A vacant Detroit elementary school will become nearly three dozen affordable senior apartments and a new park.
Holcomb Elementary School has sat empty for nearly a decade int he Old Redford neighborhood, but a new development team is expected to invest $6 million to transform it into the St. Matthew Cooperative.
On top of the apartments, there will be walking paths, parks and a public open space in the 5.5-acre footprint of the school.
“The redevelopment plan for the old Holcomb Elementary School is exactly the type of development that we encourage as our neighborhoods grow,” said Donald Rencher, director of Housing and Revitalization. “This school has been an eyesore to everyone living in this neighborhood for nearly a decade. Now it will see new life, provide affordable housing for our senior citizens, and build new public spaces for the entire community.”
There will be 29 one-bedroom units and three 2-bedroom units, and all 32 will be affordable for seniors, aged 62 and older, making 80 percent of the area median income. That equals to about $39,760 per year for a single-person household.
