Homeless Encampment Moved, Repairs Begin At Detroit's Hart Plaza

DETROIT — An encampment of homeless people has been moved from the Hart Plaza in Detroit as work crews begin repairing what has been described as "unsafe conditions" Monday.

The work — a $2.9 million project approved by the Detroit City Council in November 2020 — will involve the use of heavy machinery as well as the installation of electrical wiring and draining work in the underground area where homeless populations have congregated, the city said.

Detroit officials said the city planned to move people staying in the area to hotel rooms, in accordance with CDC guidelines. Eleven people staying in the area had been placed in hotel rooms by the city, officials said Friday.

"This will be an active construction site from April 26th until approximately the end of August," the city said in a news release. "As with any construction project, it would be unsafe to have civilians within the worksite. Out of an abundance of caution, we are temporarily housing these individuals for the duration of this project."

The city said it has a policy to not remove people's personal items from the site, something that was implemented following a sweep in 2019 led to the disposal of items belonging to homeless groups, according to a report by The Detroit Free Press.

About 10,000 people in Detroit are homeless, according to a 2019 report by the Detroit Continuum of Care.

Officials from Eastside Mutual Aid, a community group that provides some toiletry and food items to homeless encampments in the area, told the Detroit Free Press that they've seen as many as 50 people at Hart Plaza.