Detroit-born rapper Tee Grizzley plans to build an apartment building in the city’s trendy Brush Park neighborhood.
The 31-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Terry Wallace Jr., has submitted development plans for a new five-story, 37-unit complex on a vacant lot at 205 Watson. The development is a block away from Woodward Avenue and walking distance from Little Caesars Arena.
A project representative said that Tee Grizzley’s plan was the winning bid in the city’s request for proposals for the site. The $12 million development — Wallace Estates — is scheduled to go before the Historic District Commission on Wednesday, March 11, for approval of its design, with additional city approvals still needed for its tax incentives.
Most of the building’s 37 apartments would be studios and one-bedrooms with about five two-bedroom units, according to Nevan Shokar of the Detroit-based Shokar Group real estate consulting firm.
Pending all the approvals, construction could start in late summer or early fall, Shokar said. The majority of the building’s units would be market rate, although 20% would be set aside at below-market rents for those earning up to 80% of area median income, or $56,560 for one person or $64,640 for two people.
Tee Grizzley grew up on the west side of the city with a difficult home life, and later spent time in prison for home invasion. He released his debut single, “First Day Out,” in 2016, followed later by the hit “No Effort.” His fifth and most recent album, Post Traumatic, was released in fall 2024.
“I think when people see Tee Grizzley, they are able to relate to him and his struggle,” Mary Sheffield, now the mayor of Detroit, said in a late 2010s documentary about the rapper.
Tee Grizzley has diversified his business interests beyond music, including with a cannabis line, a Twitch stream with 1.3 million followers and other real estate investments. According to Shokar, the rapper has renovated single-family houses around Detroit’s Boston-Edison neighborhood.
“Detroit raised me — I’m a west side kid, and I’m passionate about bringing mixed-income housing to my city,” Tee Grizzley said in a statement. “The 205 Watson project is about building safe, quality housing for everybody; that respects longtime residents and welcomes new neighbors — building opportunity without pushing people out.”
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @JCReindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rapper Tee Grizzley plans to build apartment building in Detroit
Reporting by JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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