DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[Docta_Love]

Had been wondering when this was going to happen.

Groundbreaking set for Wayne State's Mike Ilitch School of Business
$50 million facility in The District Detroit expected to open in 2018

By KIRK PINHO
July 15, 2016
Crain's Detroit Business



A groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning will officially kick off construction of Wayne State University's new $50 million Mike Ilitch School of Business.

The new business school, expected to be complete in 2018, is the product of a $40 million donation from the Ilitch family, $35 million of which will be used for the 120,000-square-foot building at Woodward Avenue and Temple Street. The remaining $5 million from the donation is for an endowment for the school itself.

The new school is part of The District Detroit project, the sweeping redevelopment plan for 45-50 blocks of the downtown area that will include the new $627.5 million hockey arena for the Detroit Red Wings.

The Ilitches own the land on which the new building will sit and will lease it to Wayne State for a nominal amount.

The new facility is expected to include state-of-the-art technology, classrooms, labs, offices, a conference learning center, open collaboration space and support facilities for up to 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ol-of-business

[animatedmartian]

^Interestingly, Wayne State has a different design shown on their website. I'm kinda leaning to believe this is officially what's being built but Olympia never bothered to update their renderings to reflect that. Or maybe they really liked that rotunda.





http://pivotalmoments.wayne.edu/stor...-detroit-20201

http://facilities.wayne.edu/construc...ects-index.php

[subterranean]

The first one looks more like a law school than a business school.

[animatedmartian]

New Detroit Red Wings' arena plans: Posh hotel, medical center, retail
JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press July 14, 2016.

More details of the future Detroit arena district were revealed Thursday, including plans for a 350-room athletes hotel, a world-class sports medicine center and new Woodward Avenue retail shops atop a pair of new I-75 overpasses.

The high-end hotel would be built between the new $627.5-million arena and the Fisher Freeway service drive. It could feature many large suites and cater to the many professional athletes who come through Detroit for the city's professional sports teams, according to a presentation Thursday by retail broker Scott Young of CBRE in Southfield, which is handling leasing for the district.

An updated site plan shows the hotel opening in 2019.

Near the hotel and along Woodward — between downtown Detroit and the start of Midtown — could go two new strips of single-story retail buildings. These buildings would be built over I-75 on opposite sides of Woodward. Their foundations would rest on two future interstate overpasses and could open in 2018, according to the site plan.

Between the future hockey arena and the coming Mike Ilitch School of Business could possibly go a new Detroit Medical Center sports medicine center.

....

http://www.freep.com/story/money/bus...tail/87083910/

[Docta_Love]

Here's an update on Orleans Landing and the East Riverfront as a whole.

Detroit’s riverfront turns bend for the better
Louis Aguilar
July 18, 2016
The Detroit News

Detroit is making steady progress in creating a downtown riverfront that is a popular recreation area, a commercial district and an upscale residential strip.

The riverfront was mainly an industrial and warehouse district for most of the 19th and 20th centuries. Now, more than 3 million people a year use the RiverWalk, the pedestrian/bike path that runs along the river from Belle Isle to Rosa Parks Boulevard. It’s one of downtown’s most popular attractions.

This year, several key projects will bolster the upscale housing scene along the river’s edge. One of those developments is Orleans Landing, the $65 million, 7.7-acre housing and retail complex being built one block from the Detroit River. The facility began accepting leases this month for its 287 apartments. Monthly rent starts at $1,315 for a one-bedroom. The units will be ready for occupancy this fall.

....

Orleans Landing is at the corner where the RiverWalk links to the Dequindre Cut Greenway, another pedestrian/bike path that leads north to the Eastern Market. The Detroit River is one block away and many apartments, particularly the $2,995-a-month, two-bedroom town homes, will offer commanding views of river and city.

The RiverWalk and the Dequindre Cut were part of the $1 billion that a study by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy said was invested in the downtown riverfront from 2003 to 2013. Another $1 billion of investment is expected by 2023, the study said.

“The riverfront should be the premier place to live — it’s the most naturally beautiful,” said Matt Lester, founder and CEO of Princeton Enterprises in Bloomfield Township. That’s why Princeton recently bought two key pieces of the massive Stroh River Place, the historical riverfront campus that borders Joseph Campau. It’s one block east of Orleans Landing.



More big change is coming for 400 acres of riverfront known as the “east riverfront.” The city and the nonprofit that oversees the RiverWalk are working on what will essentially be the road map of how much retail, housing and infrastructure could be built – and how much open space will be preserved.

The area being examined stretches from the eastern edge of the General Motors Renaissance Center to the western border of Gabriel Richard Park, next to Belle Isle. It includes many public and private spaces such as Chene Park Amphitheatre, the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources and the empty Uniroyal site. The latter is one of the former industrial sites the city gained control of and then cleaned up. It’s now looking for a new life.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...ment/87236832/

[subterranean]

Wow, those are looking pretty cheap so far. Such a prominent location, you'd think they'd put a little more effort in.

