The Ground UP Project is an effort to revitalize properties in African American neighborhoods, while spurring on new business development in our communities. Our first project is a commercial real estate rehabilitation effort in Detroit, Michigan. This business incubator property will contain two businesses that employ Detroiters, with youth and young adults working as apprentices.

Detroit is the first pilot project for a ten-city plan. Its Linwood commercial building will become the Black Legacy Advancement Center, centered at the heart of Detroit’s 5th District neighborhoods. Situated between LaSalle Gardens and the Linwood-Dexter communities, this transformed business incubator – run by and for Detroiters – will include:

1. Two for profit businesses:

a. A barbershop

b. A take-a-way restaurant and catering kitchen

2. A multipurpose training facility.

3. Residential apartment living for select trainees.

In phase one, (1) commercial building and (1) residential property will be purchased and renovated for the purposes of lodging, employment, and holistic development. The commercial space will be named the Black Legacy Advancement Center, designed as a mixed-use facility for both business and living. The BLAC Center will function as “Ground Zero” for the project’s central efforts in the community. Lodging for select apprentices will be provided, where they will have the dual opportunity to live and learn independently on site while working responsibly. Through rigorous programming and formal work assigned during their time with the Ground UP Project, these youth and young adults will be prepared to succeed in their communities as strong contributing members of society and developed entrepreneurs.

Four residential apartments will be renovated on the second level of the Legacy Center facility. We will operate a barber shop in the first commercial space. In the second space, we will operate a take-away food shop and catering service, led by a black-American chef-restaurateur. A full-service kitchen will be secured to make this space functional. One adult staff member will live in the residential space of the facility, serving as the residential advisor to the apprentices living on site. 

Apprentices will be trained and employed in the Legacy Center’s barber shop and kitchen. Living accommodations will be offered at a reduced rate. The purpose of this discounted rate of rent is to empower the apprentice to aggressively save a down payment to invest back into their own business and/or property. The financial requirement will be to save forty percent of their monthly earnings in order to launch their entrepreneurial career. During this two-year period, apprentices living in the facility will receive training in business management, business planning, basic engineering, leadership development, and life skills. The wrap around curriculum and services will help to ensure that participants are equipped with the necessary knowledge to be successful in their own long-term business venture when graduating the Ground Up Project’s apprenticeship.

The residential space above the businesses will house (4) studio apartments, (2) bathrooms, as well as laundry facilities. The commercial property sits on a total of four lots. In the first phase, a portion of the lots will be converted into parking and a garden space producing fresh produce for the restaurant. In a second phase of development, additional apartment units will be built on the additional three lots.

Apprentices will be selected from a pool of applicants from the local community and BLAC’s partnered ally organizations (ages 18-25). They will have the opportunity to work in the Ground Up Project’s businesses, while select applicants will be approved to live on site and in additional group housing for two years. These young adults will be given the unique, dual opportunity to live and learn independently, as well as work responsibly.

Through rigorous programming and formal work assigned to apprentices during their time with the Ground UP Project, these young people will be prepared to succeed in their communities as strong contributing members of society. Over time, we will secure additional properties in the immediate vicinity of the BLAC Center to house more participants for apprenticeship programming. 

The second property, The Ali Legacy House, is a residential duplex, named in memory of the original inspiration behind The Man to Man Project – the late Ismail Ali. This space will be used to house our (2) adult staff mentor-managers and additional apprentices. By providing housing for staff and participants at a discounted rate, we will decrease our overhead expenditures of salary and operating costs, while also accelerating opportunities for the deployment of capital to their future projects. The residential property will be in close proximity to the BLAC Center (.1 miles), creating an additional layer of support for our apprenticeship program.

The Ground Up Project’s Ten City Plan also includes the following Cities:

Jackson, Mississippi

Chicago, Illinois

Austin, Texas

Columbus, Ohio

Birmingham, Alabama

Durham, North Carolina

Los Angeles, California

Baltimore, Maryland

Atlanta, Georgia

The additional projected cost for 9 additional cities is $19,602,000.00.