YPSILANTI, MI - Ypsilanti resident Denise Warford has returned home to raise her own family in a neighborhood her family has lived in for decades.

Warford's grandmother was one of the first tenants at Parkridge Homes, where thousands of African-American auto workers lived in segregated housing on Ypsilanti's south side in the 1940s as production at the nearby Willow Run Bomber Plant peaked during World War II.

Now Warford has returned, having lived in the housing complex in the '80s, to live in a two-bedroom unit of the recently completed New Parkridge housing complex with her four-year-old son, Amir.

The difference between living at Parkridge then and now?

"Heaven and hell," Warford said with a laugh, adding she has seen a lot of progress on the site over the past few months. "It's amazing, from the time I applied to now. It's home."

She joined a group of residents, community and government officials Wednesday, Jan. 24 to commemorate the grand opening of the nearly $18 million subsidized and affordable housing development known as New Parkridge, 831 Hilyard Robinson Way.

New Parkridge is made up of 86 two-family and duplex housing units based on "New Urbanism" designs with front porches, sidewalks, driveways and yards, developed by the Ypsilanti Housing Commission and Chesapeake Community Advisors to replace the aging Parkridge Homes previously located on the site.

Having just moved out of a house, it was not just the new construction and design Warford said encouraged her to return to New Parkridge but the support services provided through Eastern Michigan University's Family Empowerment Program.

"The people at the rental office are amazing, with everything I've needed," Warford said. "So far, it's been wonderful. The support here is amazing."

That matters not just to her and her family but to other families that have small children and need help accessing services like healthcare.

"That makes a huge difference," Warford said.

Tiny snowflakes fell on the newly-built development Wednesday as business and government officials talked about the collaboration that took place to make New Parkridge happen.

Those in attendance included officials from the Ypsilanti Housing Commission, Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, UnitedHealthcare, Michigan State Housing Development Authority and Eastern Michigan University.

E. Renee Smith, chair of the Ypsilanti Housing Commission, was inspired by Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech in her remarks kicking off the grand opening ceremony.

"How can you dream when your basic needs are not being met, if you don't have food or shelter, or you live in substandard housing? When you have lost hope, it's hard to dream," Smith said. "I'm here to tell you the Ypsilanti Housing Commission fosters dreams."

It was the commission's dream five years ago to create affordable, safe and attractive housing for Ypsilanti residents, said Zack Fosler, executive director of the Ypsilanti Housing Commission.

Five years ago, 198 housing units operated by the commission were not up to the commission's standards and Fosler said Parkridge "was the worst of all," with drugs and crime plaguing the area.

It took time and collaboration with both Parkridge residents and state and county organizations to renovate and rebuild the commission's housing units and give residents a better community to live in, he said.

"We've gone from having the worst housing facilities to frankly, having some of the best housing in the city," Fosler said.

Ricky Jefferson, who sits on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, told the crowd gathered Wednesday about his family, who has lived in Ypsilanti for three generations and what developments like New Parkridge mean to the community.

"The families here have a history and a legacy to fulfill," Jefferson said.

The $17.9 million New Parkridge development was funded through a combination of investors, Low Income Housing Tax Credits approved by MSHDA along with grants from the Ypsilanti Housing Commission and the Washtenaw County Office of Economic and Community Development.

UnitedHealthcare was the largest investor of the development, providing $8 million in equity in a move CEO Dennis Mouras said speaks to the Minnesota-based health care company's overall mission.

"At UnitedHealthcare, our mission is to help people lead healthier lives," Mouras said. "Our employees live and breathe it, every day."

Some of those employees worked Wednesday morning to create welcome baskets, packing food items and household goods into laundry baskets that were later carried out of the community building by New Parkridge residents.

Mouras said New Parkridge is a "shining example of the innovative ways the public and private sector can come together."

That statement was echoed by Earl Poleski, executive director of MSHDA, who said the original Parkridge housing complex was only 54 percent occupied before talks began of revamping the property.

"That was before, friends," Poleski said. "This is now."

According to the Ypsilanti Housing Commission, all units at New Parkridge are occupied and the waiting list is currently closed to new applicants.

EMU President James M. Smith returned to the theme of dreams, to talk about the families living at New Parkridge who have goals and how those children may be walking the halls of the college campus one day.

"Our campus is a campus of the everyday person," Smith said. "Without community, we have nobody to stand with."

There is another group EMU is standing with, Smith said, referring to 13 college students who identify as "Dreamers," or recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that has come under scrutiny by Congress and the Trump administration.

Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, also picked up on the topic of Dreamers during her remarks at New Parkridge.

"I'm so sick of this DACA fight. These are young kids. They're human beings," Dingell said. "This is not a war between Republicans and Democrats; it is young, real people."

She applauded the efforts of multiple organizations and community leaders and the collaboration across different spectrums that made New Parkridge a reality.

"This is a model, to work together to make the community better," Dingell said. "Community is the strength of democracy."