• New developer Sauda Ahmad-Green builds new housing in neighborhood she grew up in  
• 27 mixed multi-family units include 14 reserved for households earning at or below 60% of Area Median Income (AMI) 
• Innovative building taps into geothermal energy that will allow Ahmad-Green to also provide all tenants free heating and cooling 

Mayor Mary Sheffield today joined developer and native Detroiter, Sauda Ahmad-Green to celebrate the grand opening today of her long-anticipated Merrill Place II affordable housing units. Merrill Place II is a brand new 27-unit, mixed-income multifamily development in the city’s Virginia Park / New Center neighborhood, which also is where Ahmad-Green spent her childhood.  

The development supports Mayor Sheffield’s vision in creating more affordable housing in neighborhoods across the city. Located in the footprint of Henry Ford Hospital - Detroit, Merrill Place II is the neighborhood’s first new multifamily housing development in more than a decade. Besides quick access to the health system, the property will provide Detroiters a new affordable housing option close to community amenities like Wayne State University, parks, shopping centers, and museums.

Beyond rent affordability, the project is unique in that it draws on natural geothermal energy to power the building’s heating and cooling, which means tenants will not have to pay for either. 

"What Sauda has done here with Merrill Place II is remarkable for such a new developer,” said Mayor Sheffield.  “The building is a beautiful addition to the neighborhood and supports my administration’s commitment to creating more affordable housing so Detroiters of all income levels can live in any neighborhood they choose. The fact that she also tapped into geothermal energy to eliminate heating and cooling costs is a unique way to add another level of affordability.”

Developed by Ahmad-Green's S&S Development Group, the $12 million investment includes nine one-bedroom units and eighteen two-bedroom units, with 14 units reserved for households earning at or below 60% of Area Median Income (AMI), ensuring long-term affordability for Detroit residents.

The project was financed with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), HOME funds, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations and private capital; and takes advantage of considerable renewable energy tax subsidies and rebates.

Developer investing in childhood neighborhood

For Ahmad-Green, Merrill Place II is personal; she grew up in the same neighborhood she is now helping reenergize with the development of Merrill Place II.  

Growing up, Ahmad-Green used to walk past Merrill Street every time she went to school. She said she thinks Merrill Place II will represent the neighborhood’s vibrant history and promising future. 

“I lived in this neighborhood when I was growing up and just felt called to bring something to it that would benefit the neighborhood and those who call it home,” said Ahmad –Green.  

Use of geothermal energy provides tenants with free heating and cooling

Beyond the affordable rents that many of the tenants will have, all of the occupants of Merrill Place II with benefit from free heating and cooling. That’s because Ahmad-Green incorporated Geothermal Energy components, designed to operate below the standard energy-use intensity (EUI) of comparable Detroit multifamily structures.

Energy consumption is monitored through systems that track:

• Whole-building electricity usage 
• Geo-HVAC system performance, assisted by techniques that reduce heating and cooling loads 
• Common-area electrical loads  
• Monthly utility usage patterns for emissions verification  
• Opportunities for future electrification or renewable technologies 

These functions allow Ahmad-Green to take the brunt of the up-front costs and allow her residents to live without a DTE heating and cooling bill. 

“At Merrill Place II, affordability goes beyond rent. I made a deliberate decision to invest in a geothermal heating and cooling system — not because it was the cheapest option during construction, but because it was the smartest long-term investment for our residents and for this building. “ Sauda Ahmad-Green said.

“Our tenants are not billed separately for heating and cooling, which removes one of the most unpredictable and burdensome household expenses. That stability matters. It allows families to plan, to breathe a little easier, and to focus on building their futures instead of worrying about utility spikes.

While the geothermal energy field required additional upfront investment, it generates meaningful operational savings that allow the project to recover those costs within the first several years of operation.  

“This is what sustainable development should look like — environmentally responsible, financially sound, and rooted in equity.  Proving that green building and affordable housing are not competing priorities; they are powerful partners,” said Ahmad-Green.

In addition to the residents having access to free, more health and energy efficient HVAC systems, Geothermal Energy will also be utilized in three major components: 

• The 3-story stairwells have 3-story plenums between the open stairway and high R-Value window exteriors. So, with morning or evening unobstructed sunlight, the stairwells and halls on 3 floors are partially heated in the winter using only excess heat from the utility room HP. In summer, excess utility room cooling also cools stairwell and halls, pulled up the plenum, as the summer heat rises. 
• Each apartment’s windowed balcony, where entering air adds ventilation, and exiting air releases excess heat in summer, building wide. And again, in winter the high R-Value glass doors provide additional semi-passive solar heat; reducing both season’s HVAC loads. 
• Electric HP powered Washer/Driers that greatly reduces the energy load. And in a complementary benefit, the HP unit in the apartment unit does not produce the CO2 or hydrofluorocarbons (forever chemicals) created by burning gas inside the apartment.

This development is the second housing project done by Ahmad-Green inside the City of Detroit. She successfully completed Merrill Place I, located on the same street as Merrill Place II. The project was a rehabbed building, containing six townhomes in 2012, that offer moderate-income housing.  

“Developments like Merrill Place II show what’s possible when Detroiters invest back into their own neighborhoods. Sauda Ahmad-Green didn’t just build new housing here—she created homes that are affordable, energy-efficient, and rooted in the community she grew up in,” said Julie Schneider, Director of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department. “By pairing mixed-income housing with innovative geothermal technology that eliminates heating and cooling costs for residents, this project delivers real, long-term affordability for Detroit families while helping move our city toward a more sustainable future.”