Mayor, Council President celebrate 45 recipients of Round 2 of Neighborhood Beautification grants, announce 3rd Round

• Each year, block clubs, neighborhood associations and nonprofits can apply for grants ranging from $500 to $15,000 for neighborhood clean-ups, community gardens, and public space activities
• A total of over $635,000 in grants awarded today to 45 neighborhood groups
• The City announced plans for three additional rounds funded with $2.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act Funds  

Mayor Mike Duggan, Council President Mary Sheffield and city officials joined community groups today to celebrate the 45 organizations receiving the second round of the City’s Neighborhood Beautification Program (NBP) grants, as well as the expansion of the citywide program. 

The Neighborhood Beautification Program gives Detroit neighborhood-based groups $500 to $15,000 to help improve and beautify their blocks. This year, $635,499 is being distributed to awarded to winners all over the city, spanning all seven City Council districts. During the program’s inaugural round of grants awarded last year, 36 organizations received a total of $492,228.  

Although the program’s initial design consisted of two funding cycles, City leaders also announced Monday that the City has allocated roughly $2.6 million more in American Rescue Plan Act funds to funding to the program to support an additional three rounds of grant funding. The first thirty-three APRA-funded Neighborhood Beautification grant winners will be announced later this year, with the other rounds being awarded in 2024 and 2025.  

The NBP grants provide funding for Detroit-based neighborhood associations, block clubs, faith-based organizations and nonprofits that currently own the property where they want to carry out a project in the community. The Neighborhood Beautification Program was created to support three types of projects: clean-up activities, community gardens, and public spaces and activities. 

"In Detroit we are shifting our focus from just removing blight to creating beauty, and we have dozens of community groups playing a huge role in that effort," said Mayor Duggan. "Thanks to these grants from the Neighborhood Beautification Program, 45 more block clubs and neighborhood associations will have the resources they need to create new beauty on their block." 

Today’s announcement was made at one of the 46 second-round grant recipient sites, Marygrove Community Association’s “Marygrove Civic Commons” in District 2. Incorporated in 2015, the Marygrove Community Association works to establish relationships and build connections between neighbors, businesses, and other community stakeholders in the Marygrove community. 

The association is revitalizing an acre of land where houses once stood between Kentucky Street and Indiana Avenue to create new opportunities to forge connections between neighbors. By the end of the revitalization effort, the area will include a teaching community garden, a park, a green space and arts corridor, and a multipurpose field.  

The NBP funding is being used to support the development of the multipurpose field. The association views the space as a place for children to play sports, for community members to have picnics, and for the neighborhood farmers’ and makers’ mart to enjoy more space for vendors.  

“We view this space as a new town square,” said Jay Meeks, treasurer and board member of the Marygrove Community Association. “We view this as an opportunity, as neutral space, as neutral ground for people to connect."    

“The Neighborhood Beautification Program has ignited a transformation in Detroit, emboldening residents to breathe life into their surroundings, block-by-block,” said District 2 City Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway. “These grants not only provide the means to paint a canvas with flowers, shade trees, vegetable gardens, and art installations, but they also symbolize a profound sense of pride. The Marygrove Community Association stands as a deserving recipient of this grant, a testament to their unwavering commitment to enriching their community, cultivating green spaces, and fostering meaningful connections among neighbors.”  

The NBP is part of the Neighborhood Improvement Fund (NIF), which was championed by Council President Sheffield as part of the development deal for the Detroit Pistons’ new headquarters and training facility in District 5. The initial funding for the program is $2.25 million over three years, which includes $1.25 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and $1 million in NIF funding. NIF dollars are derived from the net income tax revenue collected from NBA players’ salaries during home games played at Little Caesars Arena and the salaries of Pistons and Palace Sports & Entertainment employees. 

“Detroit has always been a city defined by its resilient spirit and unwavering commitment to progress,” said City Council President Mary Sheffield. “Our neighborhoods are the true heartbeat of this great city, and it is within these close-knit communities that the seeds of positive change are sown. The Neighborhood Beautification Program stands as a testament to our collective dedication to enhancing the very fabric of our beloved Detroit.” 

The funds available under the NBP can be used to fuel creative ideas, spark neighborhood revitalization, or strengthen connections between neighborhood-based groups. The City of Detroit will provide resources to allow the eligible organizations and residents to become actively engaged in the health and well-being of their community and to encourage residents to get involved in making their neighborhood better. For those hoping to beautify their community but do not own the land, the NBP will assist organizations with purchasing or leasing vacant lots owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority. Up to 50 projects a year will receive funding. 