[animatedmartian]

I think it looks pretty decent given how large the site is and that it's not completely uniform throughout. Fewer buildings would have probably looked better, but there's still so many empty lots around I don't think it's that big of a deal. It could have been worse had this been built several years ago (like the Crosswinds of Brush Park), but it'll probably be outshined by plenty of nearby future developments.

• Video Link

[The North One]

It looks fairly nice to me and it's being completely clad in brick.

A good anchor for future developments in that area.

[Rizzo]

I think when it's done it will look okay. It's just really flat. Older historic structures would normally have more facade depth and deeper fenestration. The brick in this instance is not much more than wallpaper in the way it's applied, so I can understand why it make look cheap, but I'll hold judgement till it's done.

The way architects design and contractors build in Detroit is mostly frame construction. As a result there's less flexibility to make fancy facades with a lot of brick detail. In contrast, the design standard in Chicago is load bearing masonry...the same practice used for centuries in America. You can start to create pilasters and ornamentation because one trade is building the walls and putting in the ornamentation...and it can be done efficiently and affordably.

[Docta_Love]

^ Yeah so far not so impressive but after a few false starts were finally seeing real large scale infill on the riverfront east of the ren cen. Hopefully a successful Orleans landing (which with the 98% occupancy rate in the downtown are should be the case) will show the lenders that Detroit's east riverfront is a good bet for new construction, which has been holding back some projects.

[davidberko]

I think it looks pretty great actually. It's amazing how much empty land was there before they begun the New Orleans Landing. Speaking of this side of downtown, it's a shame that Wayne County wants to finish the jail. Stupid stupid stupid......

[pacifist112]

old article but some stuff about leland and the elliott building(which looks to have started)

http://www.dbusiness.com/daily-news/...-in-the-Works/

[subterranean]

I hope you all are right. When I saw the preliminary plans come across my desk about a year and a half ago, the sketches looked promising, at very least for trying to maintain some semblance of traditional urbanism. Fingers crossed that it translates well into reality.

Edit: just watched the video. Looking better than I expected from those first few photos.

[Southwest City Boy]

This development looks terrific. We have more than a few developments that are similar here in the DFW area. Orleans Landing should attract a healthy population that will further enhance the quality of life in Detroit. Does it look like a 100 year old neighborhood in New York or Chicago? No. It does resemble a section from many of our thriving 21st century American cities. Rejoice!

[animatedmartian]

Another updated rendering for the Illitch School of Business.

Wayne State looks to future with groundbreaking for Mike Ilitch School of Business
By Blake Froling. July 20th, 2016. Crain's Detroit Business.



A groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University in Detroit coincided with the release of new renderings that appear to change the building’s design.

Ilitch, who owns Little Caesars and the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings, donated $40 million to the university for the business school, which will be located on Woodward Avenue in the shadows of Little Caesars Arena in The District Detroit. The gift was the largest in the history of the university and is one of the top 10 gifts ever to a public business school in the United States.

"All around us, the future is taking shape," M. Roy Wilson, president of Wayne State University, said at the ceremony. "In a city that some people wrote off as hopeless, we stand on a construction site, with all the noise and everything, that will be a monument to the entrepreneurial spirit that made Detroit great once and is making Detroit great again."

The Downtown Detroit Development Authority approved a Master Development Agreement earlier Wednesday, with full construction expected to begin later in the year on the 120,000-square-foot facility, according to a press release. A new rendering of the building was also released Wednesday to reflect some changes that were made to the original plans.

Wayne State spokesman did not immediately respond when asked to specify what in the design had changed.

The school is set to open in 2018 and will serve more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

....

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...or-mike-ilitch

[Docta_Love]

An important piece of the Aerotropolis area seems that it will be re-purposed.

Sale of Willow Run site for American Center for Mobility could close next summer
Developers seek funding for mobility test hub

By LINDSAY VANHULLE
July 24, 2016
Crain's Detroit Business


A conceptual rendering shows the planned American Center for Mobility at Willow Run, a former World War II bomber factory that sits mostly vacant today, awaiting development.


The sale of more than 300 acres at a former World War II bomber factory in Washtenaw County for use as a testing hub for connected and driverless cars could close by next summer, said those involved with the purchase.

Yet even as developers of the planned American Center for Mobility at Willow Run in Ypsilanti Township move ahead with buying property, significant hurdles remain to clear — namely, funding — before the estimated $80 million facility can open.

News last week that the center's property acquisition entity, Willow Run Arsenal of Democracy Landholdings LLP, has agreed to pay $1.2 million for the 311-acre Willow Run site is a milestone for supporters of the mobility project, which has an expected opening date of 2018.

