Ferndale - BUILD Program

The Ferndale Downtown Development Authority (DDA) used the catalyst grant to expand the BUILD Program, which offers a 20 percent reimbursement for exterior building improvements to properties within the downtown area.

Ferndale is located at Woodward and Nine Mile and is a first-tier suburb to Detroit. Ferndale is fast becoming a hotspot for the young knowledge worker and the creative class. Our downtown is home to over 200 businesses, including 25 dining establishments and 9 art galleries. “The Goal of the Ferndale DDA is to create and sustain a diverse, distinctive and vibrant urban downtown district with small-town charm.” - Cristina Sheppard-Decius, DDA Executive Director

Highlights:

• Selected as part of the pilot project in 2004. Ferndale’s catalyst project was to expand the pre-existing BUILD project to include interior renovations.
• The BUILD program offered a 20 percent reimbursement for exterior building improvements to properties within the downtown area.
• Cool Cities funding went to five buildings in the downtown area, leveraging approximately $5.3 million.
• Ferndale reported in 2005:
  • Our Arts Commission and the DDA have begun working together to grow our arts initiatives downtown.
  • There has been a $400,000 local public investment.
  • In addition, there has been $1 million in private investment.
  • Three new buildings will total 120 housing units in the downtown area.
  • “It’s not about the money that has made this successful; it has really been about the awareness that this has brought to our community and the resources the state is offering.” - Cristina Sheppard-Decius, DDA Executive Director
• Ferndale reported in 2006:
  • The Ferndale DDA continues to grow in terms of planning-based objectives to create a culture of cool. The City of Ferndale implemented an Arts In Public Spaces Plan, which included many organizations within the community, especially the DDA. The Historical Society worked with the City and DDA to install a sculpture in the middle of town. The DDA installed a new mural on the side of a downtown building to further a mural program the Ferndale DDA has started. The Arts Commission has created a new cultural event planned for the fall. The DDA is working with Royal Oak, Detroit and Hamtramck to create a shuttle system between downtowns.
  • A new business of 70 employees opened, and a nonprofit organization was retained and grew.
  • The Cool Cities designation has also spurred overall interest in the city.
  • The DDA reverted a vacant building into a restaurant that is back on the tax roll.
  • Property values continue to rise in the downtown. The current economy is impacting residential sales, but not business.
  • The Cool Cities designation spurred a lot of development in our downtown, and we had 34 building improvements in 2005, 33 of those unrelated to the grant. Our downtown looks very different now, and many people have commented on how great it looks. It was an important designation to our city, and continues to be.