New challenges for Detroit
Longtime residents feel they are getting pushed out by newcomers moving to the city

BY LOUIS AGUILAR
THE DETROIT NEWS

At a recent Midtown preview of a documentary about Detroit to be shown in Germany and France, longtime city resident and artist Olayami Dabls sat in "amazement," he said.

"I have not seen so many people of African descent and people of color in any other documentary about Detroit," said Dabls, who is featured in the film.

That's saying something because Detroit, whose population is 82 percent black, has been the focus of many documentaries with more on the way. Perhaps half of the people interviewed in the documentary featuring Dabls are African-American.

The film focuses on the same theme many boosters, investors and new online media sites cast about Detroit — a new city emerging from its post-industrial ruins. But a growing number of Detroiters say they often feel left out of that positive story. Though Detroit is on the verge of bankruptcy, it is starting to deal with issues of gentrification, where some people are getting pushed out.

Many potential home buyers in Corktown, Midtown and downtown often get outbid, many real estate agents said. It's a combination of not enough high-quality inventory and stiff competition.

Amber Wilson, 28, knows this firsthand. The Southgate resident wanted to move to Corktown, but quickly found herself outbid on at least three residences last year.

"Some Oakland County couple paid more than $100,000 cash for a loft, because they wanted their daughter to move back from Chicago. I can't compete with that," said Wilson, a graphic designer who had been pre-approved for a $120,000 mortgage loan. Nor did she want to buy a home in disrepair, which seemed the only other option for her in that neighborhood.

In downtown, the Trolley Plaza apartment complex was bought by new owners, who upgraded the facility, changed the name to Washington Square Apartments and increased the rent 20 percent or more.

"It went from diverse to mainly young and white," said Jack Sexton, a former resident. "That's too bad because a lot of people wanted to stay but they couldn't afford it."

Continued at: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2.../BIZ/201050332