DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[DetroitMan]

Construction begins on future AC Hotel in Midtown Detroit

Construction has begun on a long-awaited 154-room Marriott International AC Hotel in Midtown Detroit that will incorporate the historic Bonstelle Theatre as a bar and event space.

Developer Roxbury Group announced Thursday that work on the new 10-story building is officially underway and could finish in the fourth quarter of 2024. The AC Hotel was first announced in early 2020, on the eve of COVID-19, and construction was subsequently delayed by the pandemic and its effect on the travel and hotel industries.

AC Hotel is a mid- and upper-level, European-inspired brand that began in Spain and has been owned by Marriott since 2011. The Midtown location will be the second AC Hotel in Michigan after Grand Rapids.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/bu...t/70303244007/

[DetroitMan]

While not development news per se, MSU has brought a majority stake in the Fisher Building. In addition to buying this stake, the university also purchased tow adjacent surface parking lots and a parking garage. I could see the university developing these properties as residential or mixed use in the future.

Michigan State endowment buys majority stake in Fisher Building

In addition to buying the Albert Kahn-designed tower affectionately referred to as "Detroit's largest art object," the endowment has purchased two surface parking lots adjacent to the 441-foot tower as well as the Baltimore Garage previously controlled by Detroit-based developer and landlord The Platform LLC, which is run by Executive Chairman and CEO Peter Cummings. In an interview, Phillip Zecher, CIO for Michigan State, said the endowment paid $21 million for a 79% ownership of an entity that now owns the four properties. The deal, in discussions for more than a year, closed Monday.

The remaining 21% is now owned approximately 50-50 by The Platform and Michigan State University Federal Credit Union. The new joint venture between the endowment, The Platform and the credit union is taking out a loan from the credit union to retire existing debt and pay for exterior restorations, building operations and leasing activities like tenant improvements.

Southfield-based Bernard Financial Group arranged the financing.

Zecher said that since he joined the university in 2016, he has been "looking for ways that the endowment could participate in sort of the rebirth of Detroit." "It just seemed kind of obvious to invest in your backyard if there are good opportunities," Zecher said, noting that approval for the deal is not needed from the MSU board or the endowment board.

It's a major move for the East Lansing university's endowment and comes five months after MSU and Henry Ford Health further detailed plans for a $100 million to $150 million research center, which is one component of a planned $2.5 billion investment by the health system, MSU and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores to build a new hospital tower across from the existing hospital on West Grand Boulevard, as well as 500-plus residential units and commercial space in the surrounding area.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...isher-building

[DetroitSky]

^I'm curious what exactly they plan on doing with this purchase. I hope we'll see some new builds on those parking lots!

Detroit nonprofit crowdfunding to open art studio, gallery for adults with disabilities

DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Progressive Art Studio Collective is working to move to a new location in Detroit through the help of crowdfunding.

The PASC is currently housed inside the Services to Enhance Potential Detroit Resources Center program (STEP) building at Beaufait Street near Forest Avenue.

As a part of their core mission, STEP works to place community members with careers and to build life skills for independence. The PASC program, which launched in January 2021, is a leg of that mission.

The PASC currently has three art studio spaces in Detroit, Westland and Southgate where around 150 artists are able to create paintings, drawings, sculptures and mixed medium work.

The nonprofit recently launched a crowdfunding campaign in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to build a new art studio and gallery where artists can share their work and potentially be compensated for it. The MEDC says if the organization can raise $50,000 by Aug. 5, they will award them with a matching grant.

[VegasMatt]

Could be a nice addition to the riverfront:





https://www.wxyz.com/news/the-parade...-detroit-river

[DetroitMan]

A few development updates. A new plan has surface to redevelop the Brewster Recreational Site in Midtown. The plan calls for 200 apartments.

New Brewster Wheeler plan would bring 200-plus apartments to site

Bingham Farms-based affordable housing developer MHT Housing Inc. is attempting to buy the 6-acre site off I-75 south of Mack Avenue from KC Crain, CEO of Detroit-based Crain Communications Inc., the parent company of Crain's Detroit Business, for an undisclosed price.

