Photo credit: Glenn Stevens Jr.
In his 12th and final State of the City address, Mayor Mike Duggan reflected on his partnerships with private industry to rebuild Detroit from bankruptcy into a more prosperous city with nearly $550 million in a rainy-day fund.
Since taking office in 2013, several major projects have come to fruition in the city, with many more developments to be finished in the next five years. Duggan utilized his position as mayor to join Bill Ford’s vision to completely rehabilitate Michigan Central, as well as help Dan Gilbert build the second tallest building in Michigan, Hudson’s Detroit. Additionally, developments along the riverfront have focused on public access, earning the riverfront multiple awards for being one of the best in the nation.
Coming out of bankruptcy in 2014, only a year into Duggan’s tenure, the nation wrote off Detroit as a place to do business. Duggan successfully utilized commitments from the city to establish seven substantial automotive manufacturing plants, including Jeep and General Motors. Additionally, this effort led to the establishment of an extensive Amazon fulfillment center on Woodward, as well as new headquarters for Little Caesars and Huntington Bank.
Duggan spent a significant amount of his speech advocating for the expansion of Michigan’s transformational brownfields, raising the cap on how much a developer can benefit from this tax break. This incentive, which only works if the project generates revenue, would be used to tear down two towers of the Renaissance Center and turn the space into a six-acre park. Sterling Heights and the Lakeside Mall redevelopment would also benefit from this increased cap.
The proposal received harsh pushback from leadership in the Michigan Legislature, but the Chamber’s Public Policy and Business Advocacy team is advocating for this expansion while remaining hopeful for the future.
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In his first term, Duggan faced abandoned buildings and vacant houses plaguing the city. Of the 47,000 blighted structures present at the beginning of his first term, about 1,000 still stand, thanks to the administration’s strong commitment and actions. The demolition of these properties has resulted in new developments on the vacant land, as well as a decrease in crime rates.
With Duggan in his final months as mayor, he left an optimistic outlook on where the city is headed, even with new executive leadership. There has been a 7% increase in income tax collection over the past 11 years, revenues are projected to increase by another $200 million in five years, and the city has a rainy-day fund of $550 million.
To further build on the momentum Duggan created, the Chamber will continue to advocate for the completion of the many projects in the pipeline, like the new University of Michigan Innovation Center and Henry Ford Health’s state-of-the-art campus in New Center.