Affordable housing takes a hit in PE-backed District Detroit development project
February 13, 2026
Despite affordable housing being a selling point for The District Detroit, a downtown sports and entertainment development, the project is now delaying the promised affordable housing, in a move reminiscent of the CIM Group’s redevelopment of the Gulch in Atlanta. When city governments engage in public private partnerships that offer tax incentives for affordable housing, enforcement mechanisms remain important to ensure that the affordable housing is built according to initial plans.
The District Detroit
The District Detroit is a controversial redevelopment project in Detroit that is billed as “the city’s world class sports and entertainment district.” The project is being developed by the Related Companies and the Ilitch family-owned Olympia Redevelopment Corporation. Renderings for the project were initially shared in 2014, with the district revolving around the Little Caesars Arena for the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit Pistons, and large concerts. Initial plans for the district included new housing and businesses such as shops, restaurants, and bars.The District Detroit will also be home to the University of Michigan Center for Innovation (UMCI),a six-story building expected to open in Spring 2027 with a “mixed-model” approach, meaning some portions of the building will be used for Master’s degree programs, and other portions being used for workforce development. The city of Detroit has a Community Benefits Ordinance, which means that certain construction projects in the city are required to engage in a community benefits agreement development process in an attempt to lessen the potential negative impacts of proposed projects. The Community Benefits Agreement created for The District Detroit required the property to have at least 139 units of affordable housing, spread evenly between four buildings in the project
Related Companies and Criticism of The District Detroit
Related Companies is a private equity real estate firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1972 by Stephen M. Ross and currently owns almost 400 apartment complexes with over 78,000 total units in the U.S, according to Yardi Matrix. Related’s portfolio primarily consists of residential, mixed-use, and office properties and the firm is one of the largest private owners of affordable housing in the country. Related’s CEO and Chairman Stephen M. Ross is an alum of the University of Michigan, and has donated over $400 million to the university, making him the largest donor in university history. As a result, the University of Michigan renamed their school of business to the Ross School of Business in 2024. Ross also donated money as an individual to the UMCI portion of District Detroit.
Related has been accused of numerous exploitative practices such as wrongfully evicting tenants, demolishing and redeveloping housing in New York against residents’ wishes, ignoring tenants’ issues with mold and repair, and deferring maintenance on elevators that had been previously identified as dangerous. Additionally, Related has been named as a defendant in a class action lawsuit related to the firm’s usage of RealPage, an algorithmic rental price-setting software company that was sued by the Department of Justice due to allegations of facilitating collusion between competing landlords. (The DOJ settled with RealPage in late 2025).
In 2019, faculty at the University of Michigan wrote a public letter expressing concern for the UMCI project, asking if the University of Michigan was
“co-opting this work to promote a project devised by private, profit-seeking investors that will by-pass the residents of Detroit and communities they live in, thereby perpetuating the historically fraught and problematic record of the University of Michigan in the city?”
One of the selling points for the District was Related’s initial plan to build affordable housing units within the project, which resulted in millions of dollars worth of tax credits for Related and Olympia. Related is now delaying promisedaffordable housing, claiming that they will build affordable housing in future developments in The District. In initial plans, the District promised 139 affordable apartments, with 54 to be built at the 2205 Cass Avenue building. With affordable housing units now removed from 2205 Cass, the overall number of affordable units decreased to 85 within the property. Related and Olympia released a joint statement promising that the affordable housing commitment of 139 units will be honored by the completion of the project. The project also experienced additional delays, which has occurred with other construction projects connected to the Ilitch family.
