Melvindale was originally formed in the 1920's from a small farm-residential area known as Oakwood Heights, it was designed by land developers to provide homes for workers in the nearby Ford Rouge plant. The name “Melvindale” comes from one of the developers, Melvin Wilkinson.

Melvindale was incorporated as a village in 1924. In 1933 it became incorporated as a city. Its greatest growth occurred in the 1940's, during and after World War II, when the commercial and industrial complex of Detroit overflowed to outlying communities. Melvindale’s favorable location at the crossroads of the industrial corridor from Detroit to Chicago and Detroit to Toledo made it a natural site for the swift commercial and industrial wave of growth in the decade 1940-1950. Today, limited amounts of vacant undeveloped land remain.

In the last few years, a number of accomplishments have occurred in Melvindale.

• The Melvindale Downtown Development Authority is nearing completion on a $650,000 decorative street lighting and streetscape improvement project that was 80% funded with a grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation.

• Since the beginning of 1996, house values within Melvindale have increased 111.2%. This is the biggest increase of the Downriver communities, and one of the largest increases in the Metro Detroit area.

• The Melvindale Economic Development Corporation has worked with Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency to develop single-family homes in the Kaier Woods Subdivision. In the past three years, over 30 new homes have been built in this neighborhood. The homes have averaged 1250 square feet, and have sold for between $125,000 and $140,000. In fact, an 1835 square foot home sold for over $180,000.

• A 264-unit Condominium development is being constructed by Hometowne Building. The condo units are selling for between $120,000 and $140,000 each. According to the developer, the project is selling faster than any other project that they have under construction.

The City of Melvindale is taking an aggressive approach to redeveloping the community through the Brownfield Redevelopment Program. The City is listed as a Core Community by the State of Michigan, which offers additional benefits to developers.

The City slogan is “The Little City with a Big Heart”. The City of Melvindale is a great place to live, work, and do business, and still has that “small town” feel.