On the corner of Woodrow Wilson and Monterey in Detroit, something opens this summer that the neighborhood had not seen in roughly four decades: a brand new commercial business. That business is One Cup Car Wash and Detailing, the newest enterprise from Cass Community Social Services, and we are proud to say our team designed and installed the rooftop solar that helps power it.
This one meant a lot to us. It sits at the intersection of the things we care about most as a Detroit company, clean energy, local jobs, and a stronger neighborhood. Here is the story.
Key Points
- One Cup Car Wash and Detailing opened at 1586 Monterey Street in Detroit, at the corner of Woodrow Wilson and Monterey.
- It is the first new commercial building on that stretch of Woodrow Wilson in about 40 years.
- Strawberry Solar designed and installed the rooftop solar array that helps power the site.
- The wash is built around sustainability, cleaning a vehicle with roughly a cup of water by using steam and pressure.
- Cass Community Social Services runs it, creating part-time jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
- Public washes begin Friday, July 10, 2026, by online reservation on Fridays and Saturdays.
A Detroit First on Woodrow Wilson
One Cup Car Wash and Detailing is the first new commercial development along Woodrow Wilson since the 1980s, which makes it a genuine turning point for the block. For a stretch of the city that has waited a long time for investment, a new business that aims to strengthen and support the community opening its doors is a real signal of momentum.
The location is 1586 Monterey Street, Detroit, MI 48206, right at the corner of Woodrow Wilson and Monterey. Cass Community Social Services unveiled the site with a press conference and open house in June, and our Managing Partner, Will Held, joined the lineup of speakers alongside Cass Community leadership, the City of Detroit Sustainability Office, and District 5 Councilwoman Renata Miller. Being in that room, and being part of that milestone, is exactly the kind of local work we started this company to do.
What Makes One Cup Different
Most car washes are hard on water. A typical home, commercial, or self-serve wash can use anywhere from 10 to 100 gallons per vehicle. One Cup was designed to do the same job with about a single cup of water, using a combination of steam and pressure to clean cars, vans, and trucks.
Water is only the start. The site was designed to emit zero pollutants, collect rainwater for landscaping, and manage storm runoff with permeable pavers. It sits under the agency’s Green Industries umbrella, which pairs environmental goals with job creation. Our piece of that vision was the energy side, and we were glad to bring solar to a project that already had sustainability built into its bones.
Our Part: Rooftop Solar Built for Detroit
We handled the solar from design through installation, including the permitting that comes with a commercial project in the city. The result is a roof-mounted array on the car wash building, sized at 13.2 kilowatts across 40 panels, paired with a SolarEdge inverter and optimizers. The panels are flush-mounted to the shingle roof so they sit low and clean against the building.
The system is grid-tied and designed for Detroit’s real conditions, from summer heat to the snow and grey stretches of a Michigan winter. Rooftop commercial solar like this is a good fit for a lot of local businesses with roof space to spare, and it works on more roof types than people expect.
This is the kind of work our commercial solar team does across the region, and it is part of our ongoing footprint in solar installation in Detroit.
View our full project breakdown
Solar That Backs a Bigger Mission
What makes this project special is not the hardware, it is what the hardware supports. Cass Community Social Services is a Detroit nonprofit with a long record of tackling poverty through practical enterprises. One Cup Car Wash and Detailing is designed to create 10 part-time jobs, with a focus on employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
That mission is a big reason we were happy to take this on. Clean energy is at its best when it powers something that lifts up the people around it, and this project does exactly that. It also continues the relationship we have built with Cass Community on sustainability work in Detroit.
We were far from the only ones at the table. The June unveiling brought together Rev. Faith Fowler, Cass Community’s Executive Director, Tepfirah Rushdan, the City of Detroit Sustainability Office’s Director, Councilwoman Renata Miller, our own Will Held, and Parker Terry Construction’s owner, Redento Johnson. A project like this takes a lot of hands, and it was a good group to be part of.
See It for Yourself
The car wash opens to the public on Friday, July 10, 2026, running on Fridays and Saturdays with reservations taken online. No money changes hands at the site itself, and the anticipated cost for a wash and detailing is around $40. If you are in the neighborhood, it is worth a look, both for the wash and for the solar sitting quietly on the roof.
Powering What Matters in Michigan
We build a lot of solar in Michigan, and every project teaches us something. One Cup Car Wash reminded us why we started, to put clean energy to work for real people and real neighborhoods here at home.
