Alumni Spotlight: Evan Fay
By: Serena Maria Daniels
Long before he ever called himself a developer, Evan Fay has had a habit of investing in the places where he’s lived.
By the time the California native arrived in Detroit in 2019 with his wife and young family, Fay had already spent years buying and rehabbing properties while stationed in places like Wyoming and Alaska while he was serving as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. In Detroit, that experience began evolving into a broader development practice tied more directly to neighborhood investment.
“I kind of looked at real estate investing, real estate development kind of like Monopoly,” says Fay. “No matter where I land, I want to make sure that I'm buying some property.”
Using a VA loan after college, Fay purchased his first four-unit property in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he was stationed as a second lieutenant at the time, living in one unit while renting the others.
Detroit had been on Fay’s radar for years before he moved here. While researching cities in 2012, he became interested in the combination of nearby colleges and universities, the city’s four major sports teams, the architecture, and a picturesque, nationally-recognized riverfront.
“Those were the things on paper that got me really excited about Detroit, but when we came here, really [it’s] the people that solidified it for us,” he says of his first impression of his new neighbors. “I always say, as long as you pass the vibe check, Detroiters will bring you in and treat you with so much respect and love and treat you like one of their own.”
Fay settled in the North End intending to invest his military savings into small multifamily properties. The pandemic shifted both the market and his thinking, pushing him toward larger redevelopment projects and a broader understanding of community-based development.
That realization led him to Building Community Value.
At the time, Fay was already investing heavily in his projects with his own money and sweat equity but did not necessarily identify as a developer. Through conversations with mentors and organizations like Invest Detroit, he was encouraged to think bigger and apply to BCV’s Better Buildings, Better Blocks program.
“Taking the course changed my perspective on even calling myself a developer, because I didn't have the verbiage around that,” says Fay. “So that really kind of changed my mindset of like, ‘Oh, wow, this is what I've been working at and doing my whole career, I can actually do it in a way that's intentional.’”
Today, Fay leads Develop MotorCity, a North End-based development firm focused largely on veteran-centered housing. The company’s projects emphasize accessibility, proximity to services, and thoughtful design considerations for veterans — including residents dealing with PTSD. Fay works closely with organizations like Volunteers of America and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to connect veterans with housing opportunities across his portfolio.
His work has also expanded into hospitality and entrepreneurship. Fay is connected to neighborhood businesses including the French-themed Café Noir in the North End and Roar Brewing Company — reportedly the city’s first Black-owned brewery that opened in 2025. For him, storefront businesses create both neighborhood amenities and opportunities for deeper engagement with residents.
“If I'm going to develop, I want to have a strong anchor,” says Fay. “Café Noir has been a great place and space that allows me to kind of have that launching point and have those conversations. And then also, I live two blocks away from this development. Selfishly, I want a place that we can walk that’s consistent and open, and we can grab a cup of coffee or grab food.”
That philosophy is shaping his next major effort: a mixed-use redevelopment project in the North End that combines retail and housing on a growing campus of assembled properties that he has acquired.
At the same time, Fay has drawn from his military background to build systems and teams designed to help his projects grow without relying entirely on him day to day.
Even as his portfolio expands, Fay remains focused on neighborhood-scale impact over large-scale visibility. He is less interested in becoming a skyscraper developer than in creating spaces where residents can live, gather and feel connected to the city around them.
“This is my adopted home,” says Fay. “It's more important to me to invest in the city that I'm in and be able to build around and help my family grow up in a place that we can all be proud of.”
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