Grace in Action is both a workers’ collective and a church that serves the Springwells community, located in southwest Detroit. The collective contains a youth-run screen-printing facility, a cooperative cleaning service, an equitable internet initiative collaboration, and a youth-run technology-design company.
To launch the project we gathered input from existing stakeholders who were already using the facility on a daily basis to conduct business, produce products, build community, and practice their faith. Et al. invited Erik Howard, who was involved in the adjacent work at The Alley Project, 8869 Avis, and the master-planning efforts for the neighborhood organized by Inside Southwest Detroit/Young Nation, to conduct stakeholder interviews and engagements. Through his participation and assistance, we identified aligned interests and physical proximity created an opportunity to join these neighboring projects.
This process enabled us to categorize the spaces of the building, identifying current needs, such as upgrades to mechanical systems and restrooms, and future planning, including a reconfiguration of space and new programming, such as a new plaza for exterior gathering, the formalization of an art gallery, the reconfiguration of a residential unit on the second level into a shared workspace and offices, and a new music recording studio.
