The Commons laundromat and cafe on east side to host grand opening gala

We've been following the development of The Commons, a combination coffee shop, laundromat, and community space on Mack Avenue for a long time. Last year, we wrote about the community-based development group, MACC Development, spearheading the project and its young leader, Ezekiel Harris. 

Earlier this month, The Commons finally opened. The $1.5 million dollar renovation took a long time to complete, but there's even more planned. 

For starters, MACC Development is hosting a grand opening celebration on Saturday, May 12 from 2 to 7 p.m. The family-friendly event will largely be held in the adjacent lot and park, which Harris hopes will one day resemble New Center Park. This event will act as a way to activate the space that will eventually accommodate concerts, film screenings, and more. 

The community space, as well as offices upstairs, are available for rent. The laundromat has 16 coin-operated washers and dryers. 

Harris believes that this development will spur more along the Mack corridor, which hasn't had much economic activity in recent years.

As he said in our article from last year, "The strategy behind this corridor plan was to bring the different churches and organizations and business leaders in our common area together to dream a little bit about what could this corridor look like, recognizing that we weren't going to necessarily get back to having businesses on every lot, but there was something more that could be done." 

The Commons is located no 7900 Mack Ave. RSVP to the grand opening here
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Aaron Mondry is a Detroit-based freelance writer. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter @AaronMondry.