Detroit Prep Academy
The former Anna M. Joyce Elementary is the new home for Detroit Prep Academy.
The former Anna M. Joyce Elementary is the new home for Detroit Prep Academy.
The former Anna M. Joyce Elementary is the new home for Detroit Prep Academy.
The former Anna M. Joyce Elementary is the new home for Detroit Prep Academy.
The former Anna M. Joyce Elementary is the new home for Detroit Prep Academy.

Detroit charter moves into vacant elementary

Nov. 18, 2019
A $6.9 million refurbishing of the former Anna M. Joyce Elementary has created a new home for Detroit Prep Academy

A Detroit charter school has moved from space in a church basement to a refurbished former elementary less than a mile away.

Detroit Prep Academy says in a news release that the three-story building, the former home of Anna M. Joyce Elementary, has undergone a $6.9 million renovation. The 43,500-square-foot space has 21 classrooms, a kitchen, a cafeteria and a gathering/performance area.

"Restoring such a beautiful building in our neighborhood has truly been a joy,” says Kyle Smitley, founder of Detroit Prep Academy, which opened in 2016.

The Detroit district closed Joyce Elementary in 2009. Detroit Prep's initial efforts to buy the century-old building were stymied because the district wanted the property sold to someone who would use it as housing, Chalkbeat Detroit reported. After a legal fight and a change in state law, the charter organization was able to acquire the empty school.

The transaction was financed through a partnership of IFF, Capital Impact Partners and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Capital Impact Partners provided Detroit Prep with $1.725 million as part of a $6.9 million New Market Tax Credit transaction to renovate the building.

IFF, a Midwest-based mission-driven lender and real estate consultant, provided $2.75 million along with $6 million of New Market Tax Credit allocation, while JPMorgan Chase served as the tax credit investor.

Detroit Prep received additional funding from a variety of donors, including:

•The singer Madonna, who presented a $100,000 matching challenge grant;
•Born and Raised Detroit Foundation, which gave $10,000 when Detroit Prep reached its first 500 donors
•Grey Ghost Detroit, who teamed with the city’s top chefs to raise $75,000 at Detroit Prep’s 1st Annual Chef’s Schoolyard in April 2018, and over $100,000 at the 2nd Annual Chef’s Schoolyard in May 2019

Detroit Prep describes itself as the first diverse-by-design public charter school in Detroit, which intentionally seeks out children and staff of diverse backgrounds for the benefit of all.

The architect for the building renovation is Gensler.

Video: Detroit Prep Academy's new school building.

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