[Docta_Love]

Unlike Birmingham and Royal Oak, Ferndale hasn't really seen many big mixed-use projects yet. However with this inner-ring suburb going through a demographic shift away from a working class community to the degree that now that the neighboring working class city of Hazel Park has been seeing a wave of young well educated new residents because of a lack of affordable housing in Ferndale itself. Part of this i believe is a bit of the Ann Arbor syndrome where city leaders and residents haven't wanted to "ruin" the character of the city with big projects but with growth moving to neighboring cities the time seems right to see more projects like this.

Downtown Ferndale Save-A-Lot demolition underway for $17.9 million mixed-use project
State board OKs $2.24 million brownfield tax incentive for Ferndalehaus project
July 26, 2016
By KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit Business


The planned Ferndalehaus development at 430 W. Nine Mile Road in downtown Ferndale.

A planned $17.9 million redevelopment of the former Save-A-Lot grocery store in downtown Ferndale has received state approval of a $2.24 million brownfield tax incentive.

The Ferndalehaus development at 430 W. Nine Mile Road is expected to bring a new four-story, 105,000-square-foot building with about 90 apartments and nearly 11,000 square feet of retail and/or office space. The building is planned to have parking and the retail/office space on the first floor, with three floors of apartments above.

The redevelopment involves demolishing the former Save-A-Lot, according to a memo to the Michigan Strategic Fund, the board of which approved the brownfield package Tuesday morning.

The brownfield package will help in reimbursing the development entity, Ferndale9Living LLC, a single-purpose entity affiliated with Bloomfield Hills-based Arbor Investments Group LLC, for the costs of a 10-year urban storm water management system and an integrated parking system, which the memo describes as being "critical in obtaining a dense, yet sustainable design in an existing urban space."

Ed Siegel, a developer who is also the co-owner of Urban Bean Co. coffee shop in Capitol Park in downtown Detroit, is a development partner on Ferndalehaus.

He said select demolition of the Save-A-Lot store has begun, and is expected to be completed within about a month. Construction on Ferndalehaus is expected to begin after that and be complete in the third quarter next year.

It has not yet been determined how many one-, two- and three-bedroom units the project will have or for how much they are expected to rent.

The project, which will include public art installations and seating areas, is expected to create about 14 permanent full-time equivalent jobs with an average wage of $16.75 per hour, the memo said.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...r-17-9-million