Wednesday, November 15, 2017 // The Statement
4B
Wednesday, November 15, 2017 // The Statement
5B
An International Village in Ypsilanti?
The fight over gentrification in a rust belt city
by Brian Kuang & Ishi Mori, Deputy Statement Editor and Daily Staff Reporter
A
t a May meeting of the Ypsi-
lanti City Council, Amy Xue
Foster — a Chinese-born,
Troy-based businesswoman
— proposed an ambitious
project to construct a glittering high-end
apartment complex on a patch of dilapidated
industrial land. To be dubbed “International
Village,” the complex would sport distinctly
East-Asian architectural decor and target
well-to-do Asian nationals attending Eastern
Michigan University and the University of
Michigan or working in automotive research.
The project was to bring at least $250 mil-
lion in investment — primarily raised through
the controversial EB-5 visa, which grants
green cards to wealthy foreign investors — to
a city that had seen better days before most
of its manufacturing jobs left, promising to
revitalize a dilapidated 36-acre patch of land
that was costing the city over a million dollars
in debt per year. The “village” would contain
high-end housing units and self-contained
commercial spaces to serve tenants. To some
city officials and residents — like resident Bob
Resch — the proposal was akin to serving the
city money on a plate.
“The property there has languished for the
past 20 years, and this development seemed to
be the first ray of hope that something would
become of the 38 acres,” Resch said. “You’ve
got to believe that anybody who’s willing to
dump $250 to $300 million to the infrastruc-
ture … they have to be serious.”
Yet not all see the project through the same
lens. Numerous residents — particularly those
in the adjacent, predominantly working-class
neighborhoods — balked at the prospect of
creating a self-contained block that could
increase their rents and provide them with
little tangible benefit in return.
Public trust in the development process —
already tenuous as opponents feel there has
been insufficient public input — collapsed
when allegations emerged in late Septem-
ber that city officials took a weeklong trip to
China that was allegedly funded by a compa-
ny represented by Xue Foster — a clear con-
flict of interest. Less than five months after
the project was initially proposed, the four
officials found themselves sitting in the same
City Council chambers facing an investigation
initiated by the City Attorney.
In many ways, the disagreement that
evolved over International Village in Ypsi-
lanti echoes those over gentrification taking
place in cities from San Francisco to Detroit.
All of these stories carry common threads:
new residential developments are proposed to
serve growing housing demand from higher-
income workers moving into the local econ-
omy, raising economic and social anxieties
among pre-existing residents.
Washtenaw County itself is no stranger to
such public polarization over gentrification.
In Ann Arbor city politics — where Democrats
hold all but one local office — the fault lines
lie not along party identification, but rather
where one stands on the issue of building lux-
ury high-rises downtown. Yet the debate over
International Village in Ypsilanti is unique
and carries major implications for the future
of the post-industrial rust belt town.
*****
As originally proposed to the city, Interna-
tional Village was to contain 1,750 units, each
listed at least $1,100 per month. The complex
would also contain commercial units target-
ing its residents. The presentation explicitly
notes the proximity of the proposed site to
Eastern Michigan University, the University
of Michigan and several high-tech research
hubs such as the American Center for Mobil-
ity in Ypsilanti and Mcity in Ann Arbor.
But placing a luxury housing complex and
3,000 wealthy foreign nationals in a city with
a population of 21,000 did not sit well with
some residents concerned with the potential
displacement of working-class residents. Par-
ticularly troubling to some were concerns that
the “village” would displace its predominant-
ly African-American neighbors.
Longtime Ypsilanti resident Bryan Foley,
who lives near the proposed project, said the
International Village was introduced with
little consideration for the needs or history of
the surrounding community, adding that he
would prefer a business that would add jobs
to the local economy to take the place of the
proposed high-rise.
“We had an automotive plant … that closed
in the late ’80s or ’90s, and just outside of the
township you had a General Motors plant and
a Bosch plant. All those closed,” Foley said.
“Immediately after those businesses clos-
ing, we had an epidemic of crack cocaine,
and we’re just now getting stabilized. So now
you’ve got an influx of new people coming in
and rents will go up … basically we’re getting
displaced again, in our own communities.”
Amber Fellows, a local activist and member
of Ypsilanti’s Human Relations Commission,
argued the development adds insult to injury
to the African-American community, which
is facing pressure from socio-economic forces
outside of their control.
“This development is fundamentally not
serving African-American communities, and
it would actually likely put pressures on that
community, which is already being turned
over,” Fellows said.
Ypsilanti City Councilmember Brian Robb,
D-Ward 3, argued there is little empirical evi-
dence that International Village will contrib-
ute to or speed up gentrification, though he
conceded gentrification is a real phenomenon
in Ypsilanti.
“They’ve never actually been able to
explain why this would drive African Ameri-
cans out of South Side and the whole concept
is: If you own your home, this development’s
not going to impact you,” Robb said. “I think
it’s a leap to say that this would gentrify people
out of the community.”
What underlied all these concerns was an
anxiety that the residents of the International
Village — predominantly international stu-
dents from Asia — would be largely self-con-
tained in an insular community. At a coffee
shop meeting of community activists opposed
to International Village, a sign with pseudo-
Chinese writing hung on the wall calling the
EB-5 visa “Donald Trump’s vision for immi-
gration.”
However,
community
members
like
Nathanael Romero denied any suggestion of a
soft xenophobia toward Asians as a driver of
their opposition.
“There was a sense that if you were against
International Village, you were against inter-
national students, against Chinese people,
against the sort of diversity that would come
from that,” Romero said. “A lot of the oppo-
sition that we’re seeing to International Vil-
lage is coming from millennial renters and
the Black community on the South side, and
some of the conversation was: ‘Is there anti-
Asian sentiment in the Black community?’
