Former St. Mary of Redford school to be transformed into supportive housing

Detroit parish working with Volunteers of America to infuse new life to former school building, following familiar blueprint

DETROIT — St. Mary of Redford Parish will become the third parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit to convert an unused school building to housing for low-income residents or those in danger of homelessness.

Fr. Athanasius Fornwalt, FHS, St. Mary’s administrator, is quick to clarify the terminology used to describe their housing project.

“I don’t call it affordable housing,” Fr. Fornwalt said. “This is supportive service housing. The concept involves offering residents much more than just monetary aid to afford housing.”

Fr. Fornwalt said the parish goal is to close on the sale of the former school building to the Volunteers of America Michigan (VOAMI) in April or May of 2025. Construction should begin in mid-2026, with the first residents moving in about a year or so later.

In recent years, other Detroit-area parishes have announced similar efforts to transform underutilized real estate into housing and other benefits for the community.

In 2022, St. Matthew Parish on Detroit's east side announced its school buildings would be transformed into permanent supportive housing in cooperation with Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan and Cinnaire Solutions. In 2017, the parish now known as St. John Paul II became the site of the first affordable housing project located at a Catholic parish in Detroit. In partnership with city and state government, Ethos Development Partners and Cinnaire Solutions, the parish (formerly known as Transfiguration) transformed its former school building into Transfiguration Place Apartments, which provides affordable housing for low-income residents.

St. Mary of Redford will be partnering with Volunteers of America Michigan for their project.

“I am personally looking forward to working with Volunteers of America,” Fr. Fornwalt said. “I love their mission. I love their style. They know what they are doing, and they are making people’s lives better.”

Michele Watkins, vice president of housing for VOAMI, said her organization manages 11 housing communities in Michigan. She referred to the St. Mary of Redford project as a “housing first” project, a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing first.

“We move individuals into permanent supportive housing to provide them with voluntary supportive service aimed at stabilizing them,” Watkins said. “This project will provide housing for formerly homeless individuals, and we envision positive outcomes including improving housing stability, employment opportunities, resources from the community to provide physical and mental health services, education opportunities, transportation, etc. We see it enhancing the local neighborhood and even increasing the property value over time.”

Fr. Fornwalt said utilizing the former school building in such a way will help the parish live out its mission of caring for the entire person.

“Our future residents will have financial assistance, but it goes way beyond that,” Fr. Fornwalt said. “VOAMI has a built-in ethic that’s concerned about the whole person. They provide supportive structures that are really going to help these people. Together we will give them a beautiful, dignified place to live. It will be like having a built-in community center with on-site services for whatever they might need.”

When VOAMI was looking for buildings to develop in Detroit, Watkins said the organization got ideas for their site selection from Joe Heaphy, president of Ethos, a Detroit-based development and consulting team that works with nonprofits and other organizations to develop affordable housing in the city and throughout the state of Michigan.

“Joe shared with me a list of properties that were for sale through the Archdiocese of Detroit,” Watkins said. “So I went to visit St. Mary’s. I am very familiar with them. My family members, including my sister, went to St. Mary’s School from K-12. Because Joe had worked on the St. Matthew and Transfiguration projects, there was already a blueprint in place. We thought, ‘Why not develop in an area that would benefit the community at large, and also benefit the church?’”

Fr. Fornwalt said St. Mary’s school has been on the market for the last 20 years. The parish had considered several options, but decided on the current approach with VOAMI after Fr. Fornwalt learned about the St. Matthew project with Catholic Charities.

Fr. Fornwalt asked Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan CEO Paul Propson to consult on the project. The work already done by Catholic Charities, St. Matthew and Ethos paved the way for the St. Mary’s housing project to get state support and tax credits, he said.

“St. Matthew and CCSEM had to apply for the tax credits for a few years before getting state approval,” Fr. Fornwalt said. But the St. Mary’s project took only six months to be approved.

“Paul Propson asked me, ‘How did you guys do that?’ Fr. Fornwalt said. “I said, ‘Because you already did it.’”

Propson said Catholic Charities is happy to share its knowledge with the parish as the St. Mary/VOAMI partnership begins.

“We are sharing everything we have learned at St. Matthew to help VOAMI and Fr. Athanasius succeed in this effort," Propson said. "There are so many people in need of housing. We need partners like VOAMI to help get people off the streets and into apartments with supportive services that lead to great results.”

For his part, Fr. Fornwalt said the entire process has gone smoothly thanks to the help of partners like Ethos, Catholic Charities and the Volunteers of America.

“I think the world of Joe Heaphy and nonprofits like the VOAMI and Catholic Charities for what they are doing,” Fr. Fornwalt said. “I’ve learned so much from them about how to do my own job. Because we all care about the city of Detroit.”

Heaphy believes all the organizations working together have created a model for others to follow.

“I think Ethos, our nonprofit partners and everybody involved have created a model that is working. It’s very fulfilling to see this model actually bear fruit,” Heaphy said. “Though a lot goes into it, it’s potentially a model for others with vacant schools, not just Catholic schools. We (Ethos) have looked at developing vacant schools, public schools in other parts of the state.

“Schools lend themselves well, especially historic schools (older 1920s and 1930s vintage buildings),” Heaphy continued. “They are well built. You can preserve the historic nature of it. And the classrooms are essentially the size of a one-bedroom unit. From a design perspective, you can essentially look at the number of classrooms, and that’s how many units.”

Overall, Heaphy believes the community partnering model is a win for all involved.

“It benefits the nonprofits looking to provide that type of housing. It benefits the archdiocese and the parish in taking an underutilized asset and making it a vibrant part of the parish again. It benefits the city and community and the local residents by providing more affordable housing for those who need it,” Heaphy said.