The NIF has an expressed purpose of removing blight; providing new recreational opportunities and home repairs for senior citizens and disabled Detroiters; creating educational and apprenticeship opportunities for young people; and financing affordable housing developments – all with the goal of enhancing, strengthening, and transforming Detroit neighborhoods outside of Midtown and downtown. 

The Neighborhood Beautification Program is overseen by the City of Detroit’s Housing & Revitalization Department, Neighborhood Services Division and administered by Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency. 

“We’ve seen a tremendous response from the neighbors and community organizations they represent in every District in the City,” said Tamra Fountaine Hardy, director of the Neighborhood Services and Economic Development divisions in the City of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department. “The Neighborhood Beautification Program will continue to build upon its successful partnership with the neighborhoods to turn blight into beauty.  Because of the overwhelming success of the Neighborhood Beautification program, the City has increased the funding by adding $2.6M dollars more, which will allow us to turn vacant land into community gardens, create social gathering spaces for residents, and eliminate blight which negatively impacts our neighborhoods.”  

The City of Detroit is looking forward to funding the next round of Neighborhood Beautification Program grants to build upon the past successes of funded community groups. Applications for the next round of Neighborhood Beautification Program grants is expected to open in January 2024.  

The 45 recipients of the second round of NBP grants are: 

1. Grandmont Community Association (D1) – Community garden  

2. Schoolcraft Improvement Association (D1) – Community garden  

3. SDM2 Project Education (D1) – Public space improvement  

4. Urban Apostolic Network - Hesed Community Church (D1) – Community garden  

5. Bethune Community Council (D2) – Clean-up activity  

6. Demographic Inspirations- Detroit (D2) – Public space improvement  

7. Marygrove Community Association (D2) – Public space improvement  

8. Monica Block Club (D2) – Clean-up activity  

9. New Community Fellowship Church (D2) – Public space improvement  

10. Oakman Boulevard Community Association (D2) – Public space improvement  

11. Prairie Street Block Club (D2) – Clean-up activity  

12. PR²OMiSE: Peers Responding to Overlooked Matters in Social Environments (D2) – Community garden  

13. San Juan Block Club (D2) – Clean-up activity  

14. Santa Rosa Block Club (D2) – Clean-up activity  

15. Snowden-Hartwell Block Club (D2) – Clean-up activity  

16. Stoepel Street Block Club (D2) – Clean-up activity  

17. Tuller Street Block Club (D2) – Clean-up activity  

18. Carrie Morris Arts Production DBA Detroit Puppet Company (D3) – Public space improvement  

19. CKM Community Development Corporation (D3) – Clean-up activity  

20. CRC Block Club Association Community Development LLC (D3) – Public space improvement  

21. Marjorie Street Garden (D3) – Community garden  

22. Mohican Regent Homeowners Association (D3) – Public space improvement  

23. Mt. Olivet Neighborhood Watch (D3) – Community garden  

24. Women of Banglatown (D3) – Community garden  

25. Camp Rd. Inc. DBA Camp Restore Detroit (D4) – Community garden  

26. Everybody Eatz Inc (D4) – Clean-up activity  

27. Yorkshire Woods Community Organization (D4) – Public space improvement  

28. Arboretum Detroit (D5) – Public space improvements  

29. Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament (D5) – Public space improvement  

30. Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance (D5) – Public space improvement  

31. Dream of Detroit (D5) – Public space improvement  

32. Field Street Block Club LLC (D5) – Community garden  

33. King Street Block LLC (D5) – Community garden  

34. New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ (D5) – Public space improvement  

35. Sheridan Community Block Club LLC (D5) – Clean-up activity  

36. West Village Association (CDC) (D5) – Public space improvement  

37. WJP Urban Farm (D5) – Community garden  

38. Church of Christ Westside (D6) – Community garden  

39. Danett Associates Inc (D6) – Public space improvement  

40. My Community SPEAKS (D6) – Public space improvement  

41. North Corktown Neighborhood Association (D6) – Public space improvement  

42. Shalom Fellowship International (D6) – Clean-up activity  

43. DeSoto Ellsworth Block Association (D7) – Public space improvement  

44. Evergreen Block Club (D7) – Public space improvement  

45. St. Charles Lwanga Parish (D7) – Clean-up activity