METRO DETROIT | Development & Projects

[DetroitMan]

Google behind massive Van Buren Township data center project

Google is the tech company behind a massive "hyperscale" data center project in Van Buren Township.

The California giant on Tuesday announced it is evaluating the site of a proposed 800,000-square-foot, 1-gigawatt data center and has an agreement with DTE Energy to supply upwards of 2.7 gigawatts of capacity — enough electricity to power roughly 2 million homes, or about 60% of all homes in Michigan.

The Detroit-based utility will file proposed energy contracts with state regulators later Tuesday, months after its secured approval of a deal with Oracle for a huge data center in Saline Township, the state's first hyperscaler.

As part of the latest agreement, Google is committing to pay the full cost of the additional load and $10 million toward an Energy Impact Fund to scale initiatives to drive down costs for residents, including programs to weatherize homes and workforce development projects. Existing customers would save $1.7 billion with the addition of the large, high-load customer spreading fixed costs across the grid, according to DTE.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/technology/google-behind-massive-van-buren-township-data-center

[Velvet_Highground]

Denmark-based investor targets Michigan for $1B-plus battery energy storage projects

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is looking to build large battery energy storage systems, or BESS, in Ecorse, adjacent to a U.S. Steel factory, and Flat Rock, near a Ford Motor Co. assembly plant, as part of an effort to bring more than 1 gigawatt of battery storage to Michigan’s grid over the next several years.

…

CIP has two other large battery storage projects in motion in West Michigan’s Kalamazoo and Allegan counties, with plans to invest more than $1 billion across the four developments. They are at the front of an anticipated wave of BESS investment in Michigan as power-hungry data centers look to draw from the state’s grid and utilities work to improve stability and meet clean energy mandates set forth by the Legislature.

“There is tremendous commercial interest,” Porvaznik told Crain’s. “They have to be at locations where there's some sort of strain expected on the grid that these assets can help alleviate.”

Project Redstart in Ecorse is located next to U.S. Steel’s Great Lakes Works complex on land most recently used for new vehicle storage. Porvaznik said CIP is “collaborating” with the steel company to make the project happen but declined to provide specifics.

“There is interest in having this project there for the benefit of their operations,” he said.

Indeed, all of Michigan stands to benefit from such systems — that’s particularly true of Wayne County, according to a recent study. Michigan’s most populous county, home to 1.8 million residents and scores of large manufacturers, is at “extreme” risk of power outages with one of the most vulnerable grids in the country, according to a Texas A&M University index released in August.

The expected influx of BESS projects benefits Michigan beyond just strengthening the grid and creating taxable value for municipalities; they provide a badly needed market for Michigan-based companies that invested heavily in electric vehicle battery plants only for EV demand to tank.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/economic-d...partners-plans-michigan-battery-projects

[Velvet_Highground]

This project needs to get some leadership that there was a discussion about Detroit’s status as a Great Lake region is probably a wide thought by people who know the city only a bit. We need more access to our lands and more recreational opportunities this seems like moving towards that slowly if we’re making moves like this Great Lakes way.

There’s a lot of Greenway and parkland at all on this map and excludes the Orchard Lake Greenway but it shows the concept well enough.


https://detroitgreenways.org/great-lakes-way/

Great Lakes Way trail still without a steward, threatening regional tourism plans

A year after pledging to hand off the Great Lakes Way trail initiative, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan has yet to find a new steward, leaving the 167-mile project in limbo and putting at risk broader efforts.

The uncertainty threatens to stall momentum on an eight-state U.S. Great Lakes Waterfront Trail network that supporters say could boost regional and cross-border tourism and property values along the waterfront as well as strengthen ties with Canadian counterparts already building similar infrastructure.

Nearly 70% of the trail has been completed, but without institutional backing the project risks losing coordination, funding and credibility with potential partners.

The Great Lakes Way is one of more than 80 initiatives the Community Foundation has helped to launch and incubate during its 40-year history, Sarah Baltman Wedepohl, the foundation's vice president of community impact, said in an emailed statement sent in response to Crain’s requests for an interview.

“We are proud of the foundation laid through the Great Lakes Way initiative and grateful for the collaboration it inspired across the region,” she said. "As this work evolves, we are thoughtfully identifying the appropriate partner to carry it forward … We will shift oversight of the project as soon as we can be assured that the vision of CFSEM, our partners and donors will be thoughtfully fulfilled.”

