Fitzgerald has long been more than a name on a city map. It’s a neighborhood shaped by Black resilience, where families raise generations in homes passed down with pride, and where reinvestment isn’t measured by developers’ blueprints but by community impact. At 7525 West McNichols Road, that investment now has a new anchor—First Merchants Bank.

The Fitzgerald Banking Center is a 3,000-square-foot development built through neighborhood insight, community partnerships, and a clear understanding that banking access is foundational to Black economic stability. First Merchants has a history of community-based banking, but this move into Northwest Detroit speaks directly to the urgency of financial inclusion in a city shaped by divestment and systemic barriers.

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