The city of Detroit granted an approval Friday for a developer’s controversial plan to put 49 market-rate apartments plus office and retail into an empty building near Detroit’s Boston-Edison neighborhood, saying the project likely won’t cause traffic problems or diminish property values.
The proposed redevelopment of 9851 Hamilton, a three-story building from 1920 that was once a church’s community center, faced significant opposition from Boston-Edison residents at a Jan. 15 public hearing before the city’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department, or BSEED.
Speakers voiced concerns about future apartment building residents and café customers bringing traffic to the area and taking up scarce street parking, among other things…