What is a CBA?

Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are tools used by community organizers to maximize the benefit and minimize the harm of real estate developments taking place within their neighborhoods. Detroit is one of the only cities in the country with an ordinance that requires developments over $75 million to engage in a CBA process that is facilitated by the City.  Read about how the fight for a citywide CBA ordinance was won here.  Learn more about CBAs and the cultural CBA model developed by Detroit artist-organizers here.

While the LOVE Building is nowhere near the size that would have required a formal CBA process, the tenant partners of the LOVE Building believe in the importance of CBAs. Many of us took part in the fight for the city-wide CBA ordinance and contributed to the development of the Cultural CBA Toolkit.

From 2020 - 2022, the LOVE Building facilitated a voluntary CBA process with residents of the Core City neighborhood in order to demonstrate how voluntary CBAs can work as a tool for community-rooted development. 

Additionally, the LOVE Building engaged a Disability Justice and Access Advisory Council from 2022 - 2023 to create an Addendum to the CBA, which details how the LOVE Building will commit to disability justice and access through its the policies and programs.