As part of the overall vision, MHT would build 52 units of supportive housing for people who have aged out of the foster care system and provide wraparound services provided by Greater Grace Temple, run by Bishop Charles Ellis III, and Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network. Those services include counseling, and training in life and job skills, financial literacy and conflict resolution. In subsequent phases, three more 53-unit buildings with mixed-income housing would be constructed.

There would be 78 one-bedroom units averaging 600 square feet and 81 two-bedroom units averaging 750 square feet in the three other buildings. There would be 48 units available at 30% of Area Median Income, 24 units at 40% of AMI and 87 units at 80% AMI.

In addition, the historic recreation center — where boxer Joe Louis once trained and the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team once played — would be renovated and returned to its original use, said T. Van Fox, president of MHT, which owns or manages nearly 50 residential properties in Detroit. Restoration of that building, at 2900 St. Antoine, would begin late summer.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...lus-apartments

New 9-story apartment building proposed for downtown Detroit with historic facades
Also, the Lofts at Broadway project downtown has an updated development plan.

A developer is looking to build a new nine-story apartment building in downtown Detroit that would incorporate the facades of two old and empty buildings and raze a third that is thought to be too damaged to save.

The development, dubbed Lofts on Broadway, would replace the interiors of all three buildings with new construction containing the apartments and ground-floor retail space. The side-by-side three-story facades have the addresses 1322 Broadway, 1326 Broadway and 1332-1336 Broadway. The project was given a "notice to proceed" in February 2020 from the Detroit Historic District Commission, although progress stalled amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the approval eventually expired.

Developer Roger Basmajian, president of Basco of Michigan, initially sought to save and refurbish all three historic facades while demolishing each building's interior to make way for the new high-rise. The original plan called for 75 apartments.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/bu...s/70321786007/

[DetroitMan]

The Ribbon 'affordable' apartments project breaks ground on Detroit's east side

An $8 million "affordable" apartment building is now in the pipeline for an east-side Detroit neighborhood.

The project's developer and various local dignitaries on Wednesday broke ground on The Ribbon, an 18-unit apartment development along East Warren Avenue in the East English Village area and with rents targeted at those making 60% and 80% of the area median income, or between $41,400 and $55,200 a year.

The mixed-use project is being developed by Detroit-based Flux City Development, with financing coming from:

a $600,000 loan from the Detroit Housing for the Future Fund;
a $1.4 million grant from the city's Strategic Neighborhood Fund;
$338,199 in preferred equity from the DHFF
$2.2 million from Capital Impact Partners;
CIP Equitable Development Initiative grant of $75,000;
and $1.3 million from Michigan Economic Development Corp.
"I can't think of a better first project for Flux City," developer Edward Carrington said in a news release. "I am grateful for the support of both the Detroit Housing for the Future Fund and the Strategic Neighborhood Fund and other partners that helped make this a reality. I'm also thankful for the support of my new neighbors along the East Warren corridor. This is going to be the place to be in Detroit."

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...ground-detroit

[DetroitMan]

Long read, but really great article about how MSU is increasing their presence in the city.
MSU president on Fisher Building deal: ‘Stay tuned’ for more Detroit moves

Michigan State University is hoping for spin-off development and additional investment in Detroit's New Center area following its endowment's purchase of majority ownership of the iconic Fisher Building and more real estate in the neighborhood north of downtown.

How precisely that plays out is anybody's guess.

But the East Lansing university has laid the groundwork — if it chooses — to be part of an even broader evolution of the area, rather than a semi-passive investor with $21 million invested into a 79% ownership stake of the Albert Kahn-designed gem plus two adjacent surface parking lots and a parking deck south of West Grand Boulevard. In the eyes of the endowment, it's an opportunity for return on investment down the road. That depends on a variety of factors, including the state of the still-COVID-shaken office market — which is far from recovered from the effects of the global health crisis — and what, if anything, ultimately gets built on the undeveloped land and other factors.

It has ramped up its holdings and could play a part in new multifamily housing, along with its developer partner The Platform LLC, or other uses on the surface parking.

