Sawyer Art Apts
2023 / Detroit, MI
BEYOND THE CORE
Driven primarily by large-scale companies and institutions, Detroit’s most recent new investments have been concentrated in the Downtown and Midtown areas. In an effort to spread economic benefit beyond the core, the city has invested in streetscape and bicycle infrastructure improvements along Six Mile, also known as McNichols Road. Sited along West McNichols within the Live6 community, this project aims to provide an affordable, mixed-use anchor for the re-emerging neighborhood corridor.
NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDING
While the building is sited along a commercial corridor with low-slung, flat-roofed storefronts, its immediately adjacent residential context to the south and north includes two-story homes with pitched roofs in an eclectic mix of styles. The project replaces a dilapidated series of existing buildings with commercial storefronts facing McNichols and a mix of walk-ups and upper-level apartments featuring roofline geometry similar to the adjacent neighborhood fabric.
HOUSING FOR EVERYONE
The project’s mix of residential unit typologies appeals to a diverse range of needs, budgets and lifestyles. The program includes 38 affordable apartments above modestly-scaled ground floor commercial spaces slated for local, small business tenants. A total of 2 studios, 24 one-bedrooms, and 12 two-bedroom units occupy two connected structures forming a U-shape.
ART AS PLACEKEEPER
The development team, deeply committed to placekeeping, is proposing an incremental, right-sized investment in inclusive neighborhood housing. The ownership group includes a black-owned local art gallery looking to elevate African-American artists and build black-owned business wealth. The development was named for Detroit-based artist Tylonn J. Sawyer, who has been commissioned to paint two large-scale murals on facing walls surrounding the building’s common deck.
