DETROIT – President Jimmy Carter may have been synonymous with Georgia, but he has a rich legacy in the Motor City.
Nearly 20 years later the impact of the late Jimmy Carter can still be felt in Detroit. Ronald Lee lives in one of the homes the 39th President of the United States and First Lady Rosalyn Carter helped create back in 2005.
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“His legacy will live on. What he did was great for the community. It was great for everybody honestly,” said Ronald.
Scot Norris who was a block leader during the project and met President Carter that week -- recalling the stern sense of pride he had in helping others.
“They were just so unpretentious and decent people. And he was there to work. People would want to come up to him and talk to him. He would say at the end of the day we’ll have some time to talk, but right now we’ve got work to do,” Norris revealed.
The president’s family was there by his side the entire time.
“My whole impression was that he and his wife and his daughter was here. They were just so down to earth,” Norris insisted.
President Carter’s legacy was life-changing, even today for those who stayed in the area as property values increased and Detroit was rebuilt.
“Particularly based on Michigan Central Station, those houses values have gone up. There are a couple of vacant homes now being bought up and taken care of. So, that’s been a wonderful neighborhood for Habitat Detroit to have left a mark on,” Norris added.
“The value is going up. The train station just opened up too. People are coming from all over town to view it. It’s very up-and-coming. It’s beautiful to me. It’s not like any other neighborhood that you see around Detroit,” said
More Habitat homes have since been built in the area. Something to think about was this place with President Carter.