‘There’s nothing else like it in the country’

SOUTHFIELD — At a March 24 meeting, Southfield City Council members unanimously approved a request to rezone the parcel at 16400 JL Hudson Drive from regional shopping zoning to an overlay development district to permit the renovation and reuse of the former Plaza Hotel for mixed-use apartments and support services for the New Foster Care.

The reuse is also set to include office and commercial spaces. Council approved the site plan for the proposal and created a master development plan and agreement.

The New Foster Care is a nonprofit based in Bloomfield Hills that helps young people from the ages of 14-29 who have aged out of the foster care system transition into adulthood.

The nonprofit’s “Bridge Program” assigns a multisystemic navigator to each participant, guiding them in creating a sustainable plan for success in employment, education, living situations, community life functioning, personal effectiveness and well-being.

“We’re very excited about the transformational power of this development,” Sarah Prout-Rennie, the director of development and compliance at the New Foster Care, said. “Kids in foster care face incredible barriers. Over half end up homeless; 70% end up having been sexually assaulted, either prior (to) or during foster care; and ultimately, what we do, is we take these kids away from their support systems, whether when it’s necessary, and sometimes prematurely, and we often then deprive them of familial support.”

According to Prout-Rennie, youth in foster care are released into the community with “absolutely no skills,” and often, without documentation.

“So, the New Foster Care provides wraparound services, employment, mental health (and) legal intervention for these kids,” Prout-Rennie said. “And what we were not able to do, and what we realized, is that housing  — it was simply not available.”

The site has been vacant since 2012.

The project is expected to total around $105 million, with a tentative groundbreaking set to take place in the summer of 2026.

It is estimated that the construction period will last 18-24 months.

The site will be a drug-free zone and include public amenities on the first floor, such as a daycare, a Head Start preschool, a pool and fitness center, a cafeteria, classrooms for Oakland Community College students learning about a trade, mental health offices, a bank branch and more.

Prout-Rennie shared some more details about the site.

“The first floor is what we’re referencing as the community center, as a sort of community gathering center,” she said. “That’s where the integrated mental, dental and physical health center will be. That’s where there’s going to be a community kitchen, a cafeteria and vocational and educational classes.”

Prout-Rennie added that there will be nutrition classes through Michigan State University Extension and a community kitchen.

She explained that the project will provide 230 units of supportive housing for residents within 50% of the area median income and 45 units of affordable housing.

The second-12th floors will have residential units for individuals between 18-29 who have aged out of the foster care system. It is slated to consist of 275 units, with 187 studio apartments, 44 one-bedroom apartments and 44 two-bedroom apartments.

The units are set to be leased out.

The 13th and 14th floors will consist of leased offices.

Security is slated to be onsite in the parking lot and at the front desk.

Southfield City Council President Michael “Ari” Mandelbaum spoke in support of the project.

“I know the council saw a presentation about this that went more in-depth, and this is exciting because there’s a need for this,” Mandelbaum said.

The New Foster Care is under contract with an option to purchase the building at a later date, but does not currently own it.

“The New Foster Care will have the property under option, and they’ll have until December 31, 2026, to put the deal together,” said Southfield City Administrator Fred Zorn. “Their deal is very complex.”

According to Zorn, the property will be condominiumized, which is a method of dividing a parcel into a condominium property regime, allowing independent ownership of each area section or “condo,” according to prodraft.net. While a CPR, as it is known, does allow sections of a parcel or lot to be sold, with or without buildings, it does not change the zoning or permitted use.

“There will be a condominiumization of the property to low-income housing tax credit components, and they’re anticipating doing a new market tax credit, so the city has site plan approval,” Zorn said. “We were asked to approve a pilot.”

The New Markets Tax Credit Program helps economically distressed communities attract private capital by providing investors with a federal tax credit, according to cdfifund.gov.

Zorn explained that because the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program regulated by the IRS has a lot of regulations and is a highly-competitive program, the New Foster Care can’t have prior ownership of the property, so the property was purchased by the  SF Community Renewal Corporation, which is owned by the Southfield Nonprofit Neighborhood Corporation.

“SF Community Renewal will be seeking funding from the city’s Brownfield (Redevelopment) Authority,” Zorn said.

Brownfields are properties that are being redeveloped but may require some environmental remediation.

If things work out accordingly, the New Foster Care will take over ownership of the property on or before Dec. 31 next year.

At a Planning Commission meeting March 19, Travia Crawford, the director of transition services at the New Foster Care, described the location as the perfect spot because of the proximity to a bus line, adding that some residents will be given bus passes while others might have their own vehicle or be transported by the New Foster Care.

Crawford also discussed what she considers another plus of the project.

“A lot of the service will be in-house, so they really won’t have to leave the facility or the area, unless they’re just going to visit family or friends or are going to work off-site.”

Crawford added that the staff will increase as the need grows. She explained that each floor will have two resident advisors assigned.

Chris Yatooma, who is the New Foster Care board president, has some lofty aspirations for the site.

“All children need to be prepped for adulthood, so that’s where our program and this project come in, is, we’re bridging that gap,” Yatooma said.“There’s nothing else like it in the country. We think this will be a nationally-renowned project and model that could really end homelessness and imprisonment for youth aging out of foster care.”

The location of the site has also captured Prout-Rennie’s attention.

“What’s exciting about this is it’s the old former Plaza Hotel,” she said. “If you’ve seen it, it’s had some challenges, and it’s going to allow us to bring to Southfield the largest investment in youth aging out of foster care in the nation. We hope to be a pilot to show how this can be transformational for youth and really help folks live.”

For more information about The New Foster Care, visit www.thenewfostercare.org.

Residents can watch City Council meetings at www.youtube.com/@SfdCable15.