DETROIT (WXYZ) — Mayor Mike Duggan, along with city housing officials, congratulated a family of eight as they took the keys to their newly renovated two-story home in Southwest Detroit.
The Barajas are the 70th family to benefit from the Detroit Home Swap program, launched by the city to help relocate families affected by the Gordie Howe Bridge Project.
"We appreciate the fact that we were moved out of a place with a lot of pollution," said Beatriz Barajas.
Lidia and Jorge’s daughter Beatriz says the family has been living in the Delray neighborhood for the past 14 years. But lately, due to the Gordie Howe Bridge construction, Beatriz’s brother, George, says living in that area was becoming even more difficult.
"More and more construction was going on, our neighbors were leaving. 30-minute drive just to get out, sometimes you got to wait for the train," said George Barajas.
That’s when the family decided to enroll in Detroit’s Home Swap program. Funded through a community benefits agreement with the Canadian government, the initiative was launched in 2017 for folks directly impacted by the bridge’s construction.
"We offered a chance to take any one of dozens of houses in the city of Detroit that were vacant, abandoned, owned by the Land Bank. And the city would renovate them. And you swap the old house into a new neighborhood house," said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.
Over $120,000 were spent to renovate this home, which was abandoned for over ten years. Detroit Mayor Mike Dugan says so far 70 families have benefited from the program, and there is room for more.
"You have seventy blocks in this city that are more stable than they were because the house got renovated and a family moved and that’s an outcome I’m very happy about," said Mayor Duggan.
Detroit Land Bank Authority’s Tammy Daniels says the city has nearly 8,000 abandoned housing units, of which 2,700 are with the authority. Hence, rolling out the initiative was a no-brainer.
"To give them a choice to move into a fully renovated, safer home, but still remain connected to their communities, that is an amazing opportunity," said Tammy Daniels, CEO, Detroit Land Bank Authority.
Meanwhile, the family says they are grateful for the opportunity and can't wait to create new memories.
"Looking forward to the security that this house is going to bring, especially since it has a driving parking space. That’s a lot safer, especially with my little sister. She is autistic, no verbal," said Beatriz.
For more information on Detroit's Home Swap Program head to https://detroitmi.gov/government/mayors-office/bridging-neighborhoods
