DETROIT FOOD INNOVATION DISTRICT
Detroit’s Eastern Market is a vibrant cultural center and active food manufacturing district facing gentrification pressure. Our team created a Food Industry Innovation District strategy to expand and protect industrial jobs while embracing the neighborhood's commercial and arts resurgence.
ROLE PROJECT LEAD; WXY STUDIO
SCOPE USER RESEARCH
MARKET RESEARCH
URBAN DESIGN
REDEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
CLIENT EASTERN MARKET CORPORATION
As part of a strategic planning process to guide
real estate and economic development in Eastern Market, I led an 18-month user and market research study to deeply understand local business needs and the regional food supply chain. This work consisted of observational field research, large-scale survey analysis, and in-depth interviews with 15 wholesale produce businesses.
Based on this research, our team produced a comprehensive roadmap for a Food Industry Innovation District, providing modern industrial space and upgraded infrastructure for small to medium-scale food manufacturers and distributors. This video visualizes part of our research, culminating in a proposal for a new consolidated food distribution hub and business incubator.
A Changing District
Detroit’s Eastern Market is one of the oldest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower markets in the country.
As a rising wave of investment brings more non-food businesses and residential development to the district, the market must balance its critical role as an industrial job generator with its nascent identity as a thriving mixed-use neighborhood.
— Detroit’s Eastern Market is one of the oldest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower markets in the country. As a rising wave of investment brings more non-food businesses and residential development to the district, the market must balance its critical role as an industrial job generator in a rebounding city, and its potential future as a thriving mixed-use neighborhood.
— In its current state, the market accommodates multiple uses and programs, with increasing demand for retail and residential development in the west. To the east, mass vacancy and abandonment offers an opportunity for outward growth.
— A toolkit of different urban design interventions were offered to match the needs and aspirations of local residents and businesses.
— Detroit’s Eastern Market is one of the oldest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower markets in the country. As a rising wave of investment brings more non-food businesses and residential development to the district, the market must balance its critical role as an industrial job generator in a rebounding city, and its potential future as a thriving mixed-use neighborhood.