Jefferson-Chalmers Mainstreet Master Plan

East Jefferson Avenue is a primary corridor in the City of Detroit, running parallel to Detroit’s riverfront, the corridor connects the City’s eastern border with Gross Pointe Park to Downtown. East Jefferson Development Company, in partnership with Jefferson East, Inc., contracted Houseal Lavigne to develop Building Jefferson-Chalmers Together: A Jefferson-Chalmers Mainstreet Master Plan for the East Jefferson Corridor. The plan guides development of the corridor and surrounding neighborhood, and directs investment in public infrastructure including streetscape, public spaces, and transportation improvements.

Working with the architecture firm inFORM Studio, Houseal Lavigne led a week-long charrette that allowed the public to provide input and watch in a very transparent manner as the Project Team worked to develop a draft version of the master plan in just five days. Following the charrette, the team created detailed redevelopment concepts for key sites including pro forma to document financing gaps and potential funding sources to facilitate implementation. The final development program was integrated into a 3D model of the entire corridor with summary information regarding items such as proposed commercial square footage, housing units, parking demand, and infrastructure costs by phase. The final document is presented as an ArcGIS StoryMap, allowing the community to easily view and interact with the plan online or via smartphone.