INSTITUTIONAL ADAPTIVE BUILDING REUSE 

WHAT ARE WE CONSIDERING: Code amendments to make it easier to reuse various public, civic, and institutional buildings, specifically: 

• Libraries
• fire or police stations
• post offices
• courthouses
• schools and educational institutions
• religious institutions and  religious residential buildings
• utility buildings. 

WHAT IS ADAPTIVE REUSE? “Adaptive reuse is the process of repurposing an existing building for a new use rather than demolishing it and building anew. This can involve converting buildings into affordable housing, office spaces, or other developments while retaining their historic features and prolonging their lifespan.” (From Leo)  One of the key advantages of adaptive reuse is that it can be more cost-effective and faster than constructing a new building.  It can also preserve buildings that help form the identity of a neighborhood.   

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?  

• Preserves historic anchor buildings to retain culture, character and fabric of neighborhoods
• Supports neighborhood investments with increased redevelopment opportunities
• Supports new housing efforts
• Promotes redevelopment activities that serve the day-to-day needs of local residents
• Reduces annual demolition costs by making it easier to reuse institutional anchors within residential communities
• Expedites investment as an individual rezoning for each institutional building burdens each proposal with time and money spent
• Allows a variety of redevelopment options to accommodate the unique challenges of adaptive reuse 

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE? Many of these institutional buildings are zoned for residential development (frequently R1(single family)) or R2(two-family)) so there are very limited potential uses permitted. The only option left is a rezoning, which can take upward of 6 months and can be slow and uncertain and may not even be possible for a small single building. Due to the uncertainty and additional costs, this barrier many times causes buildings to remain vacant for years.  

There is a school buildings adaptive reuse ordinance today, but it’s limited to only 19 potential reuses (activities) and only applies to buildings originally used as schools.  We propose to greatly expand the number of previous eligible uses and the number of potential future uses.

Upcoming Meetings 

Past Meetings

• Adaptive Reuse at Citywide Dept. of Neighborhoods Meeting | April 7 2025
  • Meeting Recording (Begins at 1:39 Timestamp)

Proposed Permitted Uses

Tactical Preservation 

This ordinance also introduces tactical preservation into City ordinances. Tactical preservation is a building reuse strategy focused on the partial and incremental reuse of existing buildings through a Buildings & Safety (BSEED) process to ensure that the properties can be activated in a safe, efficient, environmentally sound, aesthetically responsive manner via modifications to development standards. That process will be in place when the ordinance is presented.

Next Steps:

We’ve begun meeting with members of the development community to get their feedback on the ordinance, as well as with various City departments and Council members. We will be presenting at a City-wide Department of Neighborhoods (DONS) meeting in April and will also be presenting at one DONS meeting in each Council district. Links to these meetings are below.

Financing Tools

Quick Links:

• https://www.afterschooldetroit.com/resources
• https://www.motorcitymatch.com/
• https://www.degc.org/tax-incentives
• If your building qualifies, https://www.miplace.org/historic-preservation/programs-and-services/historic-preservation-tax-credits/

Quick contacts:          

• DEGC / DBRA – brownfield, OPRA & CRA district setup, Motor City Match/Re‑Store            
• City Housing & Revitalization Department – DHFF, SNF, HOME/CDBG NOFAs, NEZ certificates         
• MEDC Community Development – MCRP & RAP         
• State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) – state historic credit and federal HTC