The Whitaker Group Spends $5.5 Million to Refresh a 100-Year-Old Building for Social Status Detroit
The Whitaker Group (TWG) has spent more than $51 million bringing its retail banners and all their respective experiences to historically Black neighborhoods. The James Whitner-led company’s latest effort is Social Status Detroit.
Social Status Detroit — which is located at 9101 E. Jefferson Ave, Unit A — marks the retailer’s debut in the city. TWG described its newest project as a “multiuse community hub” that blurs the line between experience and retail. To bring the vision to life, TWG refreshed a 100-year-old commercial building (with intentionally preserved brick) that spans 1,750 square feet.
“Detroit has always been a city of creativity, culture and strength — it deserves spaces that reflect that energy and pour back into the community,” said Whitner, founder of TWG, in a statement. “With Social Status Detroit, we’re not just opening a store—we’re creating a platform for connection, expression and opportunity in a neighborhood that’s been undervalued for far too long. This is about honoring the past while building for the future.”
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Aside from Social Status’ in-store experience, the development — which cost TWG $5.5 million — includes four distinct retail concepts, as well as a take-out restaurant and a courtyard with a basketball half-court designed with neighborhood events in mind. Also, it features a large-scale mural by artist Nina Chanel Abney, a collaborator of both Jordan Brand and Timberland, that TWG stated “will serve as a permanent centerpiece paying homage to Detroit’s rich legacy of resilience and creativity.”
TWG’s opening of Social Status Detroit comes after the retailer debuted numerous other projects, such as the A Ma Maniére Beach resort experience in South Carolina in may 2024 and The Collective on Tuckaseegee in Charlotte in June 2024, featuring 10 retail spaces and a publicly accessible skate park.
