DETROIT — The Rev. Marvin L. Winans, pastor of Perfecting Church, is launching a $60 million project to help revitalize his childhood neighborhood of Palmer Woods, The Detroit News reported.

Winans, a six-time Grammy-award winner, plans to build a church, 70 condominiums, an office building and parking deck. A kick-off fundraiser, featuring television talk-show host and Academy Award-winning actress Oprah Winfrey as keynote speaker, is set for Oct. 4 at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Detroit.

Winans has performed gospel songs on Winfrey's afternoon program, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," several times. He said he expects to raise $440,000 for the church's development project at the gala.

"Oprah and I are good friends and she agreed to come to Detroit to support our community project," Winans said. "We have a young church with a lot of families, so the housing we'll build will be diverse to meet all income groups."

Perfecting Church, which has 3,300 members, is the latest of a chorus of African-American churches in Detroit that have recently completed or launched expansion projects, the newspaper reported.

Greater Grace Temple opened a $33.5 million, 4,000-seat church and conference center earlier this year. The church is joined by a daycare operation, a K-8 public charter school and senior housing.

Fellowship Chapel is nearing completion of a $13 million church and community center. A future housing and retail project is planned as well, said the Rev. Wendell Anthony.

Henry Hagood, Detroit's director of development activities, said a number of faith-based organizations have approached the city to promote expansion plans in recent years.

"The churches are seeing the city come back, and they want to contribute with housing, youth programs and other endeavors," Hagood said. "In some cases, the churches have attorneys and accountants in their congregation that offer them assistance."

In addition to raising money from the gala, Winans said Perfection Church plans to finance the expansion through government lending programs, private loans and city block grants. The church purchased approximately 15 acres for the project.

"We'd like to begin construction next spring and the project could take three to four years to complete," Winans told the newspaper.