‘Is there anti-Black sentiment in the Asian-
American community?’ ”
Foley was more blunt in his assessment.
“I wouldn’t care if they’re from Nigeria or
Toledo, Ohio or whatever,” Foley said. “But
you’re purposely bringing a group of people
and isolating them — and this land is going to
be exclusively for their benefit, and exclude
the rest of the community.”
*****
Those opposed to the development plan
were further frustrated by a lack of trans-
parency in Ypsilanti City Council, which
held only two community meetings this past
summer to discuss the matter — one the day
before the body approved the sale of the
property.
Adding a further layer of mistrust to the
project were the allegations that a trip to
China taken by city officials was improperly
funded by the developer.
According to emails released to the public
as part of an investigation by the Ypsilanti
City Attorney’s office, City Attorney John
Barr explicitly warned city officials in May
that it would be an ethical violation to accept
any trips to China paid for by the developer.
“A trip to China would be worth thou-
sands of dollars and cannot in any way be
considered minimal,” Barr wrote in the May
memo. “Even though a China trip would be
educational, the benefit conferred, consider-
ing that the developer is requesting action by
the city, would, in my opinion, make accept-
ing the trip unethical and illegal under the
city ordinance.”
Yet in late September, Mayor Amanda
Edmonds, Mayor Pro-Tem Nicole Brown,
Police Chief Tony DeGiusti and City Man-
ager Darwin McClary took a trip to China,
ostensibly to meet potential investors.
Released emails showed the officials sought
alternative funding for the trip, and received
a “scholarship” offer from the Wayne State
University Chinese Students and Scholars
association to fund the trip for the purpose
of promoting “cultural exchanges between
China and the United States.”
However, an investigation by the Detroit
Metro Times and a subsequent probe by the
Ypsilanti City Attorney found evidence the
city officials were aware their $16,800 grant
had been indirectly funded by Xue Foster’s
development company — a clear conflict of
interest.
All four accused city officials have claimed
to be unaware of the source of funding for
their trip, and the matter is currently under
investigation by a special counsel appoint-
ed by the City Attorney. In an email to The
Daily, Xue Foster declined to discuss the alle-
gations of impropriety. Edmonds and Brown
did not respond to requests for comment for
this story. DeGiusti redirected all inquiries to
the Department of Economic Development.
Even supporters of the International Vil-
lage development acknowledged that public
trust in the issue had been compromised,
making the future approval of the project
unclear.
“It’s almost laughable — it’s a little frus-
trating that you’re looking at this kind of a
development and your guys can’t even get
out of the huddle without fumbling and bum-
bling,” Resch said. “I’m glad that they’ve
decided to do this internal investigation with
this outside law firm. … I think personally it’s
a jumble of miscommunications.”
For those like Foley, who already held a
dim view of their city’s handling of the Inter-
national Village project, the scandal only
serves to validate their impression that some
city officials aren’t acting with their constit-
uents’ best interests in mind.
“I really do believe (city officials) acted out
of bad faith,” Foley said. “I really do believe
that they thought this was just going to be
business as usual, and nobody was going to
do checks and balances on them and they
were going to just squeeze it on through.”
*****
The uncertain fate of International Vil-
lage and developments like it illustrate the
dilemma facing Ypsilanti in the 21st century.
Founded in 1825 by three settlers on a cross-
ing the Huron River and named after a gen-
eral from the Greek War of Independence,
Ypsilanti grew from the automotive industry.
Like too many factory towns in the Indus-
trial Midwest, however, Ypsilanti’s fortunes
soured with the departure of many of these
factory jobs.
Since 2001, 13,000 manufacturing jobs
have left the city, with the Willow Run plant
— a famous bomber factory in World War II
— shuttered by General Motors in 2009.
Ypsilanti’s population has hollowed out
by roughly one-third from its peak at almost
30,000 in the 1970s. The 2008 financial cri-
sis hit the city disproportionately hard, and
average incomes continue to lag behind the
national average. Following the recession,
though, the population has grown alongside
a revitalized Depot Town-centered down-
town.
The knowledge-based economy, rooted
in the presence of the University of Michi-
gan and Eastern Michigan University and
their affiliated research complexes, offers
to breathe new life into the city. However,
as new, more affluent residents have pushed
into Ypsilanti, a dilemma is increasingly
evident in the community. How can a com-
munity grow itself economically, while still
protecting the interests of its longtime resi-
dents?
“What we’re seeing is a process of tech
gentrification and it’s going to change the
character of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Town-
ship,” Romero said. “The question of inter-
national capital is an important one, because
the number one concern is our community
stakeholders having a seat at the table, par-
ticularly the most vulnerable ones — and it
doesn’t seem like it.”
According to Robb, Ypsilanti must find
a new source of vitality as manufacturing
declines throughout the Midwest and the
rest of the United States, though he main-
tained the city did not specifically court the
technology sector.
“Manufacturing in Michigan is disappear-
ing, so the logical move is into service and
technology type of businesses,” Robb said.
“(However) if you draw parallels between
this and we’re moving toward a technology-
based community, I think that’s coinciden-
tal.”
The development itself is now in jeop-
ardy in light of the allegations of impropri-
ety. On Monday, Ypsilanti City Council put
the International Village development on
hold, after Xue Foster’s qualifications as a
developer were called into question and the
architectural and construction management
firms exited the project. McClary wrote in an
email that if no development agreement is in
place by Dec. 31, the purchase agreement will
likely expire and kill the project.
AARON BAKER/Daily
Local activists opposed to International Village meet in downtown Ypsilanti Monday.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE YPSILANTI CITY
An illustration of the International Village design concept.
AARON BAKER/Daily
A sign opposed to the construction of International Village hangs in downtown Ypsilanti.