Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan concentrates on neighborhoods in State of the City address

Duggan delivers State of the City address on Tuesday night

DETROIT – Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan had plenty to say during his State of the City address Tuesday night, but the focus was clearly on neighborhoods.

"If we're going to fulfill a vision of building a Detroit that includes everybody, we've got to do a whole lot more," Duggan said.

The mayor touched on jobs, education and the community.

"We can prove that when you start investing in these neighborhoods, the neighborhoods start to come back," Duggan said.

He spent a small portion of his State of the City address looking at the past. He looked ahead and outlined a job training program and plans to expand the Detroit promise.

Duggan strongly stated his opposition to the state's plan to close 24 Detroit schools, but the focus of the night was neighborhoods and the announcement of $30 million headed to three key areas in the city.

"I get asked, it seems like every day, you've got all this investment in downtown and midtown and I like it but when is investment coming to the neighborhoods," Duggan said.

The answer is right now. Duggan said, "$30 million will be invested in neighborhood development, like Downtown and Midtown."

The project will start in three neighborhoods, Livernois and McNichols, West Village on the east side and southwest Detroit near Clark Park.

In McNichols and Livernois area, that means taking 80 vacant homes, rehabbing them and moving families in, as well as taking a whole string of vacant lots to create a landscaped bikeway and walkway connecting Marygrove to the University of Detroit.

Kuzzo's Chicken and Waffles, which is just a mile down the road, serves as an anchor in the area that not only attracts people to its food, but has helped spur investment in the area. People inside were thrilled with the news.

"Downtown was where everything was being invested," Serena Johnson said. "Obviously, a lot of growth and a lot of change, and I love to see that. Now it's moving out to actually where to live."

"I would love to see more things in the neighborhood, safe places where kids can have fun and be protected," Liana McKissic said.

For the first time since 2010, Detroit is finding the money to bring street sweepers back.

You can watch the full State of the City speech in the video below.

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About the Authors:

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.