Tonight on The Detroit Evening Report, Detroit’s casinos have reported a slight uptick in revenue last month. Plus, restoration has begun on the city’s historic Lee Plaza Hotel, and more.

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Casino revenues up in April

Detroit’s casinos are reporting improved revenues for the month of April.   The three gaming houses brought in $109.8 million last month. That’s up slightly from April 2024. MGM Grand controlled the largest segment of the market at 47%. MotorCity Casino had 30%, with Hollywood Casino at Greektown at 23% of the market. Together, the three casinos paid $13 million in taxes and wagering agreement payments to the city of Detroit. They paid another $8.9 million in taxes to the state of Michigan. 

Restoration begins at Lee Plaza Hotel

Restoration of Detroit’s historic Lee Plaza Hotel officially began on Tuesday. Developers and city officials, including Mayor Mike Duggan, celebrated the project at a mid-afternoon event. 

Originally opened in 1929, Lee Plaza was a luxury hotel built by real estate developer Ralph T. Lee. But the building has been vacant for nearly 30 years, falling subject to decay, scalpers, and the theft of its iconic terra cotta lions that once adorned the top of the building. The high-rise will now be turned into affordable senior housing with 117 units.

City to break ground on Rosa Parks Apartments 

The city of Detroit will break ground Thursday on a new affordable housing development in Woodbridge. The 4401 Rosa Parks Apartments will make 60 one- and two-bedroom rental homes available to Detroiters. The city says it’s the first phase in the redevelopment of the former Wilbur Wright school.  The groundbreaking takes place at 11 am. 

Tigers tie for best record in MLB

Believe it or not, the Detroit Tigers are tied for the best record in Major League Baseball. The team has a record of 28 wins and 15 losses, leading the American League. The New York Mets, in the National League, also have a record of 28 and 15.  The Tigers host the Boston Red Sox Wednesday night at Comerica Park. 

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Belle Isle’s James Scott Memorial Fountain will undergo an 18-month, $6 million renovation beginning this weekend. 

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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is working quickly to use the remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding allocated to the park to replace the bowl of the fountain. 

DNR spokesperson Tim Bissett said this year marks the centennial anniversary for the iconic fountain. 

“It’s unfortunate that we can’t run it during that anniversary,” he said. “But obviously the time constraints to be able to do that preclude us from being able to run it this year and then wait, we have that very strict guideline and that timeline that we have to stick by in order to get the project done.” 

The DNR is replacing the bowl and foundation beams of the fountain. 

The department expects the renovations to be completed by the end of next year, with plans to restart the fountain in 2027. 

Other headlines for Tuesday, May 13, 2025: 

• Free enrollment for Pre-K is now open for all families across Michigan, regardless of income for the 2025-26 school year.
• Michigan State Rep. Joe Tate (D-Detroit) launched his campaign for U.S. Senate on Sunday.
• The Detroit Public Library is hosting free estate planning workshops through the spring and summer seasons, with the first one taking place on May 17. The workshop will cover planning tools such as wills, deeds, and trust agreements.
• The Coleman A. Young Recreation Center reopened over the weekend after an $11 million renovation and a five-year closure. Improvements include parking lot repairs, EV charging stations, new exterior windows, gym floor refinishing, pool system enhancements and updated HVAC and electrical systems.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

City leaders joined with community members and stakeholders on Wednesday to celebrate the grand opening of a new affordable housing complex at the historic St. Matthew School on Detroit’s east side.

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Renamed The Residences at St. Matthew, the building had previously been vacant for almost a decade. Now the residence will offer 46 new affordable apartments with 36 one-bedroom, four two-bedroom and six studio units. Twenty-five of the units are reserved for permanent supportive housing for individuals who were unhoused. The rest of the units will serve folks making 30%-60% of the area median income.

The Residences at St. Matthew is part of the national Healthy Housing Initiative launched by Catholic Charities USA. The Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, who spearheaded the renovation, will have the residence serve both affordable housing needs and health services delivered through a partnership with Henry Ford St. John Hospital.

“This redevelopment represents the heart of Catholic Charities’ mission — to create hope, foster dignity, and build community,” said Paul Propson, CEO of CCSEM, in a statement. “We are proud to honor the legacy of St. Matthew’s Parish by helping meet a critical need for affordable housing in Detroit.”

Other headlines for Friday, May 9, 2025:

• The My Mental Wellness clinic inside the Islamic Center of Detroit will host a mental health first aid training from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 10.
• Southwest Detroit music venue El Club closed down Saturday due to what the general manager described as “police intimidation,” Detroit Metro Times reports.
• The late Detroit funk and soul ‘ambassador’ Amp Fiddler is being honored on May 16 with his own street — Amp Fiddler Ave. The city of Detroit, in collaboration with the Amp Fiddler Estate, will reveal the street sign on the corner of 7 mile Rd and Revere St.
  All are welcomed to attend.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Americans are struggling to find affordable places to live. With the cost of living, gas and groceries going up, Detroit it is no exception. According to a report from the Detroit Justice Center, Detroit is behind in supplying affordable homes to residents.

