Ladybug Gallery and 32 units of artist housing lands in Hubbard Farms

Southwest Housing Solutions is developing the 32-unit Whitdell Building on Hubbard at Porter into 32 units of artist housing. CAID, the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, will assist SHS in marketing the units to low-to-moderate income artists. Artists of all stripes are welcome, from film-makers to writers to painters to dancers. Application portfolios will not be judged. "They just have to be passionate about what they are doing," says CAID's Aaron Timlin.

Apartments are one-, two- and three-bedroom and will rent from $320 to $550 per month. Residents must be at or below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which is $29,500 for a single person. Residents can start moving in on November 1.

The basement level of the Whitdell takes the art theme and runs with it. The main attraction is the Ladybug Gallery, with 1,890 square feet of naturally-lit exhibition space and its own entrance off Porter Street. The gallery will make its art world debut on October 20, with the opening of CAID's Actual Size Biennial.

The other half of the basement level is education-oriented, with a computer lab, a flexible classroom and two ceramics-oriented rooms: one with kilns and one with pottery wheels. Although adult classes will be offered, the focus is on children. Timlin says that the younger set's art shows will be timed to coincide with Ladybug's professional openings as often as possible. "We want parents to see that art is about more than keeping kids busy," says Timlin. "It is a passion that can carry over to adult life."

The redevelopment of the Whitdell was bundled with that of the eight-unit Melie Building on Hubbard just north of W. Vernor. The total project cost is $7.2 million.

Sources: Aaron Timlin, CAID and Steve Gabrys, SHS
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh