Another of Detroit’s biggest eyesores will be reborn as 433 apartments and a public market following $134M project

Redevelopment of long-vacant but historic Fisher Body 21 by Greg Jackson and Richard Hosey will also bring affordable housing to the Greater New Center area.

Fisher 21 Lofts is believed to be the largest African-American-led project in city history.

DETROIT – Mayor Mike Duggan was joined today by developers Gregory Jackson of Jackson Asset Management and Richard Hosey of Hosey Development to announce that they will revive the historic Fisher Body 21 factory, a 25-year symbol of blight along Detroit’s most-heavily traveled intersection of I- 94 and I-75, into affordable and market-rate housing, as well as a new destination retail district.

For years, many have called for the old factory’s demolition, but Jackson and Hosey will team up with Lewand Development to rehabilitate the 600,000-square-foot historic building into the Fisher 21 Lofts. At $134 million, the project is believed to be the largest African-American-led development deal in Detroit’s history. The project team is all Detroit-based and dedicated to hiring city workers and contractors, meaning the Fisher Lofts will not only bring quality market-rate and affordable housing to the city, but jobs.

“This project is being done by Detroiters and for Detroiters,” said Gregory Jackson, who with Anika Jackson Odegbo, is part of the father-daughter team behind Jackson Asset Management. “This project is proof of the potential of Detroit, its spirit and its people. We are honored to become stewards of this forgotten piece of the city’s storied past and turn it into a key piece of its future, bringing catalytic investment, quality housing and destination retail to this proud neighborhood.”

The project includes the primary building at 6051 Hastings St., in Detroit’s Medbury Park neighborhood, as well as two adjacent lots at 991 and 666 Harper, to provide parking for residents. The building will be rehabilitated into 433 market-rate and affordable apartments, 28,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, and 15,000 square feet of co-working space. At least 20 percent of the units (at least 87) will be at or below 80 percent area median income (AMI), and will represent a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments...