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  #2401  
Old Posted Feb 24, 2014, 8:30 AM
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Sounds like Redico already has a concept in the tank for Three Towne Square. I wonder if they are going to take it vertical, or try to keep the height low? If a similar floorplate size to the others, you'd get a tower in between the height of the existing two. But, they could also put this vertical or push it horizontal. I've always liked the design of Towne Square for what it is, and it's good to see the Southfield office market recovering.
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  #2402  
Old Posted Feb 24, 2014, 11:04 PM
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Wayne State releases new renderings of the soon-to-be renovated Student Center. The design looks a lot less minimalist than the previous rendering they released.

http://studentcenter.wayne.edu/new/







For comparison, here's what the Studen Center currently looks like...


IMG_0123 by jeffdunncom, on Flickr

For non-Wayne State people, those are paper airplanes stuck in the ceiling done by students over the years.


scb ceiling by kozmatomic, on Flickr
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  #2403  
Old Posted Feb 25, 2014, 2:34 PM
user062789 user062789 is offline
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Hello Everyone,

I've been reading this post since 2008 or maybe earlier and I've finally decided to chime in. I'd like to start off by saying thank you for keeping everyone up to date about the happenings in the area especially LMich, Animatedmartian, Subterranean, Hudkina, JonathanJam, Hayward, mousquet, guiltyspark, euphoricoctopus, the list goes on and you can all consider me a fan of your posts.

In terms of the Wayne State Student Center I'm very skeptical of the plans. Enrollment has defiantly risen, especially from students that come internationally, as well as dorms being at capacity for the first time since being built. However any progress or construction comes very slow and this is the second time in my recent memory that they have slated this structure to be redone. Currently the McDonald's, Taco-bell/KFC & Pizza Hut did not renew their leases or were pushed out. The entire structure looks very old and is very oddly laid out. Much investment has gone into the beautifying of the building but it still looks like a bus terminal(and a not so aesthetically pleasing one at that),

In my opinion the school should raze this building, and if you view it from any angle it has nill architectural significance, rather move the student center idea to another building. After visiting Chicago, I like the whole idea of an urban university being integrated into one large skyscraper. One main issue with Wayne State as a whole is the huge amount of scattered buildings on campus. I can from experience attest to the mismanagement of almost all of the structures minus the few that are for facility only or for incoming students. Many of the buildings are very outdated, and its hard to maintain or secure so many structures.

To wrap they should look to Oakland University for inspiration on what a student center should be.

Again nice to officially meet all of you!
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  #2404  
Old Posted Feb 25, 2014, 3:47 PM
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Welcome.
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  #2405  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2014, 12:14 AM
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Welcome to the forum and thread!

The difference between Wayne State and some of the universities in downtown Chicago (such as Roosevelt University and Columbia College) is that Wayne State grew with Midtown Detroit. With the Chicago examples, they grew within the context of an already built-up Chicago Loop. Wayne State has never had a significant reason to build upwards more than it has because there was plenty of space to expand. In downtown Chicago, the universities had to buy pre-existing buildings and orient themselves to small-footprint, vertical learning.
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  #2406  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2014, 2:13 AM
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Detroit Free Press
By Paul Egan and John Gallagher
2/25/2014

Quote:
Michigan OKs incentives to turn 2 historic Detroit hotels into apartments

High demand for apartments and super-low vacancy rates in Detroit’s downtown and Midtown area are bringing still more apartment projects to the market.

The Michigan Strategic Fund approved incentives Tuesday for renovation projects to create apartments in two historic Detroit hotels — $3.5 million for the Strathmore in Midtown and $1 million for the Milner Hotel in the city’s central business district.

The Free Press reported in January that rents for apartments in downtown Detroit are spiking amid short supply, forcing out some young professionals who breathed fresh life into the city core.

On Tuesday, the strategic fund board approved funding for the planned development of 129 one- and two-bedroom apartments inside the blighted former Strathmore Hotel on Alexandrine near Cass Avenue and 61 apartments inside the historic Milner Hotel near Comerica Park, which closed in October 2012.
More: http://www.freep.com/article/2014022...ore-apartments
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  #2407  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2014, 3:56 AM
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Exciting news!
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  #2408  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2014, 8:24 AM
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Glad to hear about the Strathmore in particular. The Milner was going to be reused regardless, but the Strathmore is an actual abandoned building.


Chris and Michelle Gerard
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  #2409  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2014, 8:56 AM
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Once it gets warmer I should head over to OU and take some pictures of all the construction going on there. There are currently 5 buildings uc on campus; A new Engineering building, bell tower, dorm, parking structure and facilities management building.
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  #2410  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2014, 3:09 PM
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Originally Posted by user062789 View Post

Again nice to officially meet all of you!
Welcome to the forum!
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  #2411  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2014, 3:36 PM
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Quote:
Channeling Iron Man, Obama announces Midwest manufacturing hubs



Joking that he would blast off in an "Iron Man" suit, President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced that two new manufacturing institutes aimed at creating quality jobs would be located in the Midwest cities of Chicago and Detroit.

