The project, which was announced in April 2017, is the main driver of a sweeping initiative from the city of Detroit to restore the historic neighborhood, which has been plagued for years by disinvestment and abandonment. Work at the 2 acre Ella Fitzgerald Park is expected to wrap up this summer, and the city is also workign with nearby University of Detroit Mercy to attempt a revitalization of the neighborhood's troubled commercial corridor.

Contractors were working Wednesday to fix up the initial nine lots of the project. Of the nine, seven have houses that are being rehabbed for affordable housing, Alade said.

Of the 361 parcels, there are 233 vacant lots to be revitalized, 92 homes to be sold at market value, 10 homes to be sold as affordable and 26 homes to be demolished.

The affordable homes, earmarked for households earning 50 percent to 80 percent of the area median income, will be sold for $50,000 to $60,000 and are subsidized by a $1.6 million Community Block Grant from the city, said Patrick Linder, project manager for Century Partners. The renovation budget for these homes is around $140,000 per house, he said.

Developers had originally planned to sell 20 percent of all of the homes as affordable housing.

"We were given a specific allotment to provide affordable housing and we maximized the number of units we could redevelop with that," Alade said.

Alade said there are no plans for additional affordable housing. He said the renovation budget for market-rate houses ranges from about $60,000 to $200,000, depending on the unit, and their market value depends on renovation level and completion dates.

Houses will be up for sale as soon as this summer and 15 people have so far expressed interest in purchasing, Alade said. Prospective buyers can browse inventory and get more details at the project's website, fitzforwarddetroit.com.