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  #2121  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2013, 11:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Guiltyspark View Post
Most of the people in the city don't pay taxes. The city can't collect 80% of the taxes it is owed so I am not sure tax incentives would be effective.
Cost-Benefit...My point is, a heavy handed approach to "right-sizing" or consolidating the city is probably never going to work. If they can shrink the city and move the population, then that provides for cost savings in a variety of other areas, no?
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  #2122  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2013, 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by hudkina View Post
Well it looks like the Texas Doctor won't be redeveloping the Packard site after all. Huge surprise...

Now talks have moved on to the next highest bidder. I still doubt anything will come of the site any time soon, but at least the next guy is an actual developer from Chicago.
My actual thought with this was that there was someone on the inside bidding the property up. Either that, or it was a Jimmy Kimmel practical joke.
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  #2123  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2013, 1:09 PM
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From what I understand she had it set up to raise the bid $1,000 automatically if another bid goes over her own.
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  #2124  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2013, 6:40 PM
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Originally Posted by hudkina View Post
From what I understand she had it set up to raise the bid $1,000 automatically if another bid goes over her own.
A reporter on the WUOM NPR station stated that the city is contacting the 2nd highest bidder, William Hultz, a Chicago developer, whose bid was in the $2.2 million range (which itself is now in doubt link to Free Press article). If that is true, I wonder how the Texas doctor's bid was forced up to $6 million, a difference of 3,800 $1000 increments.
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  #2125  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2013, 7:52 PM
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Bill Hults is expected to pay 2 million dollars by Monday with a 100,000 deposit due tomorrow at 3 PM.
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  #2126  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2013, 10:42 PM
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The bid was automatic. They both must have had the $1,000 automatic increment set up.
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  #2127  
Old Posted Nov 1, 2013, 7:29 AM
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This is turning into a clown car and a running joke. Now, they are doing press on the Peruvian developer who swears he's a Very Serious Developer. Everyone is Very Serious and Not-Crazy-At-All until Wayne County asks them to show the money. Hultz was the guy who missed the minimal payment for the site just a few weeks back.
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  #2128  
Old Posted Nov 1, 2013, 12:20 PM
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Not an actual development, but something tangentially related to the redevelopment of the city: DPS enrollment seems to have staunched the bleeding. Overall enrollment is only down 1.8% over the previous year, which is the smallest decline in years, and even more interesting, high school enrollment has surged 14%. No one seems to have anticipated this, particularly with the creation of the EA district a few years back that was yet another direct competitor to DPS.

Quote:
DPS enrollment surges after years of decline

By Jennifer Chambers | The Detroit News

November 1, 2013

Detroit— It’s a problem officials at Detroit Public Schools have wanted for the last five decades: schools bulging with students.

After decades of staggering enrollment declines that have ravaged the district financially, DPS has found itself this fall with an influx of high school students — 1,844 more than last fall, a boost of 14 percent in grades 9-12.

It’s a small number in a district that once held 300,000 students but a feat in a city where more than 60 percent of children attend charter schools or suburban high schools across the city border.

The uptick is happening at only nine of the district’s 19 high schools. Much of the influx has occurred at two of the three general admission or neighborhood schools, East English Village and Western International.

...
Of the high schools, it seems that the only one to show any significant loss was Northwestern.

It'll be interesting to see if this is just a really successful recruitment blip, because, long-term, the city needs to keep as many families as possible.
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  #2129  
Old Posted Nov 1, 2013, 4:45 PM
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Gilbert's plan for the jail site via 7 Action News. Looks like there's going to be some political fiasco before any construction starts.

Video Link

Last edited by animatedmartian; Nov 1, 2013 at 5:16 PM.
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  #2130  
Old Posted Nov 1, 2013, 11:16 PM
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Quote:
Back From The Brink: Forest Arms in Midtown Gets Second Chance
NOVEMBER 1, 2013 BY R.J. KING



Following a devastating fire in 2008, the historic Forest Arms apartment building in Detroit’s Midtown District had been slated for demolition until developer Scott Lowell and his wife, Carolyn Howard, convinced the city that the four-story, brick-and-stone structure could be renovated.