Obama, who calls Chicago his home town, is seeking ways to find jobs for middle-class Americans and raise their incomes the U.S. economy continues to recover from a brutal recession. In the absence of a consensus in Congress on how to proceed, he has pledged to act on his own when he can.

Part of that push is an effort to expand manufacturing jobs, many of which were lost in preceding decades as U.S. companies searched for cheaper labor abroad.

Both of the institutes will be led by the Defense Department. They will be supported by $140 million in federal funds and another $140 million from businesses and universities.

The Detroit institute will focus on lightweight and modern metals manufacturing, while the Chicago-based hub will be based around digital manufacturing and design technologies.

At a White House event to highlight the initiative, Obama noted that he was joined by researchers who were inventing some of the most advanced metals on the planet and designers who were working on prototypes in the digital cloud.

"Basically, I'm here to announce that we're building Iron Man. I'm going to blast off in a second," he said to laughter. "This has been a secret project we've been working on for a long time. Not really. Maybe. It's classified."

With a Republican-led House of Representatives focused on cutting federal spending and reducing the size of government, the president has been forced to scale back his plans for the institutes, finding money from savings within existing programs rather than securing a big chunk of new spending for them.

The administration also announced a competition for the next manufacturing institute, this one on advanced composites, as part of its goal to launch four institutes this year.

Obama introduced the manufacturing innovation institute idea in 2013. It is based on a German model and draws on a pilot program in Youngstown, Ohio. The president's goal is for there to be 45 such institutes in all.

"I don't want the next big job-creating discovery to come from Germany or China or Japan. I want it to be made here in America," he said.

"I'm really excited about these four hubs. The only problem is Germany has 60 of them.

He said Germany had been able to take the lead in manufacturing in certain areas because of its investment in such institutes and training for workers. The U.S. manufacturing sector, meanwhile, was adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s.

The Obama administration in January announced the first hub in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is focused on spurring development of energy-efficient, high-power electronic chips.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...0LU21420140225

TELSA would be a nice place to put this.
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  #2412  
Old Posted Feb 27, 2014, 4:42 PM
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I thought the Milner was planning residential awhile ago. Hopefully this will finally get the ball rolling. The Strathmore is going to be gorgeous once it gets completed. It really can't wait until development spreads down to the Cass Park area.
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  #2413  
Old Posted Feb 28, 2014, 8:09 AM
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Yes, the Milner announced the plans for a conversion back in 2012. It was never in danger of being abandoned. This isn't so much a "new" development as getting it kickstarted. It does sound like the Strathmore is further ahead as I've seen it announced consversion will begin in a few months, whereas no media reports seem to be setting a season for the Milner, still.

As for the Corridor, even though it won't travel it, I wonder if developers are just waiting until they see the shovels in the ground for the streetcar? It's my gut feeling that when they see the community is committed to the revitalization in a concrete way, we'll start seeing more stuff south of MLK/Myrtle.
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  #2414  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2014, 9:22 PM
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Another development in the Red Wings arena saga:

Quote:
Ilitches to get all revenues from new publicly financed Red Wings arena
Joe Guillen and JC Reindl | March 2, 2014

For more than 30 years, the Red Wings have played hockey in Joe Louis Arena under an agreement negotiated by former Mayor Coleman Young to keep the team from moving to the suburbs.

With a new hockey arena on track to open as early as the 2016-17 season, the agreement between the City of Detroit and the Red Wings will disappear, and with it about $7 million in revenue the city received annually from the team’s home games.

Under a new deal hashed out between representatives of the team’s owners, Mike and Marian Ilitch, and state and local development authorities, the Red Wings will no longer have to share 10% of ticket proceeds, 7% of suite sales, 10% of food and beverage concessions, 5% of souvenir sales and other revenue from parking. All of that money — estimated to be about $7 million annually — would belong to the Ilitches’ Olympia Development of Michigan when the team moves north of downtown into a proposed $450-million arena.

In addition, any future proceeds from the selling of naming rights to the new 18,000-seat arena would also go to Olympia Development. Other NHL teams have snagged corporate naming rights deals worth millions a year or more.

