DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown - Page 340

Velvet_Highground · #**6781** Posted **Mar 24, 2023, 4:26 AM**

Couple more drive though tours of developments by Frankie Deteroit. First one shows work on a large apartment building being built called left field part of the last phase of the ballpark project. JLA site tower progress as well it’s nearly topped off at 25 floors, facade work is maybe half done as well.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Bs6ASsuHc

Corktown tour also from 2 weeks ago, Godfrey Hotel is nearly complete while the Perennial development is on facade work. The Brook on Bagley which is behind MCS next to May Creek greenway has its elevator cores up along with some steel.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zLfOobgQrGM&t=183s

Lastly driving down Gratiot from Eastern Market into downtown. The exchange is working on the bottom 2 floors it’s almost complete. The Hudsons Tower has some height to it now, blocks view of the Stott now.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DifPUE1Oa0Y

Velvet_Highground · #**6782** Posted **Mar 28, 2023, 6:46 PM**

JLA site tower making quick progress, I’m excited to see if they go forward with the hotel. A connected hotel would bring Huntington Place in line with its peers making Detroit much more competitive in the convention marketplace.

Updates courtesy of Detroit Development news

Detroit Development News (@DetDevelopment) - https://mobile.twitter.com/DetDevelo...83116705828864

Detroit Development News (@DetDevelopment) - https://mobile.twitter.com/DetDevelo...83116705828864

Left Field

Phase 1 of a 2 phase, $42 million, 120 unit affordable housing development at the site of old Tigers Stadium

Studio, 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments reserved at various rates of AMI

Funding includes HUD, LIHTC, and HOME

Developed by American Community Developers

Detroit Development News (@DetDevelopment) - https://mobile.twitter.com/DetDevelo...C9oa7898QtAAAA

Detroit Development News (@DetDevelopment) - https://mobile.twitter.com/DetDevelo...C9oa7898QtAAAA

Brush Park continues to be a hot spot for construction

Detroit Development News (@DetDevelopment) - https://mobile.twitter.com/DetDevelopment

DetroitMan · #**6783** Posted **Mar 29, 2023, 12:24 AM**

Great photos!

Quite a few development updates today. City Council signed off on the tax breaks for District Detroit, Henry Ford announced the design and construction team for their expansion and the old LaChoy Factory on the west side was torn down to make way for the Joe Louis Greenway.

Detroit City Council signs off on $616 million in District Detroit incentives after public negotiation

Quote:

The late Tuesday afternoon vote on a $616.3 million state transformational brownfield plan sends the incentive package to the Michigan Strategic Fund for approval, tentatively expected to come late next month. The council also approved establishing Neighborhood Enterprise Zone districts for incentives totaling $37 million for four properties and $96 million in Public Act 210 Commercial Rehabilitation Act districts for four properties.

The votes capped off a meeting during which some sometimes testy public negotiations unfolded between council members and representatives of the Ilitch family's Olympia Development of Michigan and Ross's Related Cos., the New York City-based mega-developer. Representatives from Mayor Mike Duggan's administration as well as the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. were also involved.

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

Henry Ford Health names designers, construction firms for Detroit campus expansion

Quote:

enry Ford Health on Tuesday named the firms that will handle design and construction of its $1.8 billion, one million-square-foot New Center campus expansion.

In total, three architectural engineering firms and three construction management firms will work together on the project.

In February, Henry Ford Health announced its plans to expand and modernize its Detroit campus, including a brand-new hospital facility and patient tower. The hospital expansion plan is part of a broader $2.5 billion development vision in the New Center neighborhood teaming up with Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores and Michigan State University that includes new residential, commercial and possible hotel space.The architectural engineering team includes Omaha-based architecture and engineering firm HDR; Boston-based planning, architecture and interior design firm Tsoi Kobus Design, which Henry Ford Health said has been leading the broader vision planning for more than a decade; and Hamilton Anderson, a Detroit-based African American-owned architecture and landscape architecture practice known for creating successful urban projects.

