Mayor Mike Duggan delivered his final State of the City address Tuesday, marking the close of a 12-year tenure which improved city services, jobs, housing, & public safety.
Detroit, once labeled the most violent city in America, saw historic crime drops. In 2024, the city recorded its lowest homicide count since 1965.
The police department is now nearly fully staffed, with 99% of positions filled after officers received $10,000 raises. Last year, Detroit’s 911 response time averaged 7 minutes and 30 seconds, beating the national 8-minute benchmark.
Manufacturing and development:
• 4,000 jobs at the new Jeep plant on Mack Ave.
• GM Factory Zero now has 4,000 EV workers
• Amazon brought 2,400 jobs to the old State Fairgrounds
• 600 jobs at the new Huntington Bank HQ
• 1,000 Ford employees at Michigan Central Station, plus a 100-person tech lab
On housing, Duggan said over $1 billion in investment created 4,000+ affordable units. Land Bank-owned homes dropped from 47,000 to 2,900, and will fall to 1,000 by year’s end.
The homelessness budget grew from $6M to $14.5M, with 110 emergency shelter beds, soon doubling to 220.
The Joe Louis Greenway project turned abandoned rail into a 28-mile public path connecting neighborhoods throughout several cities.
Detroit’s future development is taking shape with major projects underway across the city. A new JW Marriott convention hotel is rising on the riverfront, renovation of the historic 15-story Lee Plaza into 200 apartments, Fisher 21 Plant into 435 new units. The $2 billion Henry Ford Hospital expansion, University of Michigan Center for Innovation is rising. Transformation of the riverfront introduce a ¼-mile family-friendly park along the water, sports complex and more.
In 2013, Detroit was bankrupt. In 2025, it now has a $550 million surplus. Duggan announced last year he will not seek another term as mayor. Instead, he confirmed plans to run for governor.