John Hartig worked with the late U.S. Rep. John Dingell to establish the Detroit International Wildlife Refuge downriver and led the Great Lakes Way project on behalf of CFSEM until his contract ended in December 2024. He continues to lead the effort on a volunteer basis, co-chairing its advisory committee with the project’s retired director, Tom Woiwode, who launched it in 2021 before retiring from CFSEM in 2022.

The two men are helping to identify trail gaps for the Port Huron-to-Toledo trail, groups that could fill them and funding to make them a reality. They are also serving as convenors of the communities along the trail and other stakeholders to connect them for joint marketing and programming opportunities.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/nonprofits...trail-still-without-steward-coordination

[airforceguy]

Robotics giant plans massive $90M plant in metro Detroit, 225 jobs

Japanese robotics giant Fanuc plans to invest $90 million to build a new 840,000-square-foot plant in Pontiac, expanding its U.S. production footprint to meet booming demand for onshoring and automation by automakers and other customers.

The investment, which was anticipated to be a discussion point of Thursday’s meeting between President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, is expected to create 225 jobs and be complete by 2027, Mike Cicco, president and CEO of Fanuc America Corp., told Crain’s.

“We see an increased demand to make things in America, and we know that the use of advanced automation is necessary to cost effectively make things in America,” Cicco said in an interview.

Fanuc, whose largest customer is General Motors Co., is under contract to buy a roughly 40-acre plot of land for the development just south of the Williams International headquarters in the southeast corner of Pontiac. The new expansion plan comes on the heels of an 800,000-square-foot development completed in Auburn Hills two years ago.

Once complete, it would bring Fanuc’s U.S. footprint to 3 million square feet, with 700 jobs created and nearly $300 million invested since 2019, primarily in metro Detroit. Additionally, the company is expected to open its new advanced manufacturing academy at the former Cooley Law School site in Auburn Hills this year.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufactur...um=email&utm_campaign=20260320&utm_term=

[DetroitMan]

Claude AI maker Anthropic in talks for Southeast Michigan hyperscale data center

Anthropic is the intended end user of a controversial hyperscale data center proposed in Lyon Township, a source close to the matter told Crain’s.

The company, the San Fransico tech giant behind the large language artificial intelligence model Claude AI, is currently in contract negotiations with the developer, California-based Verrus. The development, called Project Flex, includes 1.8 million square feet of data center space in six buildings on 172 acres on Grand River Avenue between Milford and South Hill roads in the small township.

Detroit-based Walbridge is the owner of the property and the general contractor for the build-out of the center.

Walbridge, Verrus and Lyon Township’s economic development department did not return inquiries about Anthropic and the development.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/technology/cdb-anthropic-projectflex-datacenter-20260414/

[DetroitMan]

Audio giant building large automotive innovation hub in Troy

Audio giant Bose Corp. is building a 78,000-square-foot automotive innovation hub and R&D center next to the PNC Bank tower in Troy.

The Massachusetts-based speaker and headphone manufacturer is moving forward on a large expansion in metro Detroit as it seeks growth with automotive customers, according to project representatives. Crews broke ground in November on the two-story development along I-75 just south of Big Beaver Road and are expected to be done by the second quarter of 2027.

“We have our consumer headquarters in Boston and we really want to establish ourselves here in metro Detroit,” Bose representative Courtney Catcho told the Troy Planning Commission last April, when the project was approved. “So this is really going to be our dedicated center of excellence and our innovation hub for our automotive division.”

The building will include a first-floor high bay, where customers will be able to bring their vehicles for product testing. It will also include software and mechanical engineering labs and a “critical listening room.”

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufacturing-logistics/cdb-bose-auto-innovation-hub-troy-20260416/

[DetroitMan]

Dearborn approves $31M townhome development with affordable units

A $31 million townhome development that includes affordable housing units is set to break ground in 2026 after receiving approval from Dearborn city council.

The project, planned for 15625 Lundy Parkway, will bring 111 townhomes to a vacant site, along with amenities such as a clubhouse and pool. Construction is expected to be completed by 2028. The development is led by Mohamed Sohoubah, a Dearborn-based Yemeni American entrepreneur and pharmacist.

Plans call for a mix of one- to four-bedroom units, including 29 designated as “attainable housing” for households earning up to 120% of the area median income for at least 22 years.

