A Year in Review
Building Shared Prosperity on Six Mile, Detroit
Inspiration from the civic commons in 2023
Be inspired in the new year with reflections from cities across the country using their civic assets to build trust, connect people of all backgrounds and deliver more resilient communities. Today, the last in our series of photo essays reflecting on the past year of progress features the civic commons work in Detroit.
Shops on Six
In 2022, Live6 Alliance became the master tenant of 7434 W. McNichols, a property redeveloped by Invest Detroit. In 2023, the organization partnered with Aliado Studio to design a new retail concept, Shops on Six, which is set to launch in Bay A of this property in the Fall of 2024. Through ongoing community engagement, expertly led small business training and incubation, and retail accessibility for all, the anticipated opening of Shops on Six is meant to be an asset that moves W. McNichols, a.k.a. 6-Mile, toward becoming a thriving commercial corridor again and paves the way for meaningful neighborhood impact and enduring economic acceleration.
Live6 is also developing a larger corridor placemaking strategy. This strategy aims to engage public, private, nonprofit and neighborhood partners to mindfully fashion the physical, sociocultural and economic character of the W. McNichols corridor, which anchors the adjacent Fitzgerald, Bagley, Martin Park and University District communities, through the creation of a shared visual identity, wayfinding assets and storytelling campaigns displayed on street pole banners, trash can wraps, mural maps and resource directories. This work is an effort to creatively promote on-the-ground community capacity building and equitable economic development through art and design.
Seasonal event activations on W. McNichols
The Live6 Alliance’s approach to holiday programming was overhauled this year to produce a well-coordinated and cohesively branded initiative that encourages retail shopping across the W. McNichols commercial corridor. The marketing campaign was designed to engage local businesses and strategically organize their holiday activations to leverage a deeper sense of community connection, vibrancy and engagement for local residents and visitors alike.
Highlights of this year’s seasonal series included Sixmas in July, Six Mile Spooktacular, a pre-Halloween series of block activations along the W. McNichols corridor, and Holidays on Six. Programs elevated local entrepreneurs, family-friendly entertainment and giveaways for school supplies and Halloween costumes.
“The extended holiday event series included multiple activations with our business and placemaking partners, bringing everything together,” said Taqee Vernon with Live6 Alliance. “The goal was to pilot an ongoing strategy to get people in the area accustomed to stepping outside and give exposure for the corridor’s businesses.”
The holiday pop-up market spanned two locations with ten small businesses at the property next door, the soon-to-be Shops on Six, and an additional twelve local entrepreneurs at The Raw Space, another business located just a few blocks down on McNichols. Notably the participating entrepreneurs at the future Shops on Six saw approximately 150 shoppers, many from the surrounding neighborhood, and generated approximately $5,000 in revenue with an average of $500 per vendor.
Local artist showcase
The Live6 geography is bursting at the seams with creative talent. In an effort to feature and uplift neighborhood residents’ artistic practices, the works of Walter Bailey were commissioned and showcased at HomeBase for one year. Bailey has been exhibiting his work for five decades and is most known for his revolutionary, award-winning “aCRYLIC Fusion aRT” technique, which fuses color onto high-gloss acrylic polymer panels that are then arranged into three-dimensional conceptual pieces. This exhibition culminated in a “meet the artist” event at the end of December. Live6 is looking forward to showing pieces from rising and seasoned artists alike in the coming years both at HomeBase and in area businesses along the 6-Mile corridor.
“Being commissioned by Live6 this year to exhibit my art has been extraordinary. I was able to show my work to new audiences and had access to marketing resources that I had yet to explore. This collaboration has expanded the horizons of my artistic career.” — Walter Bailey, artist
Wealth creation through entrepreneurship
The Small Business Advancement arm of Live6 Alliance refined its mission to not only attract new, independent businesses to fill key commercial vacancies, but also connect new and existing businesses to a robust set of technical and financial resources. They will also work to leverage partner resources to facilitate grants, financing and subsidies as a means to attract and retain businesses.
In November, Live6 Alliance hosted a Business Assistance Grants Info and Working Session to review and walk through applications available through organizations like Motor City Match, Detroit Means Business and Techtown Detroit. One of the most well-attended Live6 events in 2023, the working session connected organizations offering grants and technical assistance with local entrepreneurs poised to contribute to the success of a thriving McNichols corridor, while building wealth for themselves and the community.
Nezaa Bandele, small business resource manager for Live6, reflected that the event “highlighted the profound need for support among business owners who were previously unconnected to the entrepreneurial assistance ecosystem.”
Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration of The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and local partners.
