The Neighborhood

McDougall-Hunt’s proximity to the Central Business District, Cultural Center, and Eastern Market makes it a potentially attractive area for new housing, creative uses of vacant space, and the complete reimagining of an urban neighborhood. Concern over the potential of displacement and gentrification that unchecked redevelopment can bring led residents to take a more proactive role in their neighborhood, in hopes of ensuring equity and stability. 

In 2018, resident leaders at the Bailey Park Neighborhood Development Corporation (BPNDC) and the McDougall-Hunt Neighborhood Association (MDHNA) began working with community development partners including the Eastside Community Network and the Detroit Collaborative Design Center to update the 2003 McDougall Hunt Rehabilitation Plan. More than 150 residents and numerous city agencies were engaged to provide input, feedback, knowledge, and expertise to create a document that reflected present realities and dreams for the future. The result was the McDougall-Hunt Neighborhood Sustainable Redevelopment Plan—a document which assesses the neighborhood's history, analyzes existing conditions, and outlines the restored vision for this neighborhood. The plan explores several topics including demographics, safety and crime, land use, and community assets. The plan also details community and stakeholder engagement efforts and offers recommendations for creating a revitalized McDougall-Hunt. 

The Sustainable Redevelopment Plan reinforces goals set forth in the 2003 plan and extends these priorities in anticipation of increasing growth and development over the next 5-10 years. The plan serves as a living document as MDH moves forward in the planning and implementation process. This document is intended to guide growth, promote a cohesive neighborhood character and identity, steward the heritage of this historic community, and celebrate McDougall-Hunt's character as a unique neighborhood in Detroit. 

Recognizing that McDougall-Hunt is the last representation of the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods that embodied Black economic leadership and empowerment, BPNDC commissioned local historian, Kenneth Coleman, to research and write the history of our neighborhood. Our thanks to the Alternative Foundation for funding this effort.