Still, this is an issue city leaders have tried to address. For the better part of a decade, officials have invested millions of dollars into affordable housing projects. But the city is still unable to keep up with demand. Those efforts have only multiplied in recent years.

Julia Cardi, an investigative reporter for The Detroit News, has been covering affordable housing in Detroit. She joined The Metro on Wednesday to talk about the city’s past investments and the work that’s happening now to bring more affordable housing to the city.

Also, MiSide Community Impact Network President Sean De Four joined the show to talk about Campbell Street Apartments — Southwest Detroit’s new $18 million affordable housing development — ahead of the project’s ribbon cutting.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

More stories from The Metro

This year marks a time of transition in the city of Detroit.

Voters will elect a new leader of the city to replace long-time Mayor Mike Duggan, who is leaving to run for governor.

And experts at the think tank Detroit Future City predict the new mayor will face several challenges, like building new infrastructure to handle flooding and power outages.

But the group’s CEO, Anika Goss, told WDET one of the core issues the city must focus on is growing a sector some analysts say is disappearing — Detroit’s middle class.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Anika Goss, Detroit Future City: We use the language of “middle class,” but you can also use the language of “middle wage,” those within the median income for Detroit. And this particular demographic trend we really feel is important, because this is generally your tax base. They are staying in homes, buying homes, investing in their communities. And we want to focus on this because it is the largest demographic to leave Detroit.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: What would you advise Detroit’s next mayor to do to help grow that segment of the populace?

AG: First, develop the neighborhoods. Make the neighborhoods places that would retain and attract middle-class households. The second issue is, how can Detroiters grow wealth and remain in Detroit? What kind of jobs are there nearby and available that actually have a middle-class wage, not only entry wages but also growth wages. It’s an environment that also creates strong businesses and entrepreneurs that can actually grow their own business. These are elements that can appeal to middle-class households. Two other things that I think are really important, and this can be tough for mayors, but they’re going to have to figure out property taxes. They are still uneven and very, very high in Detroit. So really thinking about what can we do to stabilize and lower the property tax rate. And second, work cooperatively with the schools, public and private and charter, so that the education system in Detroit also becomes something to attract and retain families.

QK: When you talk about raising incomes, outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan has touted how many companies he says have located in the city over the last decade or so. And oftentimes those businesses are supposed to give first preference for new hires to Detroiters. The city also has work training programs available. Would you say the next mayor should they try to build on that or go beyond it somehow?

AG: I think build AND go beyond. I think what was great about the Duggan administration is that he did really set this environment of Detroit being a place for you to invest in. And it was at a time when a lot of companies were not thinking of coming here. Now they are. But what we found is that a lot of the companies are still looking at Detroit proper as a place for low-wage labor. We have to really market Detroit as a place that has talent for a diversity of income ranges. Really work with these companies to ensure the jobs that we’re receiving in Detroit are jobs where you can actually grow your wage over time. I feel like there were really good deals made for low and moderate wages earners. There are people who are out of work that definitely need those jobs. But we can’t just stop there and declare it a success. We have to also really consider how we bring in other jobs and prepare Detroiters for those other jobs that are making a higher wage.

QK: Along with the income and job situation, people in the city have talked for years about the overall development in Detroit seeming to focus on the downtown area. And how does it get out to the neighborhoods? Duggan, for one, had launched a series of projects to try to strengthen various blocks in the city. Again, is there something you think the next mayor should do to go beyond that? Or should they try some entirely new approach?

AG: I think that it will be imperative for the next mayor to take the Strategic Neighborhood Fund and other neighborhood initiatives even further. To really create neighborhoods that have a diversity of housing choices, that have amenities and that are looking at places for investment in these areas. There’s still several neighborhoods in Detroit where there are no mortgages, whole census tracts that do not have mortgages in Detroit. The next mayor will have that challenge of not just stabilizing the strategic neighborhood places but also thinking about where else throughout the city can we target for a variety of households and a variety of incomes. You should be able to live in a neighborhood and increase your income and not have to move out of the city. You should be able to identify neighborhoods where you can do that. And right now, even with the Strategic Neighborhood Fund initiative, there’s still only 12 middle-class neighborhoods in Detroit out of more than 200 census tracts. We still have a long way to go.

QK: Do you think there’ll be enough funding available to push such efforts?

AG: There’s never enough money to do all of the things that we want to do. You really are going to have to prioritize. And if the North Star for the next mayor is, “How do we actually lay out a growth plan for Detroit and Detroiters?” That’s a very different proposition than thinking broadly about how to make Detroit better. I feel like the Duggan administration got us to this point. It’s really important now for the next mayor to take it even further. It’s something that is absolutely imperative. I don’t see an alternative.

Community members gathered with local leaders this week to celebrate the grand opening of Campbell Street Apartments, a new $18 million affordable housing development in Southwest Detroit’s East Chadsey-Condon neighborhood.

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The apartment complex is providing 40 units of affordable housing in its first phase of construction, with an additional 32 units planned in an adjacent complex.

