Fitzgerald has long been more than a name on a city map. It’s a neighborhood shaped by Black resilience, where families raise generations in homes passed down with pride, and where reinvestment isn’t measured by developers’ blueprints but by community impact. At 7525 West McNichols Road, that investment now has a new anchor—First Merchants Bank.
The Fitzgerald Banking Center is a 3,000-square-foot development built through neighborhood insight, community partnerships, and a clear understanding that banking access is foundational to Black economic stability. First Merchants has a history of community-based banking, but this move into Northwest Detroit speaks directly to the urgency of financial inclusion in a city shaped by divestment and systemic barriers.
The location wasn’t selected by corporate guesswork. It came after months of assessments in collaboration with neighborhood organizations. Residents, local businesses, and grassroots leaders helped identify this stretch of McNichols as a place where financial services could make a direct and measurable impact.
Scott McKee, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at First Merchants, explained the approach clearly: engagement starts before any site is chosen. The process included conversations with small business owners, community advocates, and residents who’ve lived through the loss of banking institutions. That groundwork made it clear—Fitzgerald needed more than a branch. It needed a partner.
The new center serves Fitzgerald, Bagley, University District, Marygrove, and Martin Park. It’s situated just blocks from the Livernois-McNichols corridor, an area that holds deep significance for Detroit’s Black middle class. This is a space where small businesses have survived despite decades of policy decisions that made growth harder than it needed to be. A full-service banking facility here isn’t an upgrade—it’s a restoration.
The construction was led by local teams and developed with a $3 million investment. The property spans more than 15,000 square feet and includes a drive-up service lane, ATM, night drop, and landscaped parking. More importantly, it includes a financial wellness team and community lending advisors based on site. People in the neighborhood don’t need to travel across town to access a loan or ask about home ownership. The services are present and reachable.
Artina Packnett leads the branch with deep knowledge of both banking and community needs. Her work has always reflected a commitment to showing up for people, not just managing numbers. She brings a directness that residents appreciate, with clear communication and an understanding that economic conversations often require cultural context.
Councilwoman Angela Calloway has been one of the most consistent advocates for equitable development in District 2. Her work is grounded in direct accountability to the residents she serves, many of whom have gone decades without access to quality financial institutions in their own neighborhoods. From pushing for improved infrastructure along McNichols to demanding that new developments center long-term residents rather than outside investors, Calloway’s leadership has been marked by an insistence that Fitzgerald and the surrounding communities deserve more than surface-level progress. She has remained engaged at every stage—challenging policy decisions, ensuring community voices are respected, and making it clear that development must be measured by how it serves the people who have called this district home through disinvestment, economic shifts, and broken promises. Her role in advancing this banking center is part of a broader effort to bring real resources back to communities that have been systematically denied them.
What makes this investment different is the infrastructure behind it. First Merchants isn’t showing up with temporary promises. Their Detroit commitment includes over $24.8 million in community development loans, $205,000 in down payment assistance for local families, and over $361,000 in community contributions for the next year. Beyond dollars, they’ve logged over 1,100 hours of volunteer time and participated in more than 30 local initiatives, workshops, and school programs. It’s a full strategy, not a single campaign.
The work is also being guided by a community advisory board made up of local leaders: Turkessa Baldridge from the Marygrove Conservancy, Dr. Sonja L. Beasley-Hall of Wellspring Detroit, and La’Shonta Smith from Brilliant Detroit. Their role is more than ceremonial. They’re positioned to hold the bank accountable to the residents it serves, ensuring the services remain aligned with neighborhood needs.
This branch is part of the Strategic Neighborhood Fund (SNF), a city-supported initiative focused on development without displacement. For a neighborhood like Fitzgerald, where families have worked hard to maintain ownership and stability despite outside pressures, that mission is essential. Banking equity is often overlooked in revitalization efforts. But without it, the rest becomes fragile.
Deputy Mayor Melia Howard, speaking on behalf of the city at the ribbon cutting, emphasized that the bank’s slogan, “Helping You Prosper,” holds weight in a city like Detroit. It’s not marketing—it’s an expectation. Howard’s presence signaled alignment with the city’s vision of inclusive growth, and her words pointed to the responsibility that comes with opening in a neighborhood with long memories and limited patience for failed efforts.
This is not the first time a bank has opened a location in Detroit. But too often, those institutions have looked past Black residents, favoring newer transplants or high-yield accounts. What makes this branch distinct is the way it centers long-term residents, and the systems being built to support them. This is an opportunity to correct patterns—starting with where and how banking happens.
The Fitzgerald Banking Center is not a symbol of gentrification. It is a tool for mobility—designed to meet Detroiters where they are and help them build on what they already own and know. The focus is on sustainable growth. That means helping people buy homes, fund businesses, repair credit, and access capital without hidden costs or excessive risk.
It also means placing decision-making power closer to the community. That’s why the leadership structure includes both internal experts and external voices. The strategy behind this branch assumes that trust is earned. Not once, but daily. And it’s earned by showing up, following through, and remaining transparent.
For Detroiters in Fitzgerald and beyond, financial institutions can either widen the wealth gap or help close it. First Merchants is choosing the latter. And while no single branch can solve every problem, this one is offering real tools, grounded support, and a promise to stay present.
That’s the kind of investment that neighborhoods remember—and build on.
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