Creating Jobs, Eliminating Blight, and Encouraging Community Investment

The W/CDC has three real estate subsidiaries. Detroit East CDC- a community shareholder cooperative that was founded in 1987 whose mission is to create jobs, eliminate blight and encourage community investment- currently owns property on Mack Avenue. Eastside LAND, Inc., which was created in 2000, facilitates commercial development in three target areas: Mack and Alter; the Warren-Conner District and The Mack Corridor. Finally, W/C Development, Inc. is a wholly-owned non-profit subsidiary of the W/CDC that serves as a holding company for a community center on Harper Avenue and two community parks.

Over the past year, W/CDC’s real estate affiliates made great strides in physically improving our commercial areas, in addition to bringing in needed retail and services. Eastside LAND, Inc. was instrumental in bringing a WOW convenience center, which broke ground last summer and is scheduled to open in the late spring of 2004. Eastside LAND, Inc. also partnered with a for-profit developer on the Mack Alter Square project, an 80,000 square foot neighborhood retail center that will include a Family Dollar Store, chain pharmacy, chain grocer, bank branch and a police mini-station.

W/C Development, Inc. is a non-profit development corporation, which owns the building that houses Warren/Conner at 11148 Harper. In early 1998, W/C Development will sign a lease with St. John Health System for nearly 17,000 square feet of space in the rear of the building. Construction started in 1997 for St. John to house its eastside Detroit medical clinic, a day care center operated by YMCA and Headstart, and the first-of-its-kind Open Arms Center for Grieving Children. In 1997 we also began to organize a strategic partnership with Parkside Development Corporation and the City of Detroit to facilitate development plans at the intersection of Warren and Conner.