In January 2009, the University Cultural Center Association (UCCA) received a grant of $2.5 million over two years to leverage $34 million in funds from governmental and private sources for the revitalization of the Sugar Hill Arts District.

UCCA encompasses much of Midtown Detroit, bounded by the four freeways ( the Lodge, Ford, Chrysler and Fisher). Over the years, UCCA has helped to revitalize Midtown Detroit by engaging in a variety of projects and programs, ranging from façade improvements and streetscape enhancements for Woodward Avenue to the redevelopment of Peck Park and the branding of the Midtown area to hundreds of new visitors and customers.

The UCCA plan includes revitalization of the Sugar Hill Arts District, a two-block neighborhood named for the former neighborhood known as a historical jazz music hotspot between 1920 and 1960. Between the years of 1940 and 1960 Sugar Hill bred a lifestyle that was unique to Detroit’s local jazz scene as the only section of the city that allowed white and black musicians and patrons to mingle together. The collection of nightclubs, hotels, apartment buildings and businesses drove a local economy and served as an important entertainment district for both blacks and whites. Unfortunately, the neighborhood was subject to the urban renewal movement of the mid-twentieth century that destroyed many significant African-American neighborhoods across the country and particularly in the city of Detroit.

The grant to UCCA will provide critical gap financing to leverage $34 million in committed funds from governmental and private sources, and to allow integrated components of the Sugar Hill Arts District Plan to move forward.

The Sugar Hill project will cultivate the creative economy in the Woodward corridor by supporting business development; providing living and working spaces; increasing opportunities for artist housing; and ensuring a walkable and sustainable environment. These elements will contribute to higher neighborhood density and economic development in Midtown Detroit, an area already experiencing tremendous growth and heightened visibility.

For renderings of the Sugar Hill Arts District, please click on the following links:

• Sugar Hill Site Map
• Sugar Hill Street View Rendering
• Sugar Hill Birds Eye Map

Key Metrics and Indicators

• Increased creative talent in the creative and entrepreneurial corridor and the southeast Michigan region
• Increased attraction and creation of creative business
• Increased minority creative talent and participation in creative business
• Increase residential and retail activity in the creative corridor

For more information about University Cultural Center Association and the Sugar Hill Arts District, please visit www.detroitmidtown.com.