Detroit directs commercial-property sale proceeds to affordable-housing trust fund
Detroit is directing all proceeds from sales of city-owned commercial property to its Affordable Housing Development and Preservation Trust Fund under an executive order signed by Mayor Mary Sheffield.
The order took effect July 1, 2026. It requires 100% of proceeds from those commercial-property sales to go to the housing trust fund rather than being allocated elsewhere.
The City of Detroit said the change is expected to more than double the fund’s annual contributions, estimating they will reach about $4 million per year. That is an estimate, not an immediate deposit or a guaranteed annual amount; the source does not identify a next property sale or a baseline for the projection.
Funding comes with income-targeting rules
The order also establishes requirements for how money from the fund must be used. At least 70% of the fund’s expenditures during any three-year period must support households earning 30% or less of area median income.
The remaining expenditures are to support households earning 50% or less of area median income. The rules set the income levels the trust fund is intended to prioritize as city-owned commercial property is sold and proceeds are transferred into the fund.
The order requires housing units supported by the fund to remain affordable for at least 30 years. The announcement does not identify particular projects or units that have received funding under the order.
What the order changes
The policy applies specifically to proceeds from city-owned commercial-property sales. It does not state that the trust fund immediately received $4 million. Instead, the city’s estimate reflects expected annual contributions once the new direction of sale proceeds is in place.
By committing the full proceeds from these sales to the trust fund, the order creates a dedicated source of funding tied to the city’s commercial-property dispositions. Its affordability provisions attach long-term requirements to units supported with fund money and reserve a substantial share of spending for households with the lowest specified incomes.
Sheffield signed the order April 8, 2026, according to the city’s announcement. July 1, 2026, was the stated effective date for directing the proceeds and applying the new requirements.