City officials said the development will help address housing demand identified in a 2025 market analysis, which found Dearborn needs about 1,500 new housing units by 2035. “This is another great example of turning underutilized property into something that strengthens our tax base and brings long-term value to our community,” said councilman Kamal Alsawafy during the meeting.

The project is supported by a brownfield tax incentive plan that will reimburse up to about $11.4 million in eligible development costs over a 28-year period.

City officials said the development is expected to be cost-neutral during the incentive period while generating more than $5.6 million in revenue to the city, compared to about $5 million in projected service costs.

https://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/2026/...e-development-with-affordable-units.html

[airforceguy]

Sterling Heights mall redevelopment seeks $270M incentive package

A public hearing is scheduled for May 5 on the $270.6 million or so in incentives, which includes Transformational Brownfield Program funding. The Michigan Strategic Fund board is expected to consider the TBP request in June, said Luke Bonner, the economic development advisor for Sterling Heights.

The $573 million first phase of the project, which would involve demolition of the former mall that sits on 100 or so acres of land along one of the densest retail corridors in the region, involves the development of 1,365 multifamily residential units, another 180 units of senior housing for those 55 and up, and about 154,000 square feet of retail, Bonner said.

A second phase could include some 1,700 more multifamily units, plus office and hotel space, although that could change.

That would make it among the largest multifamily developments in the state.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estat...um=email&utm_campaign=20260420&utm_term=

[airforceguy]

Ikea to open location in Oakland County

Swedish furniture and home goods giant Ikea is expanding its presence in metro Detroit with a smaller-format retail location at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills.

The company on Monday said it will open a pop-up store with order pickup this summer, giving metro Detroit shoppers another way to access its products without driving to its large-format store in Canton Township. The nearly 4,500-square-foot location at 4000 Baldwin Road will function as a planning studio and pickup point for online orders, according to a news release. Customers will also be able to buy more than 500 smaller home accessories in-store.

The new location will be Ikea’s second in the Detroit market, joining the retailer’s full-size 311,000-square-foot store that opened in 2006 on Ford Road near I-275.

Officials with Ikea and Great Lakes Crossing Outlets did not immediately respond to a Crain’s request for more information.

It was not disclosed where exactly on the mall property the store will be located, how long the pop-up will run or if Ikea is testing the market for a possible second full-size store in Michigan. Ikea had previously looked at spots in Oakland and Macomb counties for a second store, Crain’s previously reported.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/retail/cdb-ikea-location-oakland-county-20260420/

[airforceguy]

Sterling Heights advances $270M Lakeside Mall redevelopment plan

terling Heights officials are advancing a $270 million transformational brownfield plan that would help finance the redevelopment of the former Lakeside Mall site, with multiple approvals scheduled in May and June.

May 5 and June 23 pose as two key dates for the demolition of the Lakeside Mall property and the development of the Lakeside Town Center in Sterling Heights. Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the project is scheduled to go before the Michigan Strategic Fund Board on May 9, following City Council action earlier that week. “May 5, Sterling Heights City Council will be adopting the Combined Transformational Brownfield Plan so that it can go to the Michigan Strategic Fund Board for consideration,” he said.

The Transformational Brownfield Plan is a $270 million tax increment financing proposal spread over 30 years to support public and private improvements at Lakeside Town Center.

A separate June 19 meeting will focus on the surrounding area outside the former mall site.

“June 19 is the anticipated approval of the Lakeside Corridor Improvement Authority plan, which is completely separate and apart from the Transformational Brownfield Plan,” Vanderpool said. “The CIA plan focuses on the area outside of the Lakeside Mall property.”

https://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/2026/...0m-lakeside-mall-redevelopment-plan.html

[Velvet_Highground]

Hate Mlive trying to force Admiral on me … if the developers have the vision and money to go all the way with this it would be transformative for Sterling Heights.

[airforceguy]

Lakeside Mall redevelopment clears key hurdle as Sterling Heights OKs tax plan

The plan approved on Tuesday is for phase one of the project, which has a construction cost of about $573 million, Bonner said. The phase includes 1,365 residential units, 180 senior units, over 154,000 square feet of new commercial and retail space, and a central park. Once the phase starts, it needs to be completed in five years, Bonner said. About $270.7 million in revenue is expected to be captured through the brownfield plan. Most of the revenue is coming from property taxes, but some is coming from construction taxes. Bonner said there is an income tax on construction workers and a sales use tax on construction equipment.