Beyond standard due diligence, including inspections and approvals, the specific conditions required for closing are unknown: The Michigan Economic Development Corp., which has an ownership stake in the project and is helping to negotiate the transaction, would not release the purchase agreement publicly nor share the terms, citing confidentiality agreements.

The American Center for Mobility project is pegged to need about $60 million from the federal government. CEO John Maddox would not comment last week on the status of fundraising, saying: "A lot (is) up in the air."

He has said, however, that his team is targeting the U.S. transportation, energy and commerce departments for funding. That likely could include multiple requests in the form of grants or budget allocations, either from the executive branch or Congress, Maddox told Crain's at the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference in June.

The MEDC has committed $3 million to the Arsenal of Democracy landholding entity for the property purchase and startup costs. Maddox's team is seeking an additional $17 million from the agency's Michigan Strategic Fund, though a spokeswoman did not know when the project will come back before the board.

An MEDC staff memo from March said developers planned to return with the remaining funding request should the property purchase happen "as anticipated." That request also would require an operational budget and a site plan for development, the agency wrote, along with a recommended payback schedule for the state investment.

The MEDC said then that state funding would be used "as leverage to finalize federal investment."

The MEDC and Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust, or RACER Trust — the trust handling cleanup and redevelopment of former General Motors Corp. plants in Michigan after the automaker's 2009 bankruptcy — said the deal could close in the third quarter of 2017, though it could be sooner depending on how quickly developers can lock up necessary approvals and financing. RACER Trust has owned the Willow Run property since 2011.

Assuming that happens as planned, developers could be ready to request construction bids as soon as the deed is in hand, Maddox said.

....

"We are ecstatic about this development because the American Center for Mobility will give Michigan a cutting edge in this new technology," Rasher said. "It's important not just for the township of Ypsilanti and Wayne and Washtenaw counties, but all of Southeastern Michigan, because the world's largest concentration of automotive R&D and engineering resides here."

In the meantime, developers say they can move forward with designing the site now that they have a formal purchase agreement with the state and RACER Trust. They have hired a Detroit-based civil engineering consulting firm with mobility chops: The Mannik & Smith Group Inc. also helped design the 32-acre Mcity test bed at the University of Michigan.

The American Center for Mobility as proposed will include a 2.5-mile highway loop for developers of connected and autonomous vehicles to test their cars at freeway speeds; a grid simulating urban streets, with intersections, buildings and pedestrian crossings; and buildings where the site's operations will be based, Maddox said.

Ideally, he added, the center also could provide a place for automotive experts to focus on drafting voluntary standards for the industry — separate from the rules expected to come from federal regulators — and test their ideas on-site.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ty-could-close

Converted Corktown Firehouse Cuts Price, Invests in Better Pictures
Seriously historic property

BY ROBIN RUNYAN
JUL 19, 2016
Curbed Detroit



About a year and a half ago, we featured Engine Company #8 in Corktown, which had been converted into office space and listed for nearly $2 million. Our readers had a lot to say about the dreary pictures that accompanied the listing. After sitting on the market for a while, the listing has been cut down to $994,995 and has much, much better, brighter pictures.

To refresh our memory, this building has recently been renovated and restored with loads of subway tile, big bay doors, and fire poles. Yes, fire poles. There are kitchen facilities, a sauna (!), and gated parking. There’s potential for a great rooftop patio as well, and looks to be renovation opportunities in the attic space. It served as a firehouse from 1918 to 1982, when it was converted into law offices. It also holds a piece of Motown history, as Motown lawyer Gregory Reed had offices here. Oh, and so did Rosa Parks. Historic? Yes. Unique? For sure. Here’s a new look at it. (And if anyone knows who did these pictures, let us know!






http://detroit.curbed.com/2016/7/19/...price-for-sale

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by The North One

It looks fairly nice to me and it's being completely clad in brick.

A good anchor for future developments in that area.

Jumbo utility brick, but still brick I suppose.

[animatedmartian]

New Midtown Luxury Condo Development The Selden Plans to Open Summer 2017
BY ROBIN RUNYAN JUL 25, 2016. Curbed Detroit.


Photo via Muckracker

...

According to Michael Ferlito, they’re aiming for a September groundbreaking, with occupancy in Summer 2017. The development, called The Selden, will have 12 units of for-sale condos ranging from $429,900 to $489,900 for the penthouse (for pre-sale pricing). All of the units are two bedroom, two bathrooms and run between 1,150 and 1,200 square feet.

...

The Selden will also have some office space and retail/restaurant space on the first floor.

The location is quite walkable and close to the M-1 rail. They’re calling the design "neo modern" and it’s designed by BmK Associates.

http://detroit.curbed.com/2016/7/25/...-condos-selden

[The North One]

Is that a corten facade? This could end up looking really nice.

[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