"As a native Detroiter that continues to reside in our great city, I am personally thrilled to be part of this exciting, transformational project," Rainy Hamilton, president of Hamilton Anderson, said in a statement. "Henry Ford Health is my health care provider which has served my family well. I look forward to contributing my knowledge of Detroit as we work to incorporate our experiences into this landmark development."

On the construction side, the team includes Southfield-based Barton Malow and Detroit-based Turner Construction and Dixon Construction Services.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/health...mpus-expansion

Detroit's abandoned La Choy factory comes down to make way for Joe Louis Greenway

Quote:

A long-vacant Chinese food factory along the path of Detroit's Joe Louis Greenway was torn apart by an excavator Monday, the beginning of a week-long demolition process.

The $1.6 million demolition of the La Choy building at 8100 Schoolcraft Road comes as Detroit is stepping up its efforts to eliminate commercial blight. The city's demolition department has its sights on more than 300 commercial properties it wants to take down, Director LaJuan Counts said.

It will take about a week for the La Choy factory, built in 1937, to be fully transformed into rubble. After that, Counts said, it will take several more weeks to remove the debris and backfill the land.The factory demolition is of particular interest to the neighborhood because the under-construction Joe Louis Greenway will go past the site, said Christina Peltier, the greenway's project manager. She said she was "really happy" to see the building come down and progress continue on the pathway.

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

Construction on new state fairgrounds transit hub to begin this week

Quote:

Expect to see work at the old Michigan state fairgrounds site ramping up this week as crews start work on the new transit hub planned for the property.

City officials told me that materials and a construction trailer are slated to be delivered so underground utility installations can begin, with an ultimate goal of converting the 52,000-square-foot former dairy cattle barn into the new hub that is to serve both Detroit Department of Transportation and Suburban Mobility Authority on Regional Transit — DDOT and SMART, for short — buses, but also other transportation forms like MoGo, the bike sharing program.

Selective demolition on the north (where buses will exit) and south (where buses will enter) sides of the dairy cattle barn, which should have 10 new DDOT and SMART bus pull-in areas, is to begin in the middle of next month, said Donna Rice, deputy director of the Detroit Building Authority.

The interior is also slated to have a lobby and public waiting area, a ticket office, restrooms, and space for security and transit police, Rice said.

"We're excited that the public will actually see more activity beginning next week," Rice told me on Thursday.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...nsit-hub-begin

VegasMatt · #**6784** Posted **Mar 29, 2023, 3:26 PM**

Awesome Photos!

Thanks for taking the time to take and post the images.
Greatly appeciated.

Velvet_Highground · #**6785** Posted **Mar 29, 2023, 4:53 PM**

I’m glad you guys liked the updates. I wish I could claim credit for those photos VegasMatt looks like I’ve been a bit sloppy the way I’ve been acknowledging source material when found photograph's lately. Detroit Development News (@DetDevelopment) was my source for JLA tower, Tiger Stadium Left Field & Brush Park.

I do have some recent photos of my own of the 6 mile redevelopment (west of Livernois), downtown & corktown. I’ll try getting them uploaded this evening there nothing special I did a quick n dirty tour of spots that piqued my interest from my car there’s few that turned out well however.

*Found a more recent rendering of the Left Field development than what DD News has posted.

Quote:

New affordable housing development coming to Tiger Stadium site in Corktown

Photo by: City of Detroit

By: Alisha Dixon
WXYZ 7 Detroit
Jul 27, 2022

https://www.wxyz.com/news/new-afford...te-in-corktown

DetroitMan · #**6786** Posted **Mar 29, 2023, 6:55 PM**

This project would be a nice boost for this area of the city.

American Axle considers $460 million EV supplier park, 1,110 jobs in Detroit

Quote:

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. is considering a $460 million electric vehicle research and supplier park adjacent to its Detroit headquarters in a project that would create 1,110 jobs, according to city documents.

The plan, called Project Orb, involves the redevelopment of the 50-acre former manufacturing property near the automotive supplier's campus at Holbrook Avenue and St. Aubin Street, along the Hamtramck border.

The "office/research and supplier park" would support the "concentration of the company's EV investment in Detroit and Michigan rather than competing international and other domestic locations," according to a project synopsis included in a city document.

