Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan opens affordable housing facility to help low-income Detroiters find stable home
DETROIT — A former school building where, for generations, minds were formed has a new purpose as a place where lives will be reformed.
The building that housed the former St. Matthew School on Detroit’s east side has been transformed into The Residences at St. Matthew, an affordable housing facility sponsored by Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, which will include wrap-around social services to help residents overcome addictions, find meaningful employment, and transition away from housing insecurity.
Paul Propson, CEO of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, who unveiled The Residences at St. Matthew alongside other Catholic and city leaders May 7 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony, said the size and location of St. Matthew's former school building, which closed in 2008, made it an ideal candidate to turn into affordable housing.
“My mother went to this school in the 1950s, and so many people have gone to school here who have come back to visit or made donations to sponsor the apartments,” Propson told Detroit Catholic. “As a school, it did a wonderful work in forming young lives, but now it will be part of helping people reform and reclaim their lives.”
Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Arturo Cepeda blessed the new facility, with members of the parish and community on hand to tour the newly opened residences.
The Residences at St. Matthew have been in the works since 2018, when Catholic Charities USA identified five local partner affiliates around the country to provide affordable housing as part of a nationwide effort.
The $20.49 million redevelopment was made possible through a partnership between Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan and Cinnaire Solutions, a nonprofit real estate development company, with financing provided through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s Low Income Housing Tax Credits, the Federal Home Loan Bank, the City of Detroit HOME Funds and the Michigan Historic Preservation Tax Credit.
The end result is 46 affordable apartments, with 25 units reserved for permanent supportive housing for those who previously experienced homelessness, and a building on the St. Matthew Parish campus that has become a beacon of hope in the community, Propson said.
“The parishioners of St. Matthew have really exemplified what it means to be Catholic today," Propson said. "As our communities change, our parishes change and there are new opportunities. What new request is the Lord making of us? They had this building which could have been a liability because it’s an empty school, and the community at St. Matthew said, ‘Let’s open up our campus to have people live here among us.’”
Parishioners who were saddened by the closure of St. Matthew School in 2008 are glad to see the building, built in 1930, used once again as a vehicle for evangelization, said Fr. Duane Novelly, a priest serving at St. Matthew.
“For 80 years of our almost 100-year history, this building has been dedicated to education — both for our parishioners and in the neighborhood. This gives us a new charism in which we can move toward Christian service and outreach to the neighborhood and the homeless," Fr. Novelly said. "It’s definitely mission-oriented as we are trying to assist those who are struggling with housing.”
During a press conference and ribbon-cutting ceremony May 7, dignitaries from the Church and civil government spoke about the transformational nature of the project.
Msgr. Charles Kosanke, chairman of the board of trustees of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, thanked donors to the project, including the Peter and Connie Cracchiolo Foundation and the Weingartz Family Foundation, among others, as well as the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph, which donated furniture to finish the 25 supportive housing units.
In addition to providing affordable housing, Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan is partnering with Henry Ford St. John Hospital to provide integrated health services, Msgr. Kosanke said.
“It’s more than affordable housing. It includes wrap-around services for residents,” Msgr. Kosanke said. “This space is going to be used for the betterment of residents and the local community.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who was baptized at St. Matthew on Aug. 8, 1958, spoke at the press conference next to a large picture of his parents holding him on the front steps of the east-side parish.
“My mother has lived on the east side for 60 years, and the pastor here tells me that somewhere in the basement of St. Matthew’s is my baptismal certificate, but he’s never actually see it," the mayor quipped. "But someone on my staff reached out to my 90-year-old mother, who, of course, saves everything.”
Mayor Duggan commended Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, St. Matthew Parish, the Archdiocese of Detroit and other partners for making The Residences at St. Matthew a reality, noting an abundance of unused former school buildings in the city of Detroit, many of which are being similarly transformed.
“The shelter system is great for getting somebody off the street and keeping them safe for the night, but a lot of folks are homeless because they have mental health issues, and then they have a bad financial run,” Mayor Duggan said. “When you put people in permanent supportive housing for six months or longer, you can give them help with those things, and it makes a huge difference.”
In recent years, the city of Detroit has begun partnering with churches to provide affordable housing, including at the former Transfiguration school, as well as a project partnering with Little Rock Baptist Church on Woodward Avenue, the mayor said.
“But this is the first time a church came forward on their own and said, ‘We’re going to put permanent, supportive housing right here as part of our plan,'” Mayor Duggan said. “This is the way a community should function, and it’s taken a while to get here, but it took the tenacity of everybody involved, and I am so proud to come from this church.”