In December, Lowell and Howard will start work on converting the structure, built in 1905 at Second and Forest avenues on what was part of the Lewis Cass farm, into 70 apartments ranging in size from 500 to 950 square feet. As part of the plan, five penthouse apartments and two commercial spaces totaling 7,000 square feet of space will be part of the project, as well.

“It took multiple calls, and we took the time to secure the building, and in the end the city agreed with us that such an important structure in the neighborhood should be saved,” says Lowell, principal of Pied-A-Terre Inc. in Detroit. “Midtown Detroit Inc. and Sue Mosey (president) were incredible advocates, and it really shows you the power of camaraderie and dedication.”

The units — rent will range from $600 to $1,200 per month — will include modern kitchen layouts, ceramic tile bathrooms, wood cabinets, and transom lights over the bedroom doors. In addition, the building will offer a geothermal heating and cooling system, solar panels to preheat hot water, and rainwater collection systems.

The renovation is projected to be completed in fall 2015. Given strong demand for musical rehearsal space at Lowell and Howard’s nearby Traffic Jam and Snug Restaurant, the team plans to install a soundproof practice room in the lower level of the Forest Arms. The courtyard also will be landscaped.

Overall, Pied-A-Terre owns and manages nine residential buildings offering a total of 92 apartments in Midtown. Along with Howard’s brother, Paul, the trio own The Bronx Bar in Midtown and Cliff Bell’s in downtown Detroit.
http://www.dbusiness.com/daily-news/...Second-Chance/
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  #2131  
Old Posted Nov 2, 2013, 1:16 AM
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News out of Eastern Market:

Quote:


Eastern Market grant will help build 200-seat outdoor plaza

By John Gallagher | Detroit Free Press

November 1, 2013

Eastern Market received a $750,000 grant Friday from the DTE Energy Foundation to support redevelopment of the market’s Shed 5 including the development of an outdoor 200-seat social gathering place.

When renovations are completed, Shed 5 will also house the market’s Community Kitchen, designed to help emerging food businesses bring their products to market by offering low-cost licensed production space.

...

Anticipated completion of Shed 5 is scheduled for June 2014.

...
I'm really looking forward to the market atrracting new construction over the coming years. It honestly seems like a place you could build a dense and vibrant neighborhood in an around to the north and east.
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  #2132  
Old Posted Nov 4, 2013, 8:33 AM
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Southfield is finally and seriously planning for a legit downtown around its long-time town center. Here's the concept:

Quote:


Southfield wants after-work downtown vibe and nightlife

By John Gallagher | Detroit Free Press

August 3, 2013

With its Northland shopping mall and its many suburban office parks on acres of asphalt, Southfield typifies the sprawling low-density suburbs of Detroit. It’s the sort of landscape that met the needs of businesses and residents leaving Detroit for suburbia a generation or two ago.

But that car-dependent mode of development is increasingly falling out of favor as downtown-style walkable urbanism grows more popular. And Southfield, perhaps metro Detroit’s most prototypical suburb, is trying to reinvent itself.

The focus is the City Centre, a varied district that stretches from the Southfield municipal offices and public library east of Evergreen between 10 Mile and 11 Mile roads west through a cluster of office parks and across Northwestern Highway to the Lawrence Technological University campus.

A series of projects, public and private, are under way or in early planning that will make this Civic Centre denser and more pedestrian-friendly. The goal is to attract and retain some of thousands of daytime office workers who typically flee each evening to trendier living spots such as Ferndale and Birmingham.

...

For starters, the City of Southfield has approved a $12.1-million reconstruction of the Evergreen corridor between 10 Mile and 11 Mile roads. Among the new features to come: Traffic-calming devices including two traffic circles or roundabouts, one at the entrance to municipal offices and the other at the entrance to the Southfield Public Library. Enhanced pedestrian crosswalks, bicycle paths, a landscaped median and other “walkable” amenities are on tap.

