The Toledo (Re)development

www.linkedin.com/in/isabelle-b...

Explorer, problem-solver, entrepreneur, architect, land developer.

Born in the UK, 1959; emigrated to Canada by boat, steerage class, in 1967. At 21, travelled solo around the world on the cheap. 

Married, graduated, designed and built my house in 1997 within walking distance of downtown Ottawa, Canada. This protoype - a 3-unit green building that houses my home, architectural practice and rental apartment  continues to serve as a touchstone for my work.

Joined the US Green Building Council in 1996 and became LEED certified; a founding director of the CGBC the following year.

Took up running in 2007 for health reasons; ran the Boston Marathon in 2010 and won the Scholarship for the Entrepreneurial Architect at IE University in Madrid, Spain.

Worked over 30 years as an architect in Canada; 28 years as head of isabelle bradbury architecture inc.

Bought property in Detroit in 2016, determined to make a difference.

The Problem:  Black flight from urban northeastern US cities because of the lack of jobs and segregated access to the geography of opportunity - residential neighbourhoods closer to higher-paying jobs and quality schools.

The Project:  A mixed-use development anchored in The Toledo, 1900 brick rowhouse complex in Central Southwest Detroit, that would provide higher rents from its new commercial tenants to underwrite the project, provide the opportunity of work to its residents and customers for its businesses.

How it would elevate humanity: Residents are the eyes and ears of the street. Mixed-use development increases safety as commercial and residential occupancies extend the hours of activity on the street and people observing. The economic, social and cultural scene is enhanced. This project would demonstrate the vitality inherent in a neighbourhood that is culturally, socially and even economically diverse when the foundations are made of inclusiveness and multiple opportunities for participation.

The specific problem statement:

• At a minimum, six households totalling 14 residents headed by Black grandmothers residing at 4000 to 4034 Toledo Street in Detroit need safe, affordable housing at their current location to avoid leaving their community and becoming part of Black Flight statistics. The 2010 US Census count of Detroit revealed that the Black population changed from 775,729 in 2000 to 590,226, a decrease of 24%.  2020 Census data will not be available until the end of the year but 2019 estimates indicate a further decline. http://censusviewer.com/city/M...

• The owner - Fehaj LP - needs to undertake extensive renovations at to
  bring the buildings up to Code and much higher for environmental sustainability without substantially raising the rents. Current rents do not cover the operational expenses let alone any major improvements. Selling is not an option as without continued neighbourhood development; property prices will not rise enough to break even in a short time frame. Continued tenancy for the existing residents would not be assured.

• Development begets development: it must scale to add value to property in the area for the investor while providing quality housing, commercial goods and services for those in the community.

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The specific outcome desired:

• A remodelled and renovated suite of buildings that mixes commercial and residential uses with much higher market commercial rents
• A real estate development with commercial occupancy on the basement and ground floors, affordable apartments on the second floor and short-term studios on the new third floor.
• a communal green space for all residential and commercial tenants,
  serving not only as recreational space but also as a underground stormwater reservoir to service the buildings' toilets.
• close to net zero energy consumption
• a thriving mixed income, mixed use community

The gap in between the problem and the desired outcome:

• Increased floor area by 200 percent
• lowering the elevated first floor of the current brownstone model to the ground level for accessibility
• lowering the basement level accessible by ramps
• highly efficient building envelope
• high speed fibre cable internet for all
• a new sewer line (city will not finance it)

The City has described the community of Southwest Detroit on its website as 'believed to be one of Detroit’s most diverse and culturally rich areas'.  It forms part of District 6 which includes Woodward Avenue, 2 miles to the east and the adjacent neighbourhoods of Mexicantown and Corktown. Within the project 48209 zip code,  Census data confirm a diversity index of 85 where 100 represents a population ratio evenly divided between 2 or more racial or ethnic groups.

Census data projections currently estimated as of July 1, 2019:

• population of just under 29,000
• $29,275 median household income
• wealth index of 28 where the average national index is 100
• $41,358 median home value
• Housing Affordability Index: 268 where the average national index is 100
• Housing Units: renter-occupied 44.5% owner-occupied 28.5%, vacant 27.0%

The data paint a landscape of a low-income community renting and possibly saving while they can to purchase their own home. The vacancy levels suggest units that are waiting to be renovated or remodelled, that the asking rents are too high for the quality offered, or both.

