April 2017 | Business View Magazine

24 25 EXECUTIVE VIEW blocks of new, low-rise housing, to one block of green space and one block of repurposed existing buildings. Think Central Park, adjacent to all that nice architecture…but on a hyper-lo- cal, smaller scale. That’s what we’re working on here in Detroit.” Primary focus is on the redevelopment of a two-square-block area in Detroit’s lower North End.With the theme “adaptive reuse of the built-environment,” MUFI plans to demonstrate best practices for sustainable urban agriculture, effective strategies for increasing food security, cost-competitive and scalable models for blight deconstruction, and innovation in blue & green infrastructure. In the process, they are creating a broader re- development model for other communities. The MUFI urban agrihood includes a two-acre urban The opportunity here – the scope – has grown so much. We started in 2011 as a working urban farm and now the site is becoming a model for how things can be. Tyson Gersh president and co-founder of MUFI farm, 200-tree fruit orchard, children’s sensory garden and water harvesting cis- tern.More than 300 produce varieties are grown annually.The fresh vegetables are provided free to about 2,000 households, churches, food pantries and others within two square miles of the farm. Repurposing with a purpose The next phase in this ambitious agrihood project is transforming a long-vacant three-story former apart- ment building into a 3,200-square-foot Community Resource Center, with gath- ering space for educational programs