Kathy Wendler

President – Southwest Detroit Business Association

Moderator - 2:15pm, Thursday, April 7th – Just Cities: Creating Equitable Enviornments for Everyone

“Once you tear a building down its gone forever,” says one of Detroit’s preservation heroes, Kathleen Wendler.  She has tirelessly devoted her entire career to making Detroit a better place to live through community development that integrates historic preservation.

After graduating in 1979 from Columbia University with a Master’s of Science Degree in Historic Preservation and Planning, Ms. Wendler returned to her hometown of Detroit determined to save historic buildings.  She was one of the early members of Preservation Wayne, and a founding member of Cityscape Detroit, both strong advocates for Detroit’s built environment.  Kathy then served several terms on the Detroit Historic District Commission, chairing that body for a number of years.  Her work in Detroit earned her a seat as one of Michigan’s advisors to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and she is now an Advisor Emeritus.           She lives in a historic house in Detroit’s West Village Historic District.

In 1981 she joined the Southwest Detroit Business Association, where she still serves as President and continues to advocate for business and residents throughout southwest Detroit.  In her work at SDBA Kathy has fostered urban sustainability by using a comprehensive approach to community development.  By building public-private initiatives she has redeveloped a number of commercial areas in southwest Detroit.

In the early 1990s she led SDBA to acquire and rehabilitate a two-story commercial building on Vernor for leased retail and the SDBA offices.  Students involved with the project used old airplane parts to create unique office space on the second floor.  The first floor was leased to the Secretary of State.  The transformation on Vernor continued with SDBA offering façade improvement grants.  By offering design assistance along with funds to repair properties, business owners are able to rehabilitate their historic buildings and improve their sales within their respectfully renovated traditional commercial district.

Through Kathy’s work, SDBA received support through a special partnership of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Knight Foundation, to promote rehabilitation and economic development on West Vernor, one of three districts selected nationally.

Kathy also worked closely with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in an attempt to bring Detroit’s historic preservation advocates together to speak with one voice and influence the newly formed Greater Downtown Partnership’s vision for a revitalized downtown.  Kathy got the group an audience with the decision makers, helping the preservation community articulate that historic preservation really is economic development, and that the re-use of historic buildings is a strategic tool for Detroit’s revitalization.

Kathy’s community development work is not limited to southwest Detroit.  She helped found the Community Development Advocates of Detroit, and the Community and Economic Development Association of Michigan, bringing the many organizations doing community development – revitalizing their neighborhoods – together to learn from each other and become a stronger political voice.  She also helped the City of Detroit launch the Office of Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization  – based on Boston’s successful efforts – to bring funding and the National Trust’s Main Street approach to seven neighborhood commercial districts in Detroit.  She has served for many years on the City of Detroit Planning Commission, playing a key role in land use decisions throughout the city.

Not content with just business development Kathy also worked with the Southeast Michigan Greenways Initiative and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan to create a Southwest Detroit greenways plan.  This will bring additional recreational opportunities for local residents, and will provide another way to bring shoppers to the area.

SDBA’s latest rehabilitation project, Oddfellows Hall, proves Kathy’s tenacity to save a historic building.  The walls were truly crumbling, most neighbors wanted the building to be demolished, yet Kathy put the funding and partners together to restore the building.  It now provides theater and performing arts space through COMPAS(Com-Pas’) a collaborative of SW artists, dancers, musicians and theater professionals. The ballroom is rented for weddings and fundraisers, and the building’s geothermal system saves energy and operating costs.

Even with so many accomplishments she continues to innovate new programs, like spearheading Michigan’s first Business Improvement District to fund public improvements in southwest Detroit’s shopping areas.  Kathy is truly an inspiration for the next generation of preservationists and community development advocates alike!