Nearby, an older office building has been remade as Arbor Lofts, a residential project partially leased for students by Lawrence Tech. If demand warrants, more residential housing will be added where parking lots now exist.

The city has also introduced sleek new bus stops, pedestrian benches, and even a new line of trash receptacles.

...
Renderings & Maps:

Quote:

Another arch rendering of the hoped for Southfield projects, this one showing the idea for a pedestrian plaza/deck over Northwestern Highway looking east through the remade retail district toward the municipal offices in the distance.


The street in the foreground is Evergreen; note the two traffic circles that will be created next year in 2014. Also note that many existing parking lots have been filled up with new retail and residential development.


A rendering of what part of a remade Civic Centre in Southfield might look like if plans work out. It is Central Park at Flex Street.


Frances Mahoney of Roseville waits on her bus at one of the renovated bus stops on Central Park Drive in Southfield.

Quite frankly, people don't even consider it due simply to its proximity to Detroit and its age - and let's be frank, its "demographics." But in my mind, it's particularly well located as a redevelopment node, and one that should have had more attention given to its years ago. Plus, you already have the road infrastructure, there, to shoot you right downtown and east and west down 8 Mile, so why the hell not? Sure, the multiple department stores in the concept are total pipe dreams, but the real thing here is the remaking of the roads and sidewalks.
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Last edited by LMich; Nov 4, 2013 at 9:12 AM.
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  #2133  
Old Posted Nov 4, 2013, 9:53 AM
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It's definitely an interesting plan. Though I'm quite surprised how late in the game Southfield is, so to speak. I would have thought a plan like this would have came about around 2008 or something similar to when Troy devised it's plan to 'urbanfy' it's main corridor or when suburbs like Royal Oak were adding more residential highrise towers.

The plan as it is now looks pretty tame and there's plenty more space they can fill up with residential towers or even townhouses. A lot of it just looks like parking lots-turned-greenspace and even still there a lot of parking lots visible. Really it kind of just looks like a disjointed lifestyle center. I guess the already present office buildings is what separates it from being one.

Still, I'm not terribly impressed by this vision and I really think Southfield could add more and I hope they do so.
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  #2134  
Old Posted Nov 4, 2013, 10:08 AM
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Yeah, it does look disjointed, for sure. For once, they seem to have an awfully optimistic view of retail in the center, but the only way that'd materialize is if 1). you undo Northland or 2). you include far more housing than what I see rendered in the concept to support said retail. I, too, would like to have seen much greater attention paid to residential infill. This looks really great if you're working in the office towers and civic center, but it almost doesn't address actual Southfield residents' access to the town center, which is who you'd pull on for support of the retail in the downtown. At the end of the day, it looks like an outdoor mall on Civic Center, as opposed to something connected to the neighborhoods.

All that said, anything is better than what is there, now. I understand they should have done this years ago, but Southfield is still a huge retail draw for northwest Detroiters, so I don't quite buy the prevailing opinion that it's "too late." I think a reinvigorated town center, here, wouldn't necessarily compete directly with the demographic who frequent the retail and nightlife along the upper Woodward corridor communities. There is a really big opportunity, here, to cater to the middle-class black suburban demographic in this area of the region, and make it their premiere suburban spot in a way you couldn't even do with the gentrifying Midtown and downtown Detroit. I've always seen this area as a missed opportunity - maybe, it's because my family frequented this area a lot as a child as far as retail was concerned - but, it's better late than never.
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  #2135  
Old Posted Nov 4, 2013, 10:33 PM
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Making 375 an at-grade boulevard seems to be gaining serious consideration.

Quote:
Repair or replace? I-375 at crossroads
City seeks expert to analyze the feasibility, impact of changing busy freeway to boulevard

By Bill Shea. November 03, 2013



The city of Detroit is seeking an expert to tell it, along with a group of public and private stakeholders, whether a proposal to transform I-375 into a grade-level boulevard is a good or bad idea -- or even feasible.

