Continuing Progress: The Residences at St. Matthew

Work continues on The Residences at St. Matthew. Image courtesy of Rachel Pisano

The Residences at St. Matthew project, which is a housing project aiming to create 46 new affordable units and a multi-purpose community space on the campus of St. Matthew Parish at Harper and Whittier, continues to make strides in its development.

Since the last newsletter update in April of this year, the project has moved forward both in construction and fundraising through the efforts of multiple partnerships working to make this project a success.

Interior view of drywall installed in one of the residential units. Photo courtesy of CCSEM.

On the construction front, you may have seen much more site activity happening on the campus, as efforts have been started to turn the existing parking lot that runs along Audubon into a new green space. This added green space will help to improve the character of the building and site that faces the residences along the street.

Work also continues to improve the existing parking lot, which sits between the buildings on the campus. Additional construction progress includes the major installation of utility, water, and sewer systems throughout the school building and activities building. The activities building, which is the smaller of the two, is set to be completed by December of this year. The school building which runs along Audubon, is set to be completed in March of 2025.

Beyond construction and programming progress, there have been many successful fundraising events this summer that have even gained the attention of Detroit’s Mayor Duggan. On August 8 a fundraising event and tour was held at the project by Catholic Charities of Southeastern Michigan (CCSEM). The goal of this event was to raise funds for fit out and operation efforts that are not construction related. Nearly 60 people attended, including the mayor.

CCSEM also hosted their annual gala on September 12, which had a large focus on the Residences at St. Matthew project. The event welcomed over 400 attendees and was a huge success! The fundraising goal set for the project was met, which is a great sign of things to come.

Any large development like this takes many key people to ensure work progresses. The leadership team for this project continues to meet bi-monthly to review project construction and go over project-related issues. The team consists of: CCSEM, St. Matthew Parish, O'Brien Construction, the architects, KMG Prestige (the management firm for the residences), and Ascension Health.

David Smydra (left), Mayor Duggan (center), and Father Novelly (right) at the August 8th event on campus. Image courtesy of David Smydra.

Efforts have been started by Ascension Health to begin evaluating the types of health services and programming that would fit the project’s needs. The partnership with Ascension Health was started to incorporate health-related community engagement as a key part of the project mission. The current merger of Ascension Health into the Henry Ford Health system has not changed their commitment to the project, but details are still being confirmed.

A community engagement meeting with CCSEM, St. Matthew Parish, and project partners is being planned, and notice will be provided once details are finalized.

Continued updates and full project info are always available on the CCSEM website here: https://www.ccsem.org/residences. A huge thank you goes out to David Smydra, the St. Matthew Parish Representative for the project, Paul Propson, the CEO of CCSEM, and Isabella Agby, Director of Marketing and Communications at CCSEM for their continued communication on project updates and photos.

We can’t wait to see how this project will continue to embody the St. Matthew’s mission of “being a beacon of light and a sign of hope” to the Morningside community.