The axle and auto parts manufacturer, whose largest customer is General Motors Co., is seeking $100 million in statutory and discretionary incentives from the state's Critical Industry Program — part of the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund signed into law in late 2021.

In a statement to Crain's on Wednesday, American Axle said it had "nothing to announce and no immediate plans for development. If favorable conditions present, AAM would consider investment in Detroit thanks to our positive relationship with the City."

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/auto-s...roject-detroit

Velvet_Highground · #**6787** Posted **Mar 29, 2023, 9:07 PM**

^Nice it’s excellent to hear about another potential EV related project in the city. The site is a good fit for this sort of project & have positive impacts on Arden Park.

The Gateway Industrial Center seems to be doing well under new management the new Innovo building is just about finished. Demand is very high right now for modern manufacturing facilities Lear recently announced plans for a $80 million battery component facility somewhere in the city.

I’ve heard GM has potential plans for the former AMC as a component supplier for factory zero. Though with this announcement from American Axle is a signal as GM is their biggest customer.

Quote:

Industrial Development Funded By Retail Investors Nears Completion

Margaret Jackson
February 17, 2023

Prospective tenants are eyeing Gateway Industrial Center as the multitenant industrial campus in the heart of metro Detroit nears completion.

In the last 60 days, Gateway has provided five leasing proposals to prospective tenants for the 1.4 million-square-foot project. The businesses are looking for spaces ranging from 100,000 square feet to 421,000 square feet. Another four tenants have scheduled tours and submitted requests for proposals for leasing space.

The prospective tenants have the potential to bring an additional $3.2 million to annual revenue generated by the property. A lease extension with Lear for 154,000 square feet increases cash flow by another $1 million from March 2023 through March 2024.

Innovo Development Group paid $94.5 million for the property in January. At the time, it was less than 50% occupied. The two existing industrial buildings totaling 1 million square feet are now 100% leased to four tenants at below-market rents, with a weighted-average remaining lease term of 4.3 years from Jan. 1.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/indus...165136262.html

A Norwegian company that developed the worlds first autonomous wheel is setting up shop in the Michigan Central Innovation District. It’s a small investment but an interesting one none the less & a positive sign for the future of the project.

Gov. Whitmer Announces 155 New Jobs Coming to Detroit, Genesee County

Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Kathleen Achtenberg
Thursday, January 26, 2023

Quote:

wheel.me™, established in Norway in 2013, is a robotics company that has created the world’s first autonomous wheel. The company’s smart wheels can turn almost anything into an autonomous robot, enabling businesses to automate their existing operations and improve automated material handling in manufacturing, logistics, warehouse operations, and elsewhere. The company has 75 employees worldwide.

wheel.me launched the first prototype of its autonomous robots in 2018 and has since grown rapidly and caught the attention of large companies globally. As its first international office in North America, they are now establishing their operations in a leased facility at the Michigan Central Innovation District in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The office will house sales, operations, and supply chain to support customers throughout North America. The company’s future plans also include constructing a manufacturing facility in Michigan.

https://www.michiganbusiness.org/pre...enesee-county/

DetroitMan · #**6788** Posted **Apr 1, 2023, 1:58 AM**

Southwest Detroit apartment project uses big capital stack to get to groundbreaking

Quote:

New apartments are underway on a key commercial corridor in Southwest Detroit.

Those behind the planned La Joya Gardens mixed-use development had a big capital stack to help get to the ceremonial groundbreaking Friday at the site on West Vernor Highway between West Grand Boulevard and Clark Avenue.

The nearly $24 million development will bring a total of 53 residential homes, including 42 income-based, below-market-rate units, as well as 11 market-rate apartments, according to a news release. Thirty of the below-market rate apartment units will be available for those earning 50 percent or below of the area median income, about $33,500 annually. The project will also have more than 6,000 square feet of retail space.

The La Joya Gardens project — which translates to "the jewel" in Spanish — is a project from the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, a partnership between the City of Detroit, Invest Detroit, neighborhood residents and corporate donors, and has helped fund "the community engagement process for the project, and provided $1.6 million in gap funding," according to the release.

