DETROIT — Flux City Development has broken ground on The Ribbon, an $8.2 million affordable housing community located in Detroit’s East English Village neighborhood. Of the 18 total units, 14 will be reserved for those earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), and four of the units will be designated for at or below 60 percent of AMI. Affordability of the apartments is guaranteed for the next 25 years. The project will also feature retail space to be occupied by local favorite Gajiza Dumplings, which will make The Ribbon its first permanent home.
Demolition of a former bank building at the project site was recently completed. Completion of The Ribbon is slated for fall 2024. Project partners for The Ribbon include LISC Detroit, a local organization founded in 1990 within the Local Initiatives Support Corporation network, and Invest Detroit, a nonprofit lender, investor and partner.
The project received $600,000 in loans from the Detroit Housing for the Future Fund (DHFF) as well as $338,199 in preferred equity from DHFF. The Strategic Neighborhood Fund provided a $1.4 million grant. The development also received $2.2 million from Capital Impact Partners (CIP), a CIP equitable development initiative grant of $75,000, and a $1.3 million investment from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
In addition, the project qualified for a DHFF Developers of Color Matching Grant, which is designed to grow the pipeline of minority-led affordable housing and preservation projects in Detroit. The grants offer up to $100,000 in matching funds to cover a portion of a project’s predevelopment expenses and soft costs. The grants are made possible through a partnership with JPMorgan Chase.