DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by Michi

I'm surprised how little is reported about the Cobo renovation. What is the latest?

They are currently putting a glass canopy across the entrance which is the final leg of renovation. Personally haven't been by there recently so I don't know how far along they are with it.

[subterranean]

I was just there last week but didn't get any photos due to the weather. Construction crews were still at work on the entrance. Grand Ballroom A is complete. Carpet is going in. I have to say, it looks pretty sharp overall. I did notice, however, that the metal panels that adorn certain surfaces look really sharp; however, I did see some dents where ostensibly employees have brushed them with serving or cleaning carts. This was minor, but I hope this isn't a trend. Otherwise, I thought they've done a pretty good job. Certainly a major improvement.

[animatedmartian]

Construction on the Professional Plaza medical building has started. Hammer and Nail building still up, no word on what will be potentially done with it other than it has a separate developer from the new building.









Via Curbed

[detroit_alive]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Construction on the Professional Plaza medical building has started. Hammer and Nail building still up, no word on what will be potentially done with it other than it has a separate developer from the new building.

It bothers me that we haven't seen a site plan for this development. I have a feeling it will be a massive disappointment given the potential of that plot.

[animatedmartian]

Hopefully it can get reused.

Detroit eyes RFPs to refortify R. Thornton Brodhead Naval Armory
By Kirk Pinho. November 30, 2014.





In its 84 years, the R. Thornton Brodhead Naval Armory along the Detroit River has hosted a future president, a future boxing legend, and untold numbers of U.S. sailors, Marines and Coast Guard members.

But since it closed its doors in 2003, scrappers have been more prevalent visitors to the 107,000-square-foot building at 7600 E. Jefferson Ave.

Now, the city is developing a request for proposals to redevelop the armory, which sits on 4.5 acres and was named in 1947 after Capt. R. Thornton Brodhead, who as lieutenant commander of the Michigan naval force lobbied the city and state for construction of the armory, which was built in 1929 and 1930.

For Rebecca Binno Savage — the former treasurer of the nonprofit Brodhead Armory Preservation Society, which raised funds to maintain the city-owned building now in disrepair and advocated for its preservation — the RFP is welcome news.

"I spent a lot of my life working on this building. I took the flag down and turned the keys over to the city in October 2003," said Savage, who is also the historic preservation leader for Detroit-based architecture firm Kraemer Design Group PLC. "That Thanksgiving weekend, we had a very hard freeze and every pipe burst. It went from a functioning, perfectly maintained building into an instantly soaked disaster."

....

Scott Allen, president of Bingham Farms-based property management company The Fourmidable Group Inc., which manages several Detroit riverfront properties, said the site is best suited for commercial use because of the lack of such space in the area.

"Any kind of new activity that occurs there further up the river, there are opportunities for all of that to redevelop and come back to life," he said.

It wouldn't be the first RFP for the site, where Franklin D. Roosevelt stumped in his first presidential campaign in 1932 and where Joe Louis fought his first amateur bout that same year (it was a two-round loss to British boxer Johnny Miller). The city issued redevelopment requests in 2003 and 2010 that produced no results.

But things are different now since riverfront development and redevelopment have been moving forward at a steady clip.

...

[subterranean]

Whitney Building Restores Historic Cornice Lost 55 Years Ago



We've explored David Whitney Building's new apartments and hotel rooms, gawked at the tremendous lobby, and welcomed 26 lions to the facade. With doors scheduled to open later this month, workers have now finished installing the last major piece of the Whitney's restoration: the new (old) cornice.

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...-years-ago.php

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Hopefully it can get reused.

I hope so. I spent a lot of time there as a kid. It's a beautiful building in a unique location along the river.

[animatedmartian]

Slipped under the radar, but in Detroit's North End, the Michigan Human Society is upgrading to a new facility. Groundbreaking was back in October and construction is expected to be completed in 2016. The construction is financed through donations and as of this post $9 million of the $15 million dollar construction cost has been raised.

• Video Link

[animatedmartian]

In an attempt to sell a parking lot, investor Emre Uralli (who has an iffy history in Detroit) has presented a fantasy design of what a developer could build on the lot if they so chose.

This is purely a fantasy proposal although it begs the question why the investor doesn't build something himself rather than presenting what could be built there by someone else. It's a weird marketing strategy.

The lot is for sale for $7 million and includes a $9 million dollar tax credit.









Curbed Detroit.