To be sure, Detroit would be getting significantly more financial assistance for the Wings’ new home ice than it did in late 1970s, when Young told then-team owner Bruce Norris that the city would build him a new riverfront arena and parking garage if he canceled plans to move the team to Pontiac. Norris ultimately paid nothing for the construction of Joe Louis Arena and rented the space from the city for $300,000 a year.
...
http://www.freep.com/article/2014030...-arena-revenue

This article makes me very uncomfortable. Here's another excerpt from the article:
"In defending their deal, state and local development officials told the Free Press that the proposed 58% public investment was too small for them to negotiate a share of future revenues like Young did for the Joe. They also said it’s wrong to assume that any city is entitled to money simply because a sports venue is built there."
If 58% of funding is too small for officials to demand any concessions, what would be considered an 'adequate' investment? I was extremely excited when word of the Red Wings moving to this area was first announced, but I have gotten more of a sour taste with every consecutive announcement. Yeah, I guess more development could come out of this, but that uncertainty does not (in my opinion) justify this kind of deal making.
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  #2415  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2014, 8:19 AM
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I was - and still am - concerned about this, but it is worth noting that this wasn't a failure of Detroit's negotiators, as much as it seems that this is how sports teams play ball (pun intended) with municipalities, these days. I'm not sure Detroit could have gotten a better deal...and, perhaps, that should make us question any kind of public funding for private sports entities, at all.

It's an issue, but it's one not unique to Detroit, unfortunately. The city was able, though, to negotiate in such a way that this is owned by the DDA, and that they aren't on the hook for any costs overruns or any unforseen problems. I guess it's the least they could have done. But, the Olympia is making it out like bandits with ownership of the naming rights and the long-term lease of the place. Detroit is taking a big risk in the short-term hoping the surrounding development pays off in the long-run.

What is does make me wish, now, is that maybe the city should have played hardball with the community benefits arrangements which ultimately were agreed to, but not legally binding. I mean, if you're not going to get any revenue from the thing, it now seems like the least they could have done was demanded some money up front for the immediate neighborhood (i.e. the residents and business displaced by all of this) apart from the "proposed" entertainment district. Hell, the city didn't even sell the land to the DDA for a profit.

I better stop talking. This is getting worse the more I ramble. lol
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  #2416  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2014, 3:44 PM
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http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...it-201-million

As far as the case with Detroit, most of the money spent on building this stadium will actually be made back from the debt negotiations with the banks.

What's also mentioned in the article is that Detroit might be able to free up the casino revenue which were originally marketed to voters as being sources of funding for city services but instead the revenues were shifted to paying off debts. So already, Detroit could make more money back post-bankruptcy than the amount it's putting into this stadium. Whether it'll save the pensions of a few retirees, I dunno, that depends on how smart the city government will be with the money and timing.

I do think a better deal could have came for community benefits. Something like requiring a percentage of new residential to be market rate.

I also think it would be better to be completely privately funded, but again that's not something unique to Detroit and doesn't really seem as big a deal to me if this wasn't during a bankruptcy.
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  #2417  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2014, 8:11 AM
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The City of Detroit isn't spending anything on the building of this stadium, to be clear, nor is it on the hook for anything. The only local public funds being spent, here, are from the DDA's funds, which are a special assessment paid for by downtown business owners and such. If there is any problem, it's not with the City of Detroit spending money on this.
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  #2418  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2014, 1:54 PM
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More Midtown housing, this one in Arts Center in the northeast corner of Midtown:

Quote:


$6.9 million Midtown apartment financing closes; construction to begin 'any day'

By Kirk Pinho | Crains Detroit Business

March 4, 2014

The former Tushiyah United Hebrew School at Kirby and St. Antoine streets in Midtown will be turned into 25 market-rate apartment units as part of a $6.9 million redevelopment now that the developer has closed on project financing.

Lead and asbestos abatement has been completed and construction on the building will begin "any day now," said Ian Wiesner, senior loan officer in the Ann Arbor office of Arlington, Va.-based Capital Impact Partners (formerly NCB Capital Impact), one of the lenders on the project.

...

There will be 21 one-bedroom units, 2 two-bedroom units and two studio units.

Construction is expected to be completed by the beginning of next year, Wiesner said.

...
This area seems to be pretty overlooked despite being fairly healthy. It's definitely got a base on which to build.
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  #2419  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2014, 10:03 PM
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Wulitzer's day seemed but only so close.

Quote:
Group backs out of deal to buy Wurlitzer Building in Detroit
MARCH 5, 2014. LOUIS AGUILAR. THE DETROIT NEWS.



The group that inked a deal to buy one of downtown's "most dangerous" structures has backed out, leaving the former Wurlitzer Building vacant and stuck in court.

....

Last November, structural engineers inspected the building as part of the final details of the potential sale, but, shortly after that, the Lansing group opted out of the deal. Earlier in the year, the group had signed a purchase agreement, but, they had the option to walk away before the final sale.

“The deal is not going happen. No reason was given, but the current owner is pursuing other potential developments,” said Michael Muller, a city of Detroit attorney, late Tuesday. Muller represents the city in the ongoing legal case involving the current owner of the Wurlitzer. It is owned by 1509 Broadway LLC, whose managing member is attorney Paul Curtis.

....
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  #2420  
Old Posted Mar 6, 2014, 1:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by user062789 View Post
Again nice to officially meet all of you!
Welcome to the forum!
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