DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[The North One]

The building goes over the tracks, so it's not in the way. But it does seem like there's parking in the way of the tracks?

[DetroitSky]

Development news has been understandably quiet lately. Here's some smaller bits of recent news:

Detroit affordable housing developments awarded $1.8M in grants

The four Detroit properties receiving awards are:

· 7850 E. Jefferson – $500,000. Ginosko Development Company will build two apartment buildings along the Detroit River with 75 units each. Each building will include a community room, office spaces for on-site management and resident services, an outdoor rooftop patio, exercise facilities, shared laundry facilities, a landscaped park area and a playground. The $27 million project will also include both underground and surface-level parking. Ground is to be broken on the project in 2021.

· La Joya Gardens – $500,000. Cinnaire Solutions Corporation will co-develop with Southwest Detroit Business Association this mixed-income development featuring 53 residential units and neighborhood-scale commercial space. The ground-up, $18 million project will include 40 affordable units and 13 market-rate units, as well as retail and community space facing Vernor Highway. Two small public plazas will break up the front façade, anchoring the one-story event space in the middle. The second floor will house 16 one-bedroom and two two-bedroom units, along with a community room, which will feature a fitness center and outdoor terrace for resident interaction with the streetscape along Vernor. The third floor will contain 17 one-bedroom and two two-bedroom units. The fourth floor will have 14 one-bedroom and two two-bedroom units. The affordable units will be offered at 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent and 80 percent AMI. Construction is to begin in 2021.

· Marwood Apartments – $500,000. Develop Detroit will renovate the historic Marwood Apartments in the city’s North End neighborhood and build new construction alongside it. The total project cost is $18.3 million. This 71-unit mixed-income apartment community will include 25 project-based vouchers provided by the Detroit Housing Commission, all of which will be rented to households at or below 30% percent AMI; 12 units at or below 50 percent AMI; and 34 units at or below 80% AMI. The project will include 10 efficiency, 44 one-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments, along with six new-construction two-bedroom townhouses and six new-construction two-bedroom apartments. Renovation work is to begin in January 2021, with construction on the ground-up part of the project slated to start in spring 2021.

· The Anchor at Mariners Inn – $272,753. Cinnaire Solutions Corporation along with Mariners Inn will co-develop the Anchor at Mariners Inn, which will provide 44 units of permanent supportive housing (PSH) units serving formerly homeless individuals. These one-bedroom, 600-square foot units will be reserved for those earning less than 30 percent AMI and be fully supported by project-based housing vouchers through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. The project will also have an additional floor of 40 studio units (260 square feet) that will be dedicated to short-term recovery housing. These units will be the relocation of Mariners Inn’s existing recovery housing operation. To preserve operating efficiency, the building will also be National Green Building Standard Silver-certified. Work is scheduled to start on the $18 million development in 2021.

The only project here I don't think we've heard of before is 7850 E. Jefferson. This is the only rendering I can find:

Source

I thought Supino's had decided against opening the New Center location, but I guess not:

Supino Pizzeria's New Center location is almost ready to open

Dave Mancini, owner of Eastern Market's popular Supino Pizzeria, says a second location is expected to soon open its doors.

The new spot, located at 6519 Woodward Ave. in Detroit's New Center, is pending final inspections. Manicni tells Metro Times he hopes to open next month, but cautions that these things take time: he originally hoped to open it last year.

Free, outdoor Wi-Fi coming to Detroit's cultural center

Free outdoor Wi-Fi is coming to Detroit’s cultural center.

It is part of an effort to implement a comprehensive digital strategy to attract visitors to the area and encourage outdoor programming.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is providing a $500,000 grant. The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation also is supporting the effort.

The wireless system will be an extension of Wayne State University’s campus Wi-Fi system.

Network tied arch bridge skeleton being built that will span I-94

Crews from Z Contractors work at the site of the construction of the bridge skeleton near the Wayne State University Palmer parking structure in Detroit on Jan. 4, 2021. The skeleton being constructed is for the network tied arch bridge, the first built in Michigan, that will span I-94 at Second Avenue. "Network" refers to the cables that are crossed from the arch at the top of the bridge to the concrete tie girder that runs along both sides of the bottom of the bridge.

A second marijuana dispensary is opening in Hamtramck

Despite opposition from some in the community, Hamtramck is getting a second marijuana dispensary this week.

