DETROIT – Some residents on Detroit’s east side say they’re frustrated and worried as a former strip club appears poised to reopen under new ownership.
The business, once known as “Covergirls,” sits near the corner of Whittier Avenue and Roxbury Street in the Denby-Whittier neighborhood.
It’s across from a long-abandoned, boarded-up apartment complex and just steps from a busy liquor store — a stretch of the Whittier commercial corridor that some community members say they’ve been working hard to improve.
Now, signs of renovation at the former club have sparked concern that the location may soon reopen as a strip club.
“We just really, really, really are concerned about this,” said Keisha Brooks, president of the Haver Hill Block Club.
Some residents say the word in the neighborhood is that the new owner plans to reopen the site as an adult entertainment venue.
“We heard that it was going to be open as a strip club again,” said Pastor Alonzo Bell of Martin Evers Church, located just two blocks away. Bell also serves as president of the Whittier Business Association.
Brooks says residents fear a return of the problems they associate with the club’s past.
“One of the major concerns is the influx of violence, of drugs, of prostitution, possibly human trafficking,” Brooks said.
Bell echoed those worries, adding that neighbors are concerned about crime and public safety.
“Theft, robbery; you know, the vices that come with a strip club being here, right in the heart of a neighborhood,” Bell said.
Bell says local churches, residents, and business owners have been trying to turn the area around and attract more family-friendly development.
“We here in this neighborhood, we’ve been working to uplift this area. This is a neighborhood again,” Bell said.
Critics of the club’s return say their primary concern is quality of life and making sure any business that opens is a good neighbor to the people who live nearby.
“We want to make sure that everything is in harmony,” Bell said. “The main thing is we always look out for the children.”
Inside the Covergirls building, contractors have been actively working to renovate the space. A representative onsite said the new owner purchased the property about four months ago and that all licenses and permits have been obtained legally through the city of Detroit.
Bell said crews have also cleared adjacent old buildings to create an expanded parking lot and, in their view, help enhance the area.
The representative added that, so far, no neighbors have approached them to discuss the project or express concerns about what might open there.
Community leaders said that’s exactly what they want now: a conversation.
“I would want them to know that this community needs so much more than that,” Brooks said, referring to the prospect of another strip club.
Neighbors say they’d like a chance to sit down with the new owners, understand their plans, and share their concerns about safety, kids, and the long-term future of the Whittier corridor.
Representatives for the business say they want to be good neighbors and are open to talking with community members.
Both sides say they hope to connect soon.