July Partner Spotlight: Tri-City Community Development Corporation
In case you missed it—this week our July newsletter went out, featuring an incredible spotlight on Tri-City Community Development Corporation (Tri-City CDC) and the big plans they have to transform Michigan’s most polluted zipcode into a green oasis for community members to build joy, health, and find calm in their neighborhood. Check out more about them below!
The Tri-City Community Development Corporation (Tri-City CDC) was founded in 1999 as a true alliance of community-minded individuals from many different sectors coming together under a common cause. From their beginnings as a legally incorporated collaboration between faith-based organizations, local businesses, schools, and community members in the Southwest Detroit, River Rouge, and Ecorse areas, Tri-City CDC has enriched the quality of life of residents through transformative investments in their environment for the past 25 years.
Tri-City CDC represents the heart and soul of Southwest Detroit, Ecorse, and River Rouge’s rich legacy of community-driven work. Still, the need for building a healthier environment stemmed from another long-standing legacy in the area – air toxins from 42 polluting industries that have made their home here. Southwest Detroit’s 48217 zipcode is a diverse, predominantly Black neighborhood of the city. Over the years, over 150 facilities–including a sprawling Marathon oil refinery, aging steel plants, a coke battery plant, and a coal-burning plant–moved in, creating a “toxic soup” in the air. 48217 became Michigan’s most polluted zip code, according to the Michigan Environmental Justice tracker. This reality has led to cancer rates that are three times higher than the state’s average and a higher prevalence of bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, and heart disease.
But the work of Tri-City CDC is a powerful remedy to this reality, as they have steadfastly transformed the landscape of their community with programming aimed at strengthening the social fabric of their neighborhood and groundbreaking projects to create healing green spaces. Their focus on fostering strong families includes the development of senior social activities and outreach programs, as well as the enrichment of young people through academic achievement programs and summer employment opportunities. A wide range of relationship-building community events, from a male mentorship retreat to park picnics and a “Survive & Thrive” community resource fair, form the foundation upon which community-driven solutions to transform the neighborhood can be built. Their most recent endeavor is the Eden Park Environmental Justice Youth Ambassador Program, which will train 20 youth residents ages 14-18 years to become environmental justice activists.
An architectural rendering of the Eden Park Community Project, courtesy of Tri-City CDC.
In 2022, Tri-City CDC held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Eden Park Community Project, a 5.7-acre park sanctuary for community members that will improve the neighborhood’s air quality through green spaces and air-purifying trees. The project’s buildings will also come equipped with solar panels and healthy food infrastructure, like space to host farmers' markets. A botanical garden, accessible playscapes, dedicated spaces for elders in the park, and the nation’s first “park within a park” model to support Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers in dynamically engaging residents with one another and the environment around them.
This $20 million dollar project is slated to begin construction this fall, and true to their community-driven approach, Tri-City CDC has designed an innovative community-fundraising campaign called “Ten Bring $Ten,” which encourages community members to give $10 and to then ask ten more people to do the same.
“The Ten Bring $Ten Campaign is a God-inspired initiative launched by our Board Chair, Rev. Dr. Alex R. Hill, who is also the co-founder of Tri-City CDC. Dr. Hill is committed to our work being a beacon light in this community. We believe that ‘little seeds grow mighty trees,’ and this grassroots fundraising campaign affords the more than 22,000 residents of this tri-city area to become angel investors in Eden Park.”
Through all that they do, Tri-City CDC is truly breathing life into their community. We invite you to stay in touch with their work as they begin construction of this incredible Eden Park Project. You can also make a donation to support their work below!