Historic Indian Village And Model T Automotive Complex Awarded Grants For Improvements

Detroit’s Ford Piquette Avenue Plant and Indian Village have received grants from the Michigan Heritage Restoration Program for vital rehabilitation projects.

The Model T Automotive Complex received $60,000 for exterior masonry rehabilitation on the west elevation and penthouses on the former Ford Plant. The plant was Ford’s second production facility, Model T’s were made there and it’s one of 35 National Historic Landmarks in Michigan.

Indian Village Historical Collections received $102,600 for the installation of 57 historic City of Detroit streetlights in the Indian Village neighborhood. The neighborhood is a National Register of Historic Places-listed historic district. It also boasts homes built by architects Albert Kahn and Louis Kamper.

The Michigan Heritage Restoration Program (MHRP) was created by the legislature for fiscal year 2015 as a competitive grant program to assist with funding of restoration and preservation projects in historically designated neighborhoods. Organizations that receive the grants will contribute 40 percent of the project cost.

“Historic buildings, downtowns and neighborhoods are key to maintaining a sense of place in our communities,” Michigan State Housing Development Authority executive director Kevin Elsenheimer said. “Historic structures and neighborhoods create character in small towns and cities alike. These Michigan communities will benefit for many years from the hard work of the neighborhood organizations that are taking on these rehab projects with the help of the Heritage Restoration Program.”