"You'll have to stay tuned for what will be happening there," MSU Interim President Teresa Woodruff said in an interview with Crain's.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...-detroit-plans

[DetroitSky]

I have a feeling they're going to miss these deadlines. I'd love to be proven wrong though:

City reaches deal with stalled megachurch developer, drops nuisance lawsuit

The city of Detroit and Pastor Marvin Winans have reached a deal to resume construction of the long-delayed mega-church at 7 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue on the north side.

Detroit agreed to drop a lawsuit against Winans and Perfecting Church, at 19150 Woodward Ave., on Friday morning, giving the developer extended deadlines to respond to the requests laid out in a January letter. The developer will need to provide a building status report by June 30, apply and obtain various city approvals by July, submit various relevant documentation and evidence of financing, then begin construction within 30 days of closing on financing, depending on weather conditions.

"The church and its Board of Directors looks forward to working cooperatively with the city to complete this important project," Winans said in a statement.

[deja vu]

^ Wow, that church is pretty ugly (most mega churches are, in my opinion). I guess I don't know anything about the history of it though. Why has it been 18 years and still not completed?

In other news / in addition to the announcement about the opening of ROOST Apartment Hotel in the Book Tower, it was also recently named one of the world's 11 most beautiful repurposed buildings by Architectural Digest. Only two other buildings in the US made the cut -

The World’s 11 Most Beautiful Repurposed Buildings
Charlotte Collins | Architectural Digest
May 4, 2023

The restored glass in the atrium is otherworldly -

Source: Architectural Digest | Bedrock Detroit

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by deja vu

^ Wow, that church is pretty ugly (most mega churches are, in my opinion). I guess I don't know anything about the history of it though. Why has it been 18 years and still not completed?

No money. Though the reason that's been up for so long is probably helped by the fact that as a church, it isn't taxed like other properties so they aren't really losing any money by not completing it.

The neighborhood next to it is kinda already at rock bottom so there's not really any harm in the church being incomplete (there's always at least 1 security guy there as far as I can tell) but it just seems kind of annoying that such a big building is going unused. I don't know if it'd necessarily do anything to revitalize the area even if it was complete, so it's just kind of a whatever project in a forgotten part of town.

[DetroitSky]

Some park news:

Clark Park unveils fresh look: What's new in southwest Detroit

On Thursday, the southwest Detroit community gathered for a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the recently renovated Clark Park, located just minutes from nearby Mexicantown. The $3.3 million renovation marks one of many recent park improvement initiatives within Detroit. Here's what you can look forward to the next time you visit one of Detroit's oldest green spaces.

Clark Park's newest features

Clark Park's 2023 refresh includes the addition of plenty of new amenities, including ADA-compliant landscapes which make it one of the most inclusive public parks in Detroit. Updated park elements include:

ADA-friendly playgrounds and splash pad
Revived park benches and tables
New picnic shelter and gathering areas
Replacement trash and recycling bins
Freshly planted trees throughout the park
Rejuvenated Vernor streetscape, which includes a brand-new sidewalk along the entirety of the park's edge, flower beds, small plazas and entry arches into Clark Park
New sporting amenities including three new tennis courts, a futsal court, junior basketball court, areas for bag toss and ping pong and assorted outdoor sporting equipment

Detroit, NAACP unveil MLK statue on 60th anniversary of "I Have a Dream" speech in Detroit

(CBS DETROIT) - Sixty years ago Friday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech for the first time in downtown Detroit.

Now, the city is honoring the civil rights icon with a statue in Hart Plaza.

The Walk to Freedom march took place on June 23, 1963, in Detroit, as more than 125,000 people walked down Woodward Avenue.

[deja vu]

Both look great!

[DetroitSky]

Vertical farming infrastructure proposed in Detroit to support local food system

DETROIT – Detroit-based Bedrock and indoor farming company Vertical Harvest announced today plans to explore building a vertical farm in Detroit.
The 60,000 square foot structure would stand 74 feet tall in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. The 205,000 square-foot growing canopy would produce around 2.2 million pounds of fresh vegetables year-round, including lettuces, petite greens, microgreens and herbs.

The vertical design would create 100 acres worth of output on half-an-acre of land. Vertical Harvest would also distribute over 70% of the food grown at the location within 100 miles of Detroit.

The site looks to be the northeast corner of John R and Piquette

[mousquet]

^ I believe very much in that kind of projects.

