S3 is committed to working with the communities in which it does business. That goes big time for Detroit, which as most know is in the midst of a financial crisis. Even so the business community remains vested and invested the city.
It’s up to Cindy Pasky, S3 founder and CEO, to carry that message out to world as chair of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. DDP is a private/public partnership of corporate and civic leaders that support, advocate and develop programs and initiatives designed to create a clean, safe, beautiful, inviting, vibrant and economically viable Downtown Detroit community.
This group has taken on the challenge of transforming Detroit into a great urban neighborhood with a unique point of view where people will choose to live, work, and play. Not an easy task but Pasky has created a collaborative, committed board that works together to get things done in Detroit as quickly as possible.
“One of my favorite quotes is from Winston Churchill, ‘A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty,’” Pasky said. “Optimists are rarely in their comfort zone. They embrace change and move forward. DDP is full of optimists and optimism and it’s paying off. It’s the same philosophy we have at S3.”
Here are just a few things DDP hopes to achieve by 2016:
- The startup of the M1-Rail project, a 3.3-mile light rail/streetcar circulator that will connect downtown Detroit to the New Center district Woodward Avenue. It’s set to break ground this summer, with a target open-for-business date in the last half of 2015.
- Increase the number of employees working in downtown Detroit to 100,000
- The creation of dense walkable downtown neighborhoods with really great amenities
- The revitalization of public spaces so they will attract more people to downtown to live, work and play
- The addition of 1,200 new residents downtown bringing the total number to around 7,000
S3 is playing a role in achieving that goal. It is part of DDP’s Live Downtown program, which is open to S3 employees. It gives them a $20,000 forgivable loan toward the purchase of new home downtown and new renters a $2,500 allowance toward the cost of their apartment in the first year followed by additional funding of $1,000 for the second year. There are also incentives for current downtown homeowners and renters.
“Strategic Staffing Solutions has been located in Detroit since we opened 22 years ago and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to further invest in both our employees and our city through supporting Live Downtown,” said Pasky. “I hope more of our employees take advantage of the program. I’ve lived downtown for 26 years and I know they’ll find it exciting.
“Detroit is a model for placemaking. It is a special place that overflows with opportunities … just like S3.”