[Detroit1995]

Wow animatedmartian thanks for posting that story! I know that it's just a fantasy, but could you imagine an actual high-rise project of that magnitude under construction in Detroit? I'm excited just thinking about it since we've only seen two skyscrapers built in the last 21 years.

[animatedmartian]

^^^ Yea, I wish it was an actual proposal too albeit with a certainly better design.

In the mean time...

Texas investors pay $2.5M for Detroit storage building
By Kirk Pinho. December 04, 2014.



A 119,000-square-foot industrial warehouse building at 5757 Trumbull St. north of I-94 in Detroit has been sold to the pair of out-of-state investors who are planning a loft-style multifamily residential development in the New Center area.

Bill Ball and Jerry Lindenmuth, both of Austin, Texas, purchased the Trumbull Street building, which is occupied by Boston-based document management company Iron Mountain Inc., said Matt O’Laughlin, the senior agent for Detroit-based The Loft Warehouse Inc., which represented the buyers.

The $2.5 million deal closed in mid-November, O’Laughlin said.

The building, which is used for medical records storage, will be just an investment property for Ball and Lindenmuth for the time being. However, if Iron Mountain decides to vacate, the building might be redeveloped into 80-90 loft-style condominiums, according to O’Laughlin.

Iron Mountain’s lease expires Dec. 31, 2019, according to CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service.

....

The same Texas buyers are currently renovating similar styled lofts in Techtown.

Also update on LTU building in Midtown.


http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...rings.php#more

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by subterranean

I was just there last week but didn't get any photos due to the weather. Construction crews were still at work on the entrance. Grand Ballroom A is complete. Carpet is going in. I have to say, it looks pretty sharp overall. I did notice, however, that the metal panels that adorn certain surfaces look really sharp; however, I did see some dents where ostensibly employees have brushed them with serving or cleaning carts. This was minor, but I hope this isn't a trend. Otherwise, I thought they've done a pretty good job. Certainly a major improvement.

Video wall on Washington and Congress finished just the other day and is currently being tested.



Video of it in action.

[skyfan]

Rents keep going up in greater downtown Detroit






People continue to write bigger rent checks for the chance to live in or around downtown Detroit, with some mainstream rents at levels once reserved for penthouses and other ultra-luxurious spaces.

Driving the higher prices is a demand for apartments at all price ranges in downtown, Midtown and Corktown that still exceeds the supply of available units — despite a mini-boom of construction and building rehabs.

According to local experts, the going rent for newly built or newly restored Class A apartments is up to about $1.70 per square foot in Midtown and $2 per square foot in downtown. It was only five years ago that $1.25 was a common number
But the hot rental market has inevitable side effects, with some university students and young professionals complaining they've been priced out of the market or pay too much for comfort.

Tenants in existing market-rate buildings in Midtown experienced rent hikes this year averaging about 5% and about 14% over the past three years, said Sue Mosey, president of the nonprofit Midtown Detroit Inc.

.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...roit/20019111/

[The Lurker]

I'm so done with Detroit. We're reading more and more articles like the one above and yet we're still destroying faster than we're building. The Hammer and N ail building, seriously? For what? Another 5 story building straight out of Royal Oak? meanwhile a one story Humane Society building is the biggest news we have to report on. Is anybody else concerned that the skyscraper is simply becoming obsolete in this town? Massive swaths of the city are basically clean cut so whats the purpose of a tall building? when the inner ring finally does redevelop its going to look like Van Buren Township.

[Guiltyspark]

The city needs mid density before we are gonna get any new skyscrapers. That is just the way things are.

[davidberko]

@Guiltyspark is right. I don't like seeing those five story "Rochester" developments going up anymore than the next guy, however Detroit has so many vacant lots, the city has to get a bunch of these infill projects first before we start to see cranes in the sky again.

[animatedmartian]

I could care less about the height of a building more so than its overall design. High rises can be cheap and ugly too and honestly since Detroit's real estate is currently so cheap, that increases the chances of a high rise being pretty cheap. You'd need someone to be speculative to dish out cash on a meaningful design at this point in time.

The Hammer and Nail Building looks just as mundane as any suburban office building built in the 1960s so I'm completely confused by the "every new development looks like something from the suburbs" especially when H&R wasn't even built to the street and had a parking lot on the opposite side.

[subterranean]

After thinking about the discussions here about building height and demand, I thought I'd dust off an idea I had awhile ago and see what people think.

