Oakman Place Apartments Groundbreaking - Provides Homes and Hope

Residential facility breaks ground to provide affordable housing to homeless youth as part of an ongoing effort to re-develop Detroit neighborhoods.

DETROIT, June 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lutheran Child & Family Service of Michigan (LCFS) along with Focus: HOPE and The Damone Group, will break ground on Oakman Place Apartments on Oakman Blvd., a $5.1 million affordable housing community for homeless youth, at 11 a.m. on June 22, 2010 as a collaborative effort to revitalize residential areas of Detroit.

Of the 24 units developed by Fusco, Shaffer & Pappas, Inc., nine one-bedroom units will be reserved for homeless youth and one two-bedroom unit for a homeless youth with a child. The remaining 14 units will be made available to families at or below 60% of Area Median Income.  When completed, the new facility will be approximately 25,666 square feet, located on a parcel that is just under one acre.    

Not only will residents be provided with housing, additional supportive services will be available onsite, including a case manager, an educational liaison and an employment specialist.

According to Dr. Robert G. Miles, President/CEO of LCFS, the agency and its Board of Directors has been concerned about the number of youth in foster care who "age out of the child welfare system" and are in need of adequate housing and supportive services.  "Very few of our own children make the transition into adulthood without ongoing support and guidance.  We have also become sensitized to the number of families who are challenged to find adequate, safe and affordable housing. Oakman Place has been a concept on the drawing board for several years. We envision building a "community within a community" with the residents of Oakman Place.   "We are excited to see this dream become a reality," stated Miles.

The project is located in a designated "cool cities" neighborhood, designed to reduce the energy impact of the city and maintain environmentally friendly operations. Oakman Place will also lend access to public transportation for youth to travel to work, personal appointments, and attend school.

"We are thrilled to have been working with Lutheran Child & Family Service of Michigan to bring a new, affordable housing product to our neighborhood," said William F. Jones, Jr., CEO of Focus: HOPE.  "Through our HOPE Village Initiative, we pledged to have a deep and lasting impact on the community surrounding our campus. Oakman Place is an important component of making the vision of a strong neighborhood a reality.  It will provide housing and resources for both youth and families who truly can benefit from terrific new housing."

LCFS has provided service to Michigan's children and families through foster care, adoption, counseling, residential and family preservation services for over 110 years. LCFS will contract with Premier Property Management LLC, which currently manages over 35 apartment and townhouse residential facilities, to manage Oakman Place Apartments.

LCFS has been working with numerous groups to make this possible, including:  Focus: HOPE, The Damone Group, AAB Development Strategies LLC, Fusco, Shaffer & Pappas, Inc., Wayne County Continuum of Care-Homeless Coalition, the City of Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Premier Property Management, LLC, Neighborhood Service Organization, HP Devco, Lighthouse of Oakland County, the City of Detroit, Oakman Boulevard Community Association, United Way of Southeast Michigan and other local community members. To find out more about LCFS, visit picturethepossibilities.org.

SOURCE Lutheran Child and Family Service of Michigan