OUR COMMUNITY
continued from page 11
12 | AUGUST 31 • 2023
ON THE COVER
The renaissance of Detroit is
an exciting story to Nachman,
and one that he and Joy want-
ed members and friends of
their Congregation Shaarey
Zedek (CSZ) in Southfield to
see for themselves. Already
the underwriters of Coffee
House, a CSZ program open
to older adults (see page XX),
the Nachmans sponsored a
bus trip in July. A group of
57, including tour leadership,
were brought face-to-face with
several of the key real estate
developers, planners and man-
agers remaking Detroit.
CREATING NEW SPACES
IN CORKTOWN
The representatives, most of
them Jewish, pointed out and
shared in great detail the many
multi-million-dollar develop-
ments their organizations and
companies have brought to fru-
ition; they also previewed their
upcoming projects in or around
Downtown Detroit.
Leading the tour was George
Roberts, a real estate develop-
er headquartered in Detroit
and an active member of the
Jewish community. Roberts, the
managing principal, and Adam
Kessler in 2019 co-founded
Civic Companies, an organi-
zation Roberts described as
“dedicated to building beautiful,
sustainable and equitable com-
munities.
”
The Coffee House plan-
ners knew Roberts from his
appearance as a panelist at their
November program, “Return &
Rebuild: The Renaissance of a
New Detroit.
” They were happy
to invite Roberts back to share
his insider knowledge.
Roberts said Civic
Companies’ commitment is to
“build walkable neighborhoods
with zero displacement, creating
spaces that preserve the past
with function for modern use
and adding to our city’s history
of great design and public art.
“My company’s biggest proj-
ect is developing the portfolio
of properties owned by the
late Joel Landy,
” an early Cass
Corridor preservationist and
real estate developer, Roberts
said. “We also have neighbor-
hood projects taking place in
(the Detroit neighborhoods of)
Woodbridge, Corktown and
North Corktown.
”
Roberts said he is in the
process of developing post-
COVID office space in the
historic Kaul Glove District
in Corktown. Attainably
priced townhomes in
Woodbridge will rise on the
site of a demolished gilded-age
mansion and sustainable,
high-quality apartments on
vacant land.
At the first stop in Detroit,
Roberts pointed out the site
where Roxbury Group is build-
ing a hotel on the east side of
Woodward. The space is next
to the former WSU Bonstelle
Theater, which will be repur-
posed. The building was an
early home for Temple Beth El.
MIDTOWN DETROIT
During her talk, the aforemen-
tioned Mosey pointed out 14
environmentally low-impact
“eco homes” that MDI devel-
RHONDA GINSBURG
George Roberts explains some history to those on the tour.