Detroit is working to build an LGBTQ+ business district. Here’s how they’re doing it.

An effort is underway in Detroit to create an LGBTQ+ business district.

While the city used to be home to some four dozen LGBTQ+ bars in the 1970s and ‘80s, that number has dwindled to just eight queer spaces today, Kevin Heard, founder of the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce, told Bridge Detroit this week. As the outlet notes, Detroit lacks an obvious “gayborhood” like those found in cities like New York and Chicago.

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Heard is looking to change that. Earlier this year, the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce partnered with the City of Detroit, LGBTQ+ research firm Community Marketing and Insights, and other organizations to develop and distribute a survey aimed at gauging which areas in the greater Detroit region are considered most LGBTQ+ friendly, where people would like to see an LGBTQ+ business district established, and what they hope it would look and feel like.

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“It’s a survey that will serve multiple purposes,” Heard explained. “The chamber will be able to prioritize resources and services in certain areas in which a lot of the respondents live. In addition to that, we’ll be able to hopefully move into phase two, which will be focus groups, and phase three, which would be a site selection for the area.” 

The survey went live in June and according to Heard, it’s been completed by over 1,000 people so far, including 850 members of the Detroit metro area’s LGBTQ+ community. The plan is to close it by Labor Day and move into the next phase of the project. Following work with the focus groups, the chamber begin the process of finding a market analysis company to help select a site.

“They have the ability to look at open parcels or open buildings in the area and use the survey responses to pinpoint their site selection,” Heard told Bridge Detroit. “When we pinpoint the top three areas the survey results state…we will be going into a capital campaign to acquire properties in that area and lease to new and existing LGBT-owned businesses within the space or whoever has a sustainable business model that is going to be friendly to the LGBT community.” 

Ultimately, Heard said the process of building the district could take up to a decade, but he hopes the chamber will be able to purchase the first parcel of land by 2026.   

Heard says an LGBTQ+ business district in Detroit would be a boon for the city’s economy. “I believe if there was a collective area where people know that this entire area is safe for you, your family, your friends that are coming from out of town – that foot traffic, that intentionality, will create a sustainable neighborhood,” he explained.

But he also hopes it will stem the tide of people he says he’s seen leaving Detroit for other cities. “They want to be built, seen, heard, and valued, and they want those spaces. So, why not create or curate several spaces within the city of Detroit?” he said. “We have the opportunity here with one of the largest LGBTQ legislation caucuses in any state across the nation. It’s time that we do this.” 

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