The Corktown neighborhood advisory board unanimously voted Monday to accept Ford's community profit proposal, with a $ 10 million commitment, as the automaker redevelops the area around Michigan Central Station.

The proposal will now go to City Council. If the board approves it, it will become a binding agreement between the city and Ford.

Ford's proposal is one of the various stages of the community benefits process that began during the summer. This is a response to the series of requests made last week by the Corktown Neighborhood Advisory Council – a group of nine residents selected to work with Ford to ensure that developments surrounding the move of the builder account for residents' concerns.

Since August, the board has met to make a proposal regarding Ford's needs for the community.

Last Monday, the council presented a $ 15 million plan for neighborhood development ($ 5 million), affordable housing ($ 5 million), education and workforce ($ 5 million) for the "affected area" – which included Corktown, North Corktown and parts of Hubbard-Richard in southwestern Detroit.

According to the council, the proposal was à la carte. So Ford had the opportunity to choose what he would like to support.

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Ford's response offered Monday $ 10 million for three city-related initiatives: $ 5 million for education and staff training, $ 2.5 million for the Affordable Housing Mobilization Fund and $ 2.5 million for the Neighborhood Strategic Fund.

The automaker, who bought Michigan's central station for $ 90 million in May, and the city explained that their contributions would "allocate other public and private resources available" for a total investment of $ 22.5 million .

"We are going to be able to turn this into a $ 20 million investment in the community," said Arthur Jemison, Detroit's chief of services and infrastructure, following Ford's presentation.

According to Jemison, every dollar of private investment in the city's affordable housing fund "pays back three times" to federal and state programs such as the MSHDA and the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits. With this logic, Ford's $ 2.5 million contribution to the city's affordable housing fund will rise to $ 7.5 million.

According to Jemison, private funds for the Strategic Neighborhood Fund are 1.5 times more efficient than credit institutions. This means that the $ 2.5 million paid into the city's neighborhood fund will bring in nearly $ 4 million.

Finally, Jemison said Ford's $ 5 million investment in Detroit's technical career centers would leverage an additional $ 5 million in donations – bringing this commitment to $ 10 million.

In addition to these financial commitments, Ford spoke of more goodwill, neighborhood promises, such a commitment to preserving the culture and historical accuracy of the neighborhood and a commitment to increase mobility in the region by "involving the community in mobility pilot projects".

On the environment and construction front, Ford has promised to have a hotline and an online portal with project updates and updates. 39; other relevant information during construction. Officials also promised to release the Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) and make the report accessible and accessible to the public.

In addition, the proposal was committed to ensuring that "all retail and service businesses, such as child care facilities, located in Ford's buildings will be publicly accessible and inclusive."

"For me, it's a really important investment, a lot is focused on areas of impact and some will now be available to the people of Detroit," said Sheila Cockrel, chair of the advisory board.

While Cockrel was excited about the plan, a few in the room were frustrated with the offer.

"This is a global company with significant resources, I think they can do better," said Bill Cheek, a resident. According to its latest quarterly report filed with the SEC, Ford has close to $ 17 billion in cash.

"$ 5 million for affordable housing and neighborhood development is totally inadequate and should be doubled," said Cheek.

Under the Community Benefits Resolution passed in 2016, a neighborhood advisory council must be formed when a development project is worth $ 75 million or more, receives property tax reductions from $ 50,000 to $ 10,000,000. at least $ 1 million or more. The board is then responsible for advising the developer on the concerns of community members regarding the anticipated project.

In March, WDET-FM released a report on the effectiveness of community benefits in Detroit. At the time, only six projects had been subject to the law, including four initiatives by Dan Gilbert. The final results, according to WDET, were very telling and did not have many real benefits.

"WDET found that after 12 weeks of community benefit discussions with the residents of the four projects, Bedrock committed to two community benefits in its dealings with the city.The first: Bedrock communicated with residents on construction-related activities would support vocational training initiatives, which the company has been doing for years, "said the WDET report.

Ford expressed hope that his commitment to the neighborhood is sustainable and not limited to talking.

"We recognize that the CBO process is a transaction, but we hope that over time we will develop a relationship with the community," said Shawn Wilson, multicultural director of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Detroit City Council will review the community benefits proposal in October, when it is expected to review a tax reduction proposal that Ford has created with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. Ford is asking the city for tax cuts of $ 103 million, or 43% of the total $ 238.6 million requested.

Station price tag: $ 90 million

Ford Motor Co. has disbursed $ 90 million for Michigan's long-vacated central station, according to property records on the Detroit City Appraiser's website.

This figure takes months to speculate since Ford announced in June that it had bought Manuel's "Matty" Moroun depot and planned to renovate it as a hub for a technology campus in the Corktown area. . .

The Moroun family took over the station after the seizure of taxes in the 1990s.

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