Only, it will require skills different from those of traditional farming from the related workforce.
Those facilities are likely to feature machines to grow the crops.
In a nutshell, robots will grow and collect organic crops with great efficiency, while people will be in charge of developing and maintaining AI slaves to serve them.
You know, they've been working on that kind of systems for some time already.

It's a whole new kind of economy coming up. It is exciting as far as organic farming goes, likely to bring affordable quality food to the people, while showing more respect for the environment as a whole.
That's how good new technology can be.

Now distributing it within a 100-mile radius sounds a bit outdated. It is too demanding as far as logistics goes and lacks efficiency.
Here in Paris, we have the supposedly world's largest fresh food wholesale market (you may watch the documentary when you have time if you will, it is interesting) located in a southern inner suburb called Rungis. I'm not sure that type of logisitcs is still relevant today... It is very complicated and requiring from professionals, making them waste some of their time.
In fact, depending on population density, there should be such facilities every 20 or so miles, that would also manage wholesales.
Guess you could envision something like that on the long run.

[DetroitMan]

$12M from Michigan Legislature could jump-start Detroit cultural center plan

Midtown Detroit, Inc. asked for $15 million for the cultural center plan, said Susan Mosey, its executive director. The first phase of the plan is expected to cost $38 million to complete, and fundraising from philanthropic sources and other donors is ongoing.

"Just having a signal from the legislature that they think this project is important means a lot," Mosey said. "This key funding allows us to gauge the interest of other supporters."

Phase one of the proposed cultural center plan would rebuild a long-abandoned underground parking deck on Farnsworth Street that's owned by the Detroit Institute of Arts. A February presentation about the plan says its completion, at an expected cost of $33 million, would add 336 parking spaces to the area. When it opens, that parking deck would allow a surface parking lot on John R Street near the DIA to be converted to green space, part of the project's second phase. Phase one work also includes storm water enhancements and landscaping. The area has a history of severe flooding, Mosey said. Storm water improvements that include underground water storage, regrading and the planting of native gardens will help protect the area from future rain events, said Annmarie Borucki, the director of arts and culture for Midtown Detroit.

Mosey said she expects a year of pre-development work and 18 months of construction in the first phase, once the money is raised. She described the initiative as a "big, robust plan" with a lot of underground infrastructure.

The overall plan was completed about a year ago and seeks to better connect a dozen cultural institutions, from museums to universities. The February presentation details more greenspace, connective walking trails and fewer driving lanes in the area.

"The idea is to create a much more approachable, welcoming cultural campus here," Mosey said. "We want a district that's more intimate and more connected, that promotes a lot more walkability."

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/politi...ichigan-budget

[DieselXL]

Great video showing the progress on a few Detroit projects
youtube video courtesy of Frostohsi drone videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opyzQxGxXzk

[Velvet_Highground]

Frostohsi‘s got a good eye & artistic sense, imo some of the scene transitions rhythm are a bit off but it feels more as if it’s coming from them trying fine tune & polish their style. The Regardless I’m impressed Roosevelt Park video it’s got a great vibe and really captures the ambiance of the warm summer night in the inviting park with Michigan Central looking electric.

[DetroitMan]

Target set to open supply chain facility at former Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit

Target Corp. intends to open a supply chain facility in Detroit on the site of the former Michigan State Fairgrounds in an area where a historic building recently was razed, the retailer confirmed Monday.

The facility will be approximately 180,000 square feet on property at 20250 Woodward Ave., a Target spokesman wrote in an email to The Detroit News. A sign at the site says the future facility will open in June 2024.

The Minneapolis-based company, which does not currently operate any stores in Detroit, provided no further information about the future building. Not everyone is happy about the plan, though, because an historic building was recently demolished on the site close to where the Target distribution center will be located. The former Agricultural Building, 1120 W. State Fair, was one of three former state fairground buildings listed on the federal National Register of Historic Places.

https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

[seabee1526]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F0xLgthX...name=4096x4096

A swwwwiiiiiiing and a miss




https://s3-rd-prod.crainsdetroit.com...fts-main_i.jpg

[lambe160]

What makes you say that?