DETROIT – The city of Detroit and development partners celebrated the grand opening of Rohns Apartments, a long-vacant historic apartment building transformed into 17 new homes in the Gratiot Woods neighborhood.
Located at 4735 Rohns St., WIZE Detroit redeveloped the building, which includes 15 two-bedroom apartments and two one-bedroom apartments.
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The units feature stainless steel appliances, all-in-one washers and dryers, and central air conditioning.
Residents also have access to green space and secure parking.
Rent for a one-bedroom apartment starts at $900 per month, while two-bedroom apartments start at $1,100.
The redevelopment is part of Detroit’s efforts to expand affordable housing through the city’s Payment instead of Taxes, or PILOT, program.
Sophie Zembra, owner and managing director of WIZE Detroit, moved from France to New York City about 10 years ago before relocating to Detroit in 2024 to focus on redevelopment.
Zembra said she became interested in renovating historic buildings and was drawn to Detroit’s history and the resilience of its communities.
WIZE Detroit is also using the PILOT program to redevelop 3045 Cortland in the Dexter-Linwood neighborhood.
The $6 million project is expected to include 34 residential units, with a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments and one studio.
The units are planned to be affordable to households earning 80% of the area median income.
The project is expected to be completed in 2028.
PILOT program accelerates housing development
Detroit City Council adopted a revised PILOT ordinance in October 2024 to simplify and speed up the approval process for qualifying affordable housing developments.
Instead of calculating property taxes based on assessed property value, qualifying developments pay a percentage of rental revenue.
The city says the structure provides developers with more predictable costs and can help projects secure financing while maintaining affordability.
The city said the streamlined process has reduced approval timelines from as long as a year to an average of less than 60 days. The long-term goal is to complete reviews within 30 days.
Since the city implemented the revised ordinance, more than 7,000 new or preserved affordable housing units have been approved, the city says. Another 6,142 units are in the pipeline for approval.
Rohns Apartments was among the early developments to use the streamlined PILOT process.
Other approved PILOT projects include The Booth Community, which will provide 61 units of permanent supportive housing in the former St. Mary of Redford Parish School; The Claire, which will provide 40 affordable units while redeveloping a building originally known as The Clairwood; and Gesu Senior Housing, which will provide 36 affordable units for seniors in the former Gesu Parish Center.
Part of Detroit’s housing strategy
The opening of Rohns Apartments also supports priorities outlined in Mayor Mary Sheffield’s Rise Higher Community Framework.
The framework’s Thriving Neighborhoods strategy calls for expanding access to affordable housing, preserving existing housing, supporting neighborhood revitalization and helping residents remain in the communities where they live.
The city says the PILOT program is one tool being used to advance those goals by encouraging the redevelopment of vacant and historic properties and reducing financial barriers to housing development.
Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department administers the PILOT program and reviews developments to ensure they meet the city’s affordability requirements.
The city expects additional projects in the development pipeline to continue expanding Detroit’s affordable housing supply.