for donating a brand new gymnasium in the 1990s. By the mid 2000s the Brewster Projects were mostly abandoned. The center continued to offer programs but began plans to shut its doors in 2007. The recreation center officially closed it doors for good on August 25, 2006. Less than three years later the building was vacant and abandoned. In the following years the abandoned building became home to a large homeless population. Metal thieves also ravaged the building for scraps as graffiti artists used the building as a blank canvas. After a series of fires demolition plans by the city began to take shape in 2013. After fighting for historical significance and renovation local community organizer, Donyetta Hill fought to secure the building and save it from the bulldozers. Interest in the recreation building has sparked new beginnings and a major renovation. Redevelopment Towards the end of 2014, the Brewster-Wheeler Recreation Center was set to be torn down. The center had been closed for nearly 8 years, and the building was becoming worn-down and weathered due to the elements. However, Donyetta Hill organized several people, held meetings and gathered over 7,000 signed petitions. Donyetta did research for several months on Brewster Wheeler. She convinced the city of Detroit to preserve the building, and at the beginning of 2015, Mayor Mike Duggan announced a $50 million plan for the redevelopment of the center led by the Detroit City Council and city Councilwoman Mary Sheffield. The current plan is to develop the building into a restaurant, bar, and a community center while also building affordable housing on-site as well. However, due to a lack of space, the housing portion of the project is being relocated to another location within Brush Park. The redevelopment of the actual recreation center is being spearheaded by Curt Catallo, owner of Union Joints restaurant group, and his partner K.C. Crain Jr., executive vice president of Crain Communications Inc. Catallo specializes in repurposing buildings, and this project presents a golden opportunity for him. He plans on incorporating the history of the building into the design of the restaurant, including the boxing ring and gym that Joe Louis once trained in. The restaurant is going to sit on top of the basketball court that the Harlem Globetrotters played their first away game on, and there will be a bar that is built where the boxing ring of Joe Louis