Both residents of The Toledo and the community at large are solicited for maintenance and other work rather than out-of-town companies.

Mix it up!  That is the fundamental way to bring people of diverse cultural backgrounds together. Through proximity and happenstance - a chance meeting at the bar, in the produce section, on the street or the front porch - people begin to recognize the humanity in each other and lower their tribal shields.

A mixed-income, mixed-use development is the setting but it doesn't stop there. Apartments will be paired and provided with a common stair so that neighbours will get to know each other. Visitors will be invited from around the world to stay at the guest suites and mingle.

Post architecture school, I spent the next 3 years working as an intern
to complete licensure requirements. Finally the certificate arrived.

Now what?

I felt I had climbed the lofty peak only to discover that the view was not as spectacular as I had imagined.

My work for others consisted of designing for another's program: did the world really need another strip mall?  Big single-family homes in the burbs, far away from stores and cultural activity? Even if I had my own design company, I would not be changing much since I was not the owner of the projects.

I longed to be an entrepreneur and address more pressing issues, on my own dime.

Visiting a decaying New York in 1980, I was struck by the legacy of spectacular buildings and the real fear of walking about at night or taking the subway. By the mid 80's, change was stirring and the opportunity to buy property. But I had no dollars to spare.

Marathon running led to new destinations and opportunities. It was the 2009 Detroit Marathon which qualified me to Boston. The city and its people stole my heart. And only a 1.5 hour air commute to Ottawa.

I am 61 years old and as most artists, I know I will never retire. I love to solve problems and this one's a doozy. Keeping fit through running, and other sports, my energy level is high and I can expect another 20 -30 years to my life to make a difference.

The mantra of fitness is to keep moving and to rest for repair and restoration. The same could be said for creativity and production: property development is an applied art that needs insight as well as fabrication.

In Detroit, I recognized a community that, through no fault of its own, faced severe hardships brought about by fear from those on the outside. At the same time, the period of bankruptcy protection in 2014 revealed ingenuity and bootstrap resiliency that an outsider could only marvel over and desire to be part of that energy. Artists from around the world flocked to the city and among them, yours truly. As an investor with a mission to improve a part of it and not repeat the mistakes of gentrification that excludes those suffered most, the real challenge was how to make a business case. And I did.

As an architect, I have over 30 years' experience and expertise of the building code, zoning, design and construction.

Rather than employees, I have engaged a team of lawyers and accountants, architects,  civil engineering and landscape architects, project managers and energy consultants.

As self-employed person, I am in the position to focus my work on this project.

As a woman, I had to find ways to break down barriers for equality. I relate to others who also face barriers and learn from their ingenuity in overcoming adversity.

As a curious person, I am drawn to things that are different, the details that set things apart or the overall system that is complex but works harmoniously.

As a risk-taker, I find opportunities to solve problems in unlikely places.

As a problem-solver, I enjoy the challenge of untying knots.

As a path-finder, I celebrate the journey as much as the destination.

A couple of years after I had bought the first properties in Detroit and was navigating the landscape of City regulation, infrastructure requirements, and local socio-economic realities by monthly visits, I was stopped at the Detroit-Windsor border. Out of the blue, a so-called NAFTA specialist determined that I was working illegally in the US because I did not have a US property manager.

I was duly fingerprinted, patted down, handcuffed and dispatched to the Canadian border agents at the back of a police cruiser.

Now what?

My flight back home was not for a few days and I had a helluva lot of reorganizing to do. That very day, I was to meet with the sheriff to evict a drug pusher squatting in a house I had bought on the Wayne County auction.

I booked myself into the closest hotel and called my lawyer to handle the eviction. I cancelled my Detroit hotel and reorganized my flights.

Then the real work started. I applied for an E2 Treaty Investor Visa.

As chairor of the Ottawa Regional Society of Architects, I wanted to organise something for its centennial in 1996.

I hit upon approaching the Ontario Association of Architects to hold its annual conference in Ottawa that year and rallied the troops in the society for action.

Thanks to all the support I received, it was an amazing success.

(I would upload all the pictures if your app would let me.)

Patient money. Retained earnings for re-investment.

1. Current number of people I'm serving

2. Number serving in 1 year

3. Number serving in 5 years

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