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Posted Nov 17, 2013, 2:55 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,956
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Quote:
Town Center owner weighs 4 purchase offers
By Kirk Pinho. November 17, 2013
The owner of the Southfield Town Center is considering offers to buy the landmark office complex, in default on its mortgage with $138 million owed.
New York City-based Blackstone Group LP is considering four offers from local and out-of-state buyers for the 2.2 million-square-foot Class A office complex, north of 10 Mile Road between M-10 and Evergreen Road, according to real estate sources.
Those offers are between $160 million and $170 million, sources say. Blackstone purchased the five-building complex in 1999 for $270 million, according to real estate information service CoStar Group Inc.
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The complex is 32 percent vacant, according to Bloomberg. The Southfield Class A office market had a 26 percent vacancy rate during the third quarter, according to data provided by the Southfield office of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.
Matt Farrell, executive principal/partner of Bingham Farms-based Core Partners Associates LLC, said the Southfield Town Center offers good amenities such as the Westin Hotel — which would not be included — and restaurants on site. It also has a campus-like setting.
"Those are all big, big pluses," Farrell said.
But there are some drawbacks.
"The downside, potentially, is that the newer culture, the younger technology-based firms are looking for that warehouse/potentially downtown-like setting that gives them walkability," Farrell said.
According to CoStar, the largest tenants are GlobalHue Inc., with 109,000 square feet; Fifth Third Bank, 106,000 square feet; and AlixPartners LLP, 63,000 square feet.
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http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...urchase-offers
Given the recent news of Southfield trying to create a downtown, this probably would be a somewhat indirect result. Makes me wonder if Southfield is going to ever successfully transform its center to attract businesses or possibly lose them to more vacancy.
Quote:
Apartment complex redevelopment takes its direction from residents
By Kirk Pinho. November 17, 2013
It took a $30 million redevelopment to transform a largely vacant northwest Detroit apartment complex into one that is now fully occupied.
Novi-based Ginosko Development Co. completed an 18-month redevelopment of the low-income Renaissance Village Apartments at Seven Mile and Evergreen roads in May, according to President Amin Irving.
But Ginosko didn't simply swoop in and redevelop the complex, formerly known as Evergreen Estates, the way it wanted.
Instead, Ginosko sought input from the few residents who remained at Renaissance Village after years of disrepair, Irving said. The complex had a 30 percent occupancy rate when Ginosko purchased it from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority in 2011 for $3.95 million after the previous owner defaulted on a MSHDA loan. According to Chris LaGrand, chief housing investment officer for MSHDA, the previous owner was Ron Weaver Sr.
Every six weeks, Ginosko would hold meetings with the residents to learn about their needs and wants.
"The residents that were there knew the property better than I did," Irving said.
The result?
A reduction in the number of units from 305 to 185 through the demolition of buildings containing 60 units, and merging studio and one-bedroom units to create an apartment complex featuring only two- and three-bedroom units ranging in price from $500 to $700 per month. During the redevelopment, residents were moved into vacant apartments while theirs were renovated.
In place of the demolished buildings, a center courtyard was constructed with an amphitheater, fitness equipment, a splash pad and other outdoor amenities.
Another result was 100 percent occupancy.
"It sounds like their reconfiguration strategy was a good idea and appropriate for the marketplace, which is seeing larger family units living together," said Larry Goss, executive vice president of Bingham Farms-based Core Partners Associates LLC, which is trying to develop two low-income housing complexes in Oakland County.
"Generally, I think we still see a strong demand for affordable housing in our market, and in particular, rental housing. This is in line with what the market is looking for and needs."
The complex was built in the 1940s. The new construction began in November 2011.
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http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...from-residents
I was never a big fan of garden apartments, but this redevelopment looks pretty decent.
http://ginosko.com/recent-projects.php
http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartm...illage/181598/
http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartm...illage/181598/
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