement in a 5-4 vote. Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, Council Member Mary Waters, Scott

Scott Benson

Benson, Fred Durhal III, and Coleman A. Young II voted “yes.”

around bridging the digital divide, a Bedrock source confirmed.

The Detroit City Council, divided on the tax abatement issue, was initially to vote on it in June. Construction of the building is slated to be finished in 2024.

The second supporting vote was around proposed items by Sheffield to be included in the tax abatement deal, which include:

Council members Latisha Johnson, James Tate, Gabriela Santiago-Romero, and Angela Whitfield-Calloway voted “no” on the abatement.

• Moving from 20 percent to 30 percent of Bedrock’s entire housing portfolio dedicated to affordable housing at 60 percent of Area Median Income.

There was also an 8-1 vote on additional community benefits packages that Sheffield introduced, along with three additional elements negotiated with Waters

• Bedrock to dedicate 20 percent of the street-level retail space to be utilized by Detroit small businesses and com-

See TAX

ABATEMENT page A2

WHAT’S INSIDE

Michigan Chronicle Makes Endorsements in Michigan House, State Senate, Wayne County Commission Races and Proposals The Michigan Chronicle Editorial Board

We Love to See It! Black Girl in Love With (Herself) Tour Comes to the D in August

City.Life.Style. B1

The Michigan Chronicle Editorial Board, comprised of staff writers and editors, is endorsing selected candidates running for district seats in the Michigan House of Representatives, Michigan State Senate, and the Wayne County Commission. The endorsements come after the Editorial Board assessed the candidates’ pledges, platforms, political experiences (when applicable), past or present services to advance communities, and the candidates’ plans to address issues impacting citizens in their respective districts. In addition, the endorsements reflect the Michigan Chronicle’s values and posi-

tions on addressing various issues affecting underserved communities locally and in other areas of Southeast Michigan. In the endorsement process for the aforementioned races, the Editorial Board created a questionnaire containing the same questions for all candidates. Based on the review of 40 answered and returned questionnaires at the deadline, reviews of pledges and positions on candidates’ campaign websites when available, and the perceived abilities and skillsets of the candidates to best serve respective constituents, the Michigan Chronicle Editorial Board has collectively made decisions to endorse the following candidates in the Aug. 2nd Primary Election.

★★★ $1.00

Michigan House of Representatives 1st District: Tyrone Carter 5th District: Steele P. Hughes 7th District: Helena Scott 16th District: Stephanie Young Michigan State Senate 2nd District: Syliva Santana 6th District: Darryl Brown 8th District: Marshall Bullock Wayne County Commission District 1: Brian Banks District 2: Jonathan C. Kinloch District 3: Martha G. Scott District 4: Lisa Carter District 5: Ima Clark-Coleman District 6: Monique Baker McCormick District 7: Alisha Bell Proposal J Jails Millage Renewal: YES


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