Detroit Evening Report: Duggan’s final State of the City address highlights city’s successes, road ahead

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan delivered his final State of the City address Tuesday night, speaking to an invitation-only crowd at the new Hudson’s development in downtown Detroit.

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Duggan spent much of the speech reviewing the city’s successes over the past decade, and focused on some highlights of the past year — such as the lowest homicide rate since 1965 and growth in Detroit’s population for the first time since 1957.   

One of the big challenges for the Duggan administration was the need to eliminate abandoned homes.  There were 47,000 at the start of his tenure.  Last night, he predicted that by the end of the year there would only be 1,000 abandoned homes left in Detroit. 

“Detroit’s biggest battle for the last 12 years has been the neighborhoods, and the 47,000 abandoned houses. I thought we could bring every neighborhood back, and we started by demolishing at rates faster than anybody in the country. But to me the real test wasn’t how many we could knock down…but how many we could save,” he said.

Duggan credited much of the city’s turnaround to the ability of city leaders to work together, instead of fighting and blaming each other for existing problems. Duggan announced late last year that he would not seek a fourth term as mayor of Detroit.

In January, he declared his intentions to run for governor of Michigan – not as a democrat or a Republican – but as an independent. He’s been making stops in different corners of the state since then. 

Other headlines for Wednesday, March 26, 2025: 

• Detroit attorney Todd Perkins has sent out information saying he’ll formally announce the beginning of his campaign for mayor next week.
• Gas prices remain steady in metro Detroit, with AAA Michigan reporting the average price of a gallon of self-serve unleaded is $3.10 — the same as it was a week ago. Prices did jump over the past couple of weeks.  Industry analysts say that price increase was due to higher gasoline demand as Americans travel for spring break.
• March Madness continues to capture the attention of metro Detroiters — especially with the state’s two largest universities — University of Michigan and Michigan State — still in contention for a national championship.

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