DETROIT (WXYZ) — A former department store on Detroit's west side is being transformed into a community hub.
Detroit Blight Busters is converting a building on Grand River Avenue near Lahser into a 30,000-square-foot mixed-use development called the Sunflower Arts Center. The project will bring classrooms for children, 7 live/work spaces for artists, commercial space where creators can sell their work, and a new diner to the Old Redford neighborhood.
Watch Demetrios Sanders' video report below:
The building, constructed in 1905, once housed a Woolworth store before sitting vacant for decades.
John George, executive director of Detroit Blight Busters, said the organization received the property through a donation and has worked to prepare it for redevelopment.
"We had to take over 200 dumpsters of debris out of this building," George said.
George described the building's history before its long vacancy.
"It was a Woolworth's for many years, it was an auto parts store, but it's probably been vacant for the last 30 years," George said.
The Sunflower Arts Center will be located next to Blight Busters' existing Artists Village. George said the project is rooted in a belief that creativity is essential to community life.
"Art is what adds quality of life to being a human," George said. "Public art, murals, create landmarks and memories. So the arts are absolutely important."
George also envisions the planned diner as a neighborhood gathering place.
"A place where people can meet, talk, break bread, and come up for solutions for some of the problems we have here in Detroit," George said.
George said engaging young people is central to the mission.
"It's important that with our youth and tap into their creativity and their talent," George said.
The total cost of the development is around $7 million. Blight Busters has received grants and other contributions but is still working to raise an additional $3 million for the project.
Marvel Ibokwe, coordinator of Blight Busters' Summer Youth Employment Program and a self-taught artist, said the center will fill a critical gap for residents who want to learn but lack access to resources.
"I feel like a lot of people don't have the opportunity to learn, even if they want to. So as opposed to seeking the resources, it's good to have it in house, here," Ibokwe said.
Marcus Crenshaw, who owns property nearby, said the development will have a broader impact on the neighborhood.
"It'll help a lot of people's business over here," Crenshaw said.
Detroit Blight Busters says it has helped bring more than $100 million in investment to the Old Redford neighborhood over the years. George believes the Sunflower Arts Center will take at least a year to a year and a half to complete.
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