$70M Demolition Contracts Awarded To Local Black-Owned Businesses

DETROIT — Detroit Demolition Department Director LaJuan Counts said Thursday that more than half of Proposal N’s first $70M in contracts have been awarded to Black-owned Detroit-based businesses.

"From the beginning, we’ve been serious about our commitment to contracting local, minority-owned companies with real ties to the communities we serve," Counts said. "As we move through the pipeline, we’ll continue to eliminate some of the barriers and challenges these businesses historically face, allowing them to expand and hire even more Detroiters."

Proposal N is a comprehensive plan to address 16,000 vacant houses in Detroit through rehabilitation or demolition, in an effort to improve the safety, value and health of Detroit's neighborhoods.

These awarded contracts come as Mayor Mike Duggan promised Detroit residents that Proposal N would provide a more local voice in determining which vacant houses would be either renovated or torn down.

"When we asked Detroiters to support Proposal N, we promised that having this source of locally controlled funding would allow us to create more opportunity for Detroit companies and Detroit residents," Duggan said. "With more than $70 million committed so far, the results have been even beyond our expectations."

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As of Thursday, the Demolition Department has removed nearly 500 damaged houses, working with 53% percent Black-owned contractors. These additional contracts will be awarded to similar companies for the next phases of work in the coming weeks.