He said Lionheart Capital will borrow traditional debt and also plans to issue a private bond for the project. He said the developer "fronts the costs" and is paid back over time by the Brownfield Plan tax revenue.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/l...ing-heights-brownfield-plan/89943325007/

[airforceguy]

Massive $3B youth sports campus planned next to Detroit Metro Airport

Developers are planning a massive, $3 billion youth sports and family entertainment campus next to Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus.

Dubbed the Motown Sports Village, the 452-acre campus would be home to an arena of up to 11,000 seats, plus a dozen basketball/volleyball courts and four hockey rinks that can be converted to soccer fields. It will also have family entertainment offerings like an arcade, a bowling alley, rock climbing and an IMAX theater, officials with the project said.

Developers hope to begin construction in 2027 with some aspects of the campus opening to the public in 2029.

The project is coordinated by Motown Sports Group Holdings with financing secured through JLL Capital Markets. The organizations announced the plans in an online statement.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/busine...xt-to-detroit-metro-airport/90087030007/

[airforceguy]

Developer plans parking deck with housing on Ferndale site next to Como’s

A vacant downtown Ferndale site is being targeted for a new development by a Birmingham-based company.

Cypress Partners LLC has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with the city of Ferndale to build on the site at the northwest corner of Nine Mile Road and Bermuda Street, just east of the Como’s pizza restaurant. If built, the seven-story development would have a three-level parking deck with about 250 spaces. Above the deck would be four floors of market-rate multifamily space with between 86 and 90 units, according to Mike Parks, managing member of Cypress Partners.

Under the current vision, the city would issue about $12 million in revenue bonds to pay for the parking deck, which would be city-owned. Those bonds would be repaid using revenue from the parking deck as well as tax-increment financing that Cypress Partners would assign to the city, Parks said.

The overall development cost is not known, although the Cypress Partners website lists an approximate $35 million price tag.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estat...ndale-apartments-parking-comos-20260515/

[Velvet_Highground]

There’s a lot being built right now at that corner, just around the block another apartment is finishing up.

[DetroitMan]

A new Trader Joe's store is headed to Farmington Hills

The trendy and cult-like grocer's new location at 27658 Middle Belt near 12 Mile Road is listed under the “Opening Soon” tab on its website.

“At Trader Joe's in Farmington Hills, we see ourselves as your neighborhood grocery store. Step inside and you'll find unconventional and interesting products in the Trader Joe's label like Mandarin Orange Chicken and Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate, as well as everyday basics like milk, eggs, meat, bakery items, and fresh produce,” the post states.

https://www.freep.com/story/entertainmen...e-farmington-hills/90194060007/?tbref=hp

[DetroitMan]

Plymouth's downtown to see $40 million makeover. What is changing

The plan is divided into six project sets organized by geographic area, allowing the city and DDA to phase construction and pursue funding in stages.

The broader plan calls for changes throughout downtown Plymouth: widened sidewalks, new trees, landscaped bump-outs, upgraded crosswalks, traffic-calming measures and changes to parking and street layouts aimed at improving pedestrian safety and accessibility. A conceptual timeline presented during the meeting showed the six project sets potentially unfolding over seven years, depending on grant funding and other financial support. The centerpiece of the proposal comes with a price tag of nearly $20 million – about half the cost of the overall plan – and focuses on Main Street and the blocks surrounding Kellogg Park.

That part of the plan would reduce the number of traffic lanes in some areas, widen sidewalks, add landscaping and on-street parking, create shared-use pathways for pedestrians and bicyclists and introduce curbless festival-friendly spaces with retractable bollards designed to make street closures for downtown events easier.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/m...r-trees-narrow-streets-more/90218076007/

[Velvet_Highground]

Downtown Plymouth is one of the best regional downtowns as it is great to see investment in improvement. Downtown Farmington is pretty small but it’s done a great job revitalizing it and opening it up to the greater community. Drawing people in from Farmington, Farmington Hills & parts of northern Livonia & further afield. Back in the day it was cool to hang out in there was Plus Skate Shop & places to eat, relax and drink & see a flick but it was a lot more quiet.

They put on some good musical acts at the pavilion & have bar crawls the bar / nightlife scene has improved to something respectable since over the past 10-15 years. Plymouth has the opportunity to in a lot of people from Canton as well as further away. Dearborn & Ypsilanti are there as well as Ann Arbor but a healthy local downtown is a boon for its general area.