Detroit's Downtown Development Authority on Oct. 24 issued a request for proposals seeking a consultant to study and make recommendations on the project, which was floated in April as a way to boost investment along the roughly 1-mile stretch on the downtown's east side.

The bids are due Nov. 14 and a contract would be awarded by Dec. 6.

The DDA wants a consultant to do a traffic analysis, economic and district impact analysis, public engagement plan and alternatives plan.

The schedule within the RFP concludes with the final report being done by July. Along the way are various stakeholder and community outreach meetings, an economic impact analysis and other benchmarks.

...

Early cost estimates say the effort to raise the four-lane freeway, which is about 20 feet deep, and transform it into a boulevard will cost about $80 million, which is the same amount that MDOT believes will be needed in coming years for I-375 maintenance and repairs.

...

A glance at a map suggests there is a finite number of areas along the route that could be opened for development.

[MDOT Director Kirk] Steudle in April said the boulevard idea opens about 12 acres.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-at-crossroads
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  #2136  
Old Posted Nov 5, 2013, 12:15 AM
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I'm totally in favor of an at grade boulevard. It might clean up some of the edges adjoining 375 and provide additional space for development if transfer of the land is desired
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  #2137  
Old Posted Nov 5, 2013, 2:11 AM
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This probably would have flown way under the radar, but the westward extension of the Riverwalk is already underway.

Quote:
View Detroit's west riverfront transformation; bold project to bring 20 acres of green space

Eric Lacy/MLive Detroit
November 04, 2013









http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/d..._river_default

As of now, there's nothing of major interest in the area other than the giant post office building and a few light industrial buildings. It's kind of disconnected from the main Riverwalk because of the Riverfront Towers (which have a private marina along the shore) and a concrete jumble of a mess that's the off-ramp of the Lodge Freeway and the JLA parking garage. I wonder if they tear down JLA, hopefully they'll take down the parking garage as well? Fingers crossed.

Anyway, the point is, there's good potential for the strip of area if things are configured right.

http://goo.gl/maps/7XtHz
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  #2138  
Old Posted Nov 5, 2013, 5:45 AM
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Too bad the city didn't require some easement along the river. You could still keep the marina private, you'd just have a fenced in section of the riverwalk. Maybe the towers will see interest in that connectivity and open it up.
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  #2139  
Old Posted Nov 5, 2013, 8:35 AM
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So happy to see the progress on the Riverwalk, and the further study being done on 375. These transit projects are what will facilitate more quality development than what would otherwise be possible.

It looks like it's entirely possible to get the Riverwalk through the Riverfront properties. I mean, it couldn't hurt for the city to at least see if they are interested in negotiating something. Knowing Detroit, though, Riverfront probably prizes its privacy to a degree, which is weird for me, because the isolation of the towers has always seemed like the most unattractive parts of the scheme, to me. BTW, does the city own the surface parking lot in between the towers and the arena? Also, does anyone know who owns the giant lot directly to the west of the towers? As for the Joe's parking garage, I'd like to see it go, too, but I wonder if it's not just used by the Joe? Is it used for overflow parking for Cobo? Detroit doesn't give up parking garages very easily. lol

As for 375, yeah, it's days really need to be numbered. I remember reading back during the summer when they are talking about this that this would open up a whole 12 acres of additional land to develop after taking out the service drives, ramps and other superfluous areas of the freeway. The big thing I see with this is revitalizing the western edge of Lafayette Park along the freeway.
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  #2140  
Old Posted Nov 5, 2013, 8:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Hayward View Post
Too bad the city didn't require some easement along the river. You could still keep the marina private, you'd just have a fenced in section of the riverwalk. Maybe the towers will see interest in that connectivity and open it up.
They've done that with the marina section along the Harbortown though there was already plenty of space between most of the existing development and the marina. Pretty much an easy adjustment.

The Riverfront Towers and the property they sit on seems a whole lot less forgiving. I'm trying to see what the plans are/would be on connecting either side of the property.
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