Meet the Speakers
Organizing Team
Abigail Kuohn
Architect & Researcher
Ishtiaq Rafiuddin
Principal at Undecorated
Lisa Sauvé
Cofounder at Synedoche
2025 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance
11:30 - 12:30 pm
This sessions will give an overview of Detroit’s 2025 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, presented by its authors, will introduce the policy’s role in preserving vacant and underused institutional buildings across the city. The ordinance expands the range of uses permitted within qualifying former schools, churches, libraries, and other civic structures, helping remove zoning barriers that often make their redevelopment difficult. This discussion will be followed by a case study of the historic Higginbotham School, a 1920s school building being transformed into affordable artist housing.
Greg Moots
Lead Planner, Office of Zoning Innovation Detroit Planning and Development Dept.
Kimani Jeffrey
City Planner, Detroit City Council Legislative Policy Division, City Planning Commission
John Skok
Principal at McIntosh Poris Architects
Policy Strategies & Small Scale Development
2:00 - 3:15 pm
This session with include a discussion on navigating Detroit’s policy landscape for small-scale adaptive reuse projects. The conversation will examine how zoning, building codes, permitting, historic preservation requirements, and financing can shape—or complicate—the transformation of existing buildings, particularly for independent developers and community-led initiatives. The session will consider how project teams can work creatively within these systems while advocating for more accessible pathways to reuse. 1+1+ Architects will ground the discussion in a case study of the Host Theater project, sharing practical lessons from the design and approval process and demonstrating how a modest existing structure can be adapted to support new cultural and community uses.
Christopher Rodriquez
Senior Advisor at Neighborhood Economic Development, City of Detroit
Laura Peterson
Principal Architect and Founder at 1+1+ Architects
Funding Strategies
3:30 - 4:45 pm
This session will explore how Detroit developers can assemble the layered financial support often needed to make small-scale adaptive reuse projects viable. The discussion will introduce Motor City Match, which provides grants, technical assistance, and business support to entrepreneurs opening in Detroit commercial spaces. It will also examine gap funding available through the City and its partners, helping projects move forward when conventional financing does not cover total development costs. Finally, the session will consider Michigan’s Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs, which offer long-term financing for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, and resilient building improvements, supporting both the financial feasibility and environmental performance of reuse projects.
Martha Potere
Senior Advisor at Neighborhood Economic Development, City of Detroit
Madison Schillig
Motor City Match Program Director, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Jon Wylie
Senior Consultant at Lean & Green Michigan
This session brings together architects from M1DTW, et al. Collaborative, and Synecdoche to present a selection of adaptive reuse projects from their respective practices. Through projects of different scales, programs, and neighborhoods, the speakers will examine how existing buildings can be reimagined while retaining their material character, cultural histories, and connections to place. The conversation will explore the design opportunities and practical challenges involved in working with older structures, from unexpected site conditions to budget and code constraints. Together, these case studies will highlight locally grounded approaches to reuse and the role of architects in shaping Detroit’s evolving built environment.
Detroit Case Studies
5:00 - 6:00 pm
Christian Unverzagt
Founding Principal at M1DTW Architects
Tadd Heidgerken
Principal at Et al. Collaborative
Lisa Sauvé
Cofounder at Synedoche
Open Discussion & Drinks
6:00 - 7:00 pm
Sponsored by Strong Towns Detroit