"SNF is creating real momentum in Detroit's neighborhoods" Keona Cowan, executive vice president of lending for Invest Detroit, said in the release. "Residents are excited about this project. It will spur more investment in the area, and Invest Detroit and SNF are excited about opportunities to fund more projects along West Vernor, the main street of Southwest Detroit."

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

Velvet_Highground · #**6789** Posted **Apr 6, 2023, 8:13 PM**

Awesome this is the kind of project the city needs more of!

DetroitSky · #**6790** Posted **Apr 6, 2023, 8:21 PM**

Vacant Gilbert building on Woodward to be redeveloped for food, beverage space

1550 Woodward is to receive a full renovation with the addition of two floors and a new facade. While a small project on its own, its notable because this is the last unused building on Woodward between Hart Plaza and Grand Circus Park. The list of downtown's vacant buildings continues to shrink!

More info here.

Velvet_Highground · #**6791** Posted **Apr 6, 2023, 10:13 PM**

Lower Woodward is maturing into the kind of destination envisioned while Grand Circus Park is coming into its own, right on. Axios has some nice pics of the Hudsons Tower from mid-march.

https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/...wntown-detroit

DetroitSky · #**6792** Posted **Apr 11, 2023, 1:18 AM**

The Anchor at Mariners Inn broke ground today:

$24 million expansion promises to double output of help provided by Detroit substance abuse treatment center

Quote:

(WXYZ) — The Detroit substance use treatment center Mariner’s Inn is about to double the number of people it’s able to help. The organization has been around for nearly 100 years and it broke ground Monday on a $24 million expansion.

Each year, Mariners Inn helps hundreds of men experiencing substance use disorders and homelessness. Soon, for the first time ever in the organization’s history, women will also be welcomed into the programs thanks to the new expansion.

Employees and residents of Mariner’s Inn cite its location as one of its special attributes. It’s on Ledyard Street in the Cass Corridor of Midtown, a central location connected to transportation and local businesses.

“Mariners Inn has been here in this location for 68 years. We’ve been around for almost 100,” explained its CEO David Sampson.

The $24 million expansion will create permanent supportive housing and recovery housing.

Source

gratiotfaced · #**6793** Posted **Apr 12, 2023, 6:01 PM**

Do we know if CODA is still happening in Brush Park? There has been construction equipment on site, but no activity the last couple of times I've gone by. Anyone aware of any timelines or deats?

What's weird is that they already had tenants reserved for about half of their units and the office floor, and that's before they even broke ground, so it's not like the ROI wasn't coming together.

Their last instagram post was September 22. Their website hasn't been updated. Starting to get worried this project is on the path to quiet cancellation.

In the same vein, what's going on with the AC Hotel and SOMA/Target on Woodward? Both have been "about to break ground" for like three years now. SOMA was supposed to start in December. Kind of frustrating..

Velvet_Highground · #**6794** Posted **Apr 18, 2023, 10:49 PM**

Very high marks for this redesign of GCP imo it not only keeps the historic character of the park but enhances it. If approved by the historic commission & completed as show here the impact will be likely disproportionately outsized for a park improvement project. Definitely something to get hyped about if it goes ahead.

Quote:

New Grand Circus Park plans include Woodward median, larger pathways, food options
The Downtown Detroit Partnership is leading the plan

Urbanize Detroit
Robin Runyan
4-13-23

Detroit's Grand Circus Park will become more unified over the next few years. The Downtown Detroit Partnership presented plans to the Detroit Historic District Commission this week, who approved the Master Plan going forward.

The historic park is divided by Woodward Avenue, and plans include building a median in Woodward to slow down traffic. Adams Street, which borders the park to the north, will also get a road diet. These roads are especially busy during sporting events due to their close proximity to both Comerica Park and Ford Field.

A cafe will be built in the southeast portion of the park; designs are not developed yet but will be subject to approval by the Historic District Commission.

https://detroit.urbanize.city/post/n...s-food-options

Link to master plan - https://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitm...esentation.pdf

subterranean · #**6795** Posted **Apr 18, 2023, 11:16 PM**

Nice! I’ve spent some time lying on my back in that park after a lot of walking around. Will be great to see it refreshed.

gratiotfaced · #**6796** Posted **Apr 20, 2023, 6:11 AM**

Looks like work is getting underway on the AC Hotel/Marriot site next to the Bonstelle, with word of mouth saying the Target site is starting soon.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Detroit/com...eb2x&context=3

DetroitMan · #**6797** Posted **Apr 20, 2023, 7:47 PM**

Detroit's first Dog Park is coming to the West Village neighborhood.