I believe it's time for some creative solutions with the vacant land, and I actually think the land bank might be going about its strategy the wrong way in some respects. Of course there is a lot more blight that needs to be eliminated, and there's a large amount being taken care of now or planned to be taken down. What I think is wrong with the strategy is what they do with the property afterwords.

Of course, in an ideal situation, everyone would like to see the properties returned to the tax rolls. We see them trying to sell the vacant land in bundles, or doing side lot transfers. But there is just far, far too much land.

But what if they tried another tactic? Currently Detroit Future City is in the process of trying to come up with a vacant land strategy. I imagine the land bank will be a key component to whatever strategy they come up with. So, what about something like this: the city and the land bank continue their blight elimination program, targeted to specific neighborhoods, but instead of trying to return those properties to the tax roles, they remove them permanently (or at least very long term). I know there are ideas out there for returning these sections of the city into forests are farm land, but it doesn't seem like there's a sound or cohesive strategy for what to do next. But I think once they have amassed and combined enough parcels and removed unnecessary infrastructure, they could rezone it as park land and transfer it to the state DNR as they've done with Belle Isle. From there, the city and state enact a reverse urban growth boundary, blocking any development from occurring on the vacant park land unless there is a legislative action.

The state and the city could then team up with organizations like the Greening of Detroit to turn the land into a greenbelt and forests. Removing the supply from the market with a "reverse" urban growth boundary could theoretically have the consequence of increased demand, enabling higher prices for land that is developed or developable, and the increased property values would return higher taxable values for the city and county while removing the liabilities of vacant land. Of course, everyone would need to be on board, especially the state. But I think it just may be crazy enough to work. My two cents.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by Detroit1995

Wow animatedmartian thanks for posting that story! I know that it's just a fantasy, but could you imagine an actual high-rise project of that magnitude under construction in Detroit? I'm excited just thinking about it since we've only seen two skyscrapers built in the last 21 years.

It's certainly impressive, and despite being fantasy, it's not unreasonable for midwest development. Fact is, Detroit needs more housing downtown.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by subterranean

After thinking about the discussions here about building height and demand, I thought I'd dust off an idea I had awhile ago and see what people think.

I believe it's time for some creative solutions with the vacant land, and I actually think the land bank might be going about its strategy the wrong way in some respects. Of course there is a lot more blight that needs to be eliminated, and there's a large amount being taken care of now or planned to be taken down. What I think is wrong with the strategy is what they do with the property afterwords.

Of course, in an ideal situation, everyone would like to see the properties returned to the tax rolls. We see them trying to sell the vacant land in bundles, or doing side lot transfers. But there is just far, far too much land.

But what if they tried another tactic? Currently Detroit Future City is in the process of trying to come up with a vacant land strategy. I imagine the land bank will be a key component to whatever strategy they come up with. So, what about something like this: the city and the land bank continue their blight elimination program, targeted to specific neighborhoods, but instead of trying to return those properties to the tax roles, they remove them permanently (or at least very long term). I know there are ideas out there for returning these sections of the city into forests are farm land, but it doesn't seem like there's a sound or cohesive strategy for what to do next. But I think once they have amassed and combined enough parcels and removed unnecessary infrastructure, they could rezone it as park land and transfer it to the state DNR as they've done with Belle Isle. From there, the city and state enact a reverse urban growth boundary, blocking any development from occurring on the vacant park land unless there is a legislative action.

The state and the city could then team up with organizations like the Greening of Detroit to turn the land into a greenbelt and forests. Removing the supply from the market with a "reverse" urban growth boundary could theoretically have the consequence of increased demand, enabling higher prices for land that is developed or developable, and the increased property values would return higher taxable values for the city and county while removing the liabilities of vacant land. Of course, everyone would need to be on board, especially the state. But I think it just may be crazy enough to work. My two cents.

I don't think this is crazy at all. I've shared a very similar approach on this site for some time. The key to Detroit's future success is entirely spatial. It's just that approach to implementation was terribly misinterpreted by the public. We've seen some awful blunders by developers and even gov't and non-profit organizations that attempted to force cheap housing in severely declining areas. The houses were never occupied, stripped, burned, and then torn down. Had this land become forest preserve, development would shift elsewhere in strategic growth areas. What are strategic growth areas? Places where schools and services can more adequately meet citizens' needs...places where public transit can be intensified and improved. Places where historic properties can be rehabilitated. Places that are more easily accessible to job centers.