Apartments are reserved for households earning 30% or less of the area median income. Also, due to project-based housing vouchers from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), the city says no resident will have to pay more than 30% of their income on rent.

The mixed use development will offer a range of 1-3 bedroom units. The additional 32 units, called Wesson Avenue Apartments, will be a four-story mixed-use building consisting of 45,000 square feet and is expected to open in about 19 months.

Other headlines for Friday, April 18, 2025:

• The Detroit Land Bank Authority announced the completion of more than 12,000 vacant home restorations in the past decade. 
  
• The Detroit Pistons return to the playoffs on Saturday in their first round match up against the New York Knicks.
• Qasim Basir, director of locally-produced “To Live and Die and Live,” told The Detroit News that the film will hold a local premiere event at Michigan Central Station on May 6, ahead of its arrival at AMC Theatres nationwide on May 16.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

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There are not enough affordable housing units in Detroit, but the city and community members are working to change that. 

The Campbell Street Apartments is a new $18 million affordable housing development in Southwest Detroit’s East Chadsey-Condon neighborhood.

Leading the charge of the project is MiSide Community Impact Network. The nonprofit works to provide resources for entire communities to create stability for people. 

MiSide and Detroit officials broke ground late 2023 to bring the housing complex to the community. A ribbon cutting ceremony for the new development is taking place with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and community partners on Thursday. 

President and CEO of MiSide Community Impact Network Sean De Four joined The Metro to discuss how the organization is working to create affordable housing in Detroit. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Tuesday, April 15:

• A professor’s thoughts on reforming DEI at universities
• WDET celebrating the life and legacy of Judy Adams at Garden Theater this weekend
• Child amputees from Gaza get treatment, hope in Detroit
• Gov. Whitmer talks tariffs at the Detroit Economic Club

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Michigan-based helicopter tour company, MyFlight, celebrated a groundbreaking for its new headquarters in Detroit on Wednesday.

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The 12,000-square-foot building will be at the Coleman A Young Municipal Airport. It’s the first new commercial development at the site in 60 years. 

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says this expansion is the beginning of more development projects for the airport. 

“Before spring is over, there’s going to be another groundbreaking down there of another corporate hangar for jets, and then there’ll be another after that,” he said. “Next year, they’re going to take that air traffic control tower and start to build a new one on the other side of the airport, to open up the airfield.”

Duggan says the airport also plans to build a new administrative building and make several runway safety improvements. 

MyFlight Tours headquarters is expected to open in late 2025. 

Other headlines for Thursday, April 10, 2025:

• The city of Dearborn reported a 34% drop of overdoses and six fewer deaths from overdose for the years 2023-2024. Dearborn Health Department’s Director Ali Abazeed says the department’s Narcan vending machine at the Dearborn train station has helped reduce those numbers.
• Michigan State University and Apple are partnering to bring a manufacturing academy to downtown Detroit. The free program will be open to small and medium businesses to help them implement advanced manufacturing practices, including AI and smart manufacturing techniques.
• The Matrix Theater Company is hosting an 18+ puppet karaoke event from 8 p.m. to midnight on Friday, April 11. Participants can sing live or lip-sync, or have someone else puppeteer while you sing on stage or behind the curtain.
• The Detroit Zoo will be giving guests free entrance to the park this weekend with the donation of an old electronic device.
• April 15 is tax day, and the state treasurer is urging residents to use this weekend to get their taxes filed and out the way.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

The city of Detroit is inviting residents to take part in a series of “policy workshops” this month as part of its master plan for the future.

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Plan Detroit is three-phase planning process informed by resident feedback that is expected to conclude with implementation of the new collaborative policies by 2026.

According to the city, the Michigan planning enabling act (MPEA) recommends cities update their master plans every 10 years, and Detroit’s master plan has not been comprehensively updated since 2009.

The upcoming events are intended to provide an “interactive” opportunity to work with city planners to create practical policies that address real concerns for Detroiters.

Sessions will take place at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, and at 5:30 p.m. April 14-16.  All sessions will be held at the Joseph Walker Williams Community Center at 8431 Rosa Parks Blvd., Detroit. Topics will include Neighborhoods & Housing, Open Space & Environment, Arts & Culture; and Mobility & Jobs.

For more information and to register to attend, visit plandetroit.com. 

Other headlines for Tuesday, April 1, 2025:

• Detroit firefighters are trying to find out what caused an apartment building on the city’s west side to explode. The Detroit Fire Department is also apologizing for an emergency alert that went out to cellphones throughout metro Detroit around 6 a.m. Monday morning notifying people about the blast. 
• American Forests says its urban tree planting partnership in Detroit has helped add more than 25,000 trees to the city since 2021.
• Billionaire Dan Gilbert’s real estate empire is growing. Rocket Companies has acquired competitor Mr. Cooper Group Inc. in an all-stock deal worth about $9.5 billion. Last week, Rocket bought another competitor, Redfin, for roughly $1.7 billion.
• Gas prices rose sharply overnight, with AAA Michigan reporting drivers paid an average of $3.25 a gallon for regular unleaded — 10 cents more than yesterday.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.