Morningside’s Finest: Jackie Grant
At this point in her life, Jackie Grant could be a retiree sipping piña coladas on a beach somewhere. She did consider retirement a few years ago “for a minute” but quickly realized she’d much rather stay engaged in Detroit’s revitalization. “Why not?” she says. “When you stop, you’re dead.”
Jackie worked in the hospitality industry in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, but it was her interest in real estate that got her involved in housing issues following the collapse of the mortgage industry in 2008. She hasn’t looked back since. “When you see something that’s so egregious and wrong, you can’t unsee it,” she says.
In 2010 Jackie worked on the Motor City Mapping project, a citywide survey which determined the ownership, occupancy, and condition of every property in the city. From there she went to Data Driven Detroit, then Loveland Technologies (now called Regrid), which provides detailed information on properties all over the world. She’s also done property tax foreclosure prevention work for the past twelve years with the City of Detroit Board of Review, United Community Housing Coalition and Quicken Loans (now Rocket Community Fund).
Jackie is a consultant for the Housing Stability Team at Rocket Community Fund for the Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) project, which conducts door-to-door surveys to inform residents that their homes may be behind on property taxes or at risk of foreclosure, directing them to organizations that can provide assistance. The surveys also provide feedback from residents to these organizations so they can make their programs more effective.
After serving as President of MorningSide Community Organization for two years, Jackie took on the leadership of the Board of Friends of the Alger Theater, vowing to complete a decades-long effort to re-open the theater. “It’s now or never,” she says with determination.
Jackie has been busy fund-raising and overseeing the many improvements the theater needs. For the first time in more than 30 years they have installed a water line and an ADA-approved lift. The next projects, she says, are an ADA-compliant bathroom and a new roof. In the meantime, she wants to see more community activities in and around the theater to engage residents, particularly children.
Many residents in MorningSide and beyond know Jackie as the person who helped them save their homes from property tax foreclosure by assisting them in filling out the HOPE (Homeowners Property Exemption) application. In partnership with Rocket Community Fund, Jackie and several other active volunteers with the Alger Theater are available to help residents facing property tax foreclosure. Office hours are by appointment only. Residents should call 313- 720-3904 to make an appointment. You’d be hard pressed to find a MorningSider more committed to making a difference in her community and city.
