Detroit’s first community land trust

The Detroit Cultivator Community Land Trust was formed in 2020. Through gifts of land by North End Christian CDC (parent organization of the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm) and others, Detroit Cultivator today owns 50+ city lots (approximately ten acres), held in perpetuity for the public good. While there are more than 200 active community land trusts nationwide today, the Detroit Cultivator is the first in Detroit.

A powerful tool for racial equity

Revitalization efforts, like those gaining traction in the North End, often attract upscale commercial businesses, higher rents, increased home-sale prices, and escalating property tax values. While such changes are considered desirable by some, they are most typically detrimental to communities of color, often leading to physical displacement and undesired cultural shifts. CLTs provide permanently affordable housing to ensure existing community residents who have endured the challenges of intentional disinvestment have options to remain in their neighborhoods. 

Our goals  

• To promote and facilitate equitable and inclusive development of Detroit neighborhoods through the acquisition and maintenance of land, held in public trust for perpetuity, that provides space for activities that improve resident’s quality of life.
• To support the long-term health and safety of Detroit’s North End community by protecting the natural environment and promoting ecologically sound land use.
• To create access to healthy food and affordable housing for the residents of Detroit’s North End community.
• To create opportunities for low-resourced Detroiters to develop marketable skills industries related to agriculture, the environment, and food production.
• To model exemplary architectural land use practices that attract global interest.

Our board  

Detroit Cultivator will be governed by a board of Directors that includes community members, lease-holders on the land, and key partners from government, funding agencies, or service organizations that bring needed expertise to the trust. The current Interim (founding) Board plans to transition to a permanent board by June 1, 2023.

Interim Board

• Jerry Hebron, Chair; Executive Director, North End Christian CDC; North End Resident
• Eric Williams, Senior Managing Attorney, Detroit Justice Center Economic Equity Practice; Detroit resident
• James Lesko, Secretary; Community-Based Developer; Detroit resident
• Carol Trowell, Co-Treasurer; Realtor; Detroit resident
• Sara Elbohy, Program Officer, Hudson Webber Foundation

Board Advisors

• William Lovejoy; Raymond T. J. Perring Family Professor of Business Administration, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Natosha Tallman; Director of Programming, Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, Detroit resident
• Mark Bennett; Managing Attorney, Economic Equity Practice, Detroit Justice Center
• Beatriz Eliza, Community-Based Developer; Detroit resident