Detroit’s first dog park and beer garden, Barkside, planned for late summer

Quote:

Described as a social destination for dogs and their humans, Barkside is set to open this year in Detroit’s West Village neighborhood at Kercheval and Van Dyke.

More of a dog park with a bar, rather than a pub that allows dogs, Barkside will have indoor and outdoor spaces and bars that serve craft beers, canned wine and spritzers and nonalcoholic drinks, including a full coffee bar.

The business was developed by two Detroit dog owners, David Oh and Cody Williams, who both have finance degrees from Michigan State University.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/en...r/70121763007/

DetroitMan · #**6798** Posted **Apr 25, 2023, 6:51 PM**

Gilbert eyes converting part of Buhl Building for apartments

Quote:

At least a portion of Dan Gilbert's Buhl Building downtown may become residential space.

Several sources have told me of requests for architecture proposals for the project going out to national firms, and multiple office tenants not having their leases renewed to make way for units.

It's not known how many floors of the 27-story high-rise are being considered for residential. Some or all of it could be in play.

Bedrock LLC, Gilbert's Detroit-based real estate company, did not respond to emails last week and Tuesday seeking an interview and additional details.

Converting the Wirt C. Rowland-designed tower into apartments would likely be the most substantial office-to-residential project in Detroit in the pandemic era. Its history, size and location make it one of the more prominent buildings in the city.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...idential-units

DetroitMan · #**6799** Posted **Apr 25, 2023, 7:26 PM**

The state has signed off the transformational brownfield tax credits for District Detroit.

State signs off on transformational brownfield funding for Ilitch, Ross projects in District Detroit

Quote:

The Michigan Strategic Fund has signed off on a $600 million-plus public incentive for the District Detroit area.

With Tuesday's vote, the Ilitch family's Olympia Development of Michigan and Ross' New York City-based Related Cos. has capped off months of public discussions about their $1.53 billion proposal to overhaul that area of downtown by building and redeveloping 10-plus buildings around the Fox Theater and Comerica Park. The development team says that without the taxpayer funding, the buildings that would densify downtown would not be financially viable, thereby jeopardizing construction, jobs and tax revenue to the city. But others argue that the Ilitches have broken development promises over many years, and that the developers whose total fortune is north of $10 billion shouldn't be seeking public funding, particularly in a city with many woes.

There have been dozens of Detroit meetings and public discussions over various incentives and community benefits agreement plans in the last several months since the Ilitch/Ross team publicly revealed they were seeking transformational brownfield funding.

In all, the developers are proposing 1.2 million square feet of new office space, 695 residential units (nearly 140 of which would be considered affordable), 146,000 square feet of retail and 467 hotel rooms.

Previous calculations pegged the total transformational brownfield award at $616.3 million, although the MSF says in briefing memos it is $615 million. The discrepancy is not clear. Crain's has asked for clarification on the differing figures.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...ld-funding-okd

DetroitMan · #**6800** Posted **Apr 27, 2023, 7:49 PM**

Another downtown Detroit Gilbert building could get a residential overhaul

Quote:

The historic Dan Gilbert-owned Harvard Square Centre building on Broadway downtown is targeted for a residential conversion.

The project, which received $5 million in public funding last year from the state through a $13.74 million grant to the Downtown Detroit Partnership, would turn the 58,000-square-foot building into residential units on the second through 10th floors, and create about 6,000 square feet of retail/commercial space below.

An email was sent to a spokesperson for Gilbert's Bedrock LLC real estate company seeking additional details on Thursday.

The Downtown Detroit Partnership pegs the redevelopment at $43 million. A report last year from the nonprofit says 34 units are planned.

Representatives of a Bedrock affiliate are slated to appear next month before the Detroit Historic District Commission as the building is a contributing structure in the Broadway Avenue Local Historic District. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

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