A $12 million planned housing and commercial development led by Invest Detroit and two nonprofits is using a tiered approach to fit in with its architectural surroundings in southwest Detroit.

The city of Detroit targeted a mixed-use project on a 0.81-acre vacant lot on West Vernor Highway in its southwest Detroit and West Vernor corridor strategic plan that's part of a wider neighborhood revitalization effort under the Strategic Neighborhood Fund.

Three organizations signed onto the potential project: the Southwest Detroit Business Association; Cinnaire, a Lansing-based nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution; and Invest Detroit, another Community Development Financial Institution. Invest Detroit acts as an investor, partner and lender on business and real estate projects in the city.

The three development partners have jumped several city hurdles and aim to build 53 units on top of retail and community space.

The development team expects completion and occupancy by March 2021, according to documents included in its Hubbard Farms Historic District Commission application.

The development is planned for a vacant block from 4000-4060 W. Vernor Highway on about 0.81 acres two blocks from Clark Park. The partners have a development agreement with the city to buy up property on the closing of financing.

It would be the first newly built structure of its size in southwest Detroit in decades, according to Robert Dewaelsche, president of the Southwest Detroit Business Association. Another is planned nearby on a 0.68-acre property at Bagley Avenue and 16th Street, but the city hadn't picked a developer yet as of January.