It's also the second dispensary for Quality Roots, which opened its first dispensary in Battle Creek last year. Quality Roots is expected to open its Hamtramck location on Thursday at 2024 Caniff St. for recreational adult-use customers.

Here's a recent progress photo of the Quaker Apartments in the North End posted by Lowell on DetroitYes:

[Thirteen Mile]

We have an update from MDOT on the long awaited reconstruction of I-375 while there is a mandated no build option included it’s a foregone conclusion that 375 will be replaced.

7 ways an I-375 redesign would impact people, cars in downtown Detroit
ANNALISE FRANK
Crains Detroit Business
January 08, 2021



The Michigan Department of Transportation released a report this week analyzing potential impacts of the long-awaited I-375 redo in downtown Detroit, from less parking to more pedestrian accessibility.

The state is taking public comments over the next month and a half that it says it will take into consideration as it makes final decisions in redesigning the freeway as a street-level boulevard.

The mile-long roadway, which won't actually be reconstructed for up to six more years, is considered outdated, unsafe and in need of repair. It's also seen by many as a concrete barrier between downtown Detroit and the near-east side. It was built in the early 1960s by bulldozing over what were previously thriving Black-owned businesses.

...

MDOT is spending $8 million to design the new I-75 interchange and a new replacement boulevard from south of Gratiot Avenue leading down to the riverfront. It anticipates another $8 million bump in the coming months to finish the process as well, according to MDOT senior project manager Jonathan Loree.

It would entail rebuilding the interchange between I-75 and I-375 and filling in the four-lane, 20-foot-deep freeway. The boulevard would have four lanes in each direction, eliminating the service drives and shifting the boulevard to the west side of where the highway is, which frees up some land for new use. Bridges would be replaced, as well as "confusing" entrance and exit ramps, the report says.

The timeline for when Detroiters could see construction start on I-375 is not clear. While previous estimates were pegged at 2022, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration last year decided not to prioritize it, pushing the $180 million project back likely to 2027. But Loree said there's a strong desire from the city of Detroit and MDOT to try to get that moved up to 2023 at the earliest.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/transp...wntown-detroit

Environment impact analysis

[SperamusMeliora]

I wonder with the I-375 conversion, whether MDOT or Detroit will bring back Hastings St, extend the use of Schweizer Pl, or use a new name for the boulevard.

[DetroitSky]

North America’s First Apple Developer Academy to Open in Detroit

Apple and Michigan State University in East Lansing today announced a partnership to build the tech giant’s first North America-based Developer Academy, which will be located in Detroit.

The two organizations have been working together for three years on efforts to provide new forms of education, beginning with the iOS Design Lab on MSU’s campus and continuing with MSU’s community-based learning opportunities centered around technology in Detroit.

Other Apple Developer Academies exist in Brazil, Italy, and Indonesia. Detroit was selected due to its history of design and creative arts as well as its growing tech sector and startup ecosystem. It also has a strong entrepreneur and developer community and is one of the most diverse cities in the U.S., Apple says.

Historic School in Detroit’s Banglatown Undergoes $7.2M Housing Renovation

The Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department announced developers have begun a $7.2 million renovation of the former Transfiguration School in Detroit’s Banglatown neighborhood. The school will turn into affordable housing.

The project’s developers are Ethos Development Partners in Detroit and Cinnaire Solutions, based in Lansing.

The Transfiguration Place Apartments at 13300 Syracuse will feature 19 units of affordable housing, all of which will be available at 60 percent area median income. The rent is made possible through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, HOME Investment Partnership and Community Development Block Grant funding administered by the city, and project-based vouchers through the Detroit Housing Commission.

Detroit Council approves tax break for redevelopment of Cadillac Stamping Plant site

The former Cadillac Stamping plant site is one step closer to redevelopment after the Detroit City Council approved Tuesday a 12-year tax abatement for the $47.8 million project on the city's east side.

The council unanimously approved an Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate for the project at 9501 Conner, which includes the construction of a new multi-tenant industrial and manufacturing facility. Developer Missouri-based NorthPoint Development has valued the incentive at $8 million.

"We are grateful for the city of Detroit's partnership in redeveloping this site to address the lack of industrial space in the region," said Tim Condor, director of development for NorthPoint Development.

Condor said the tax exemption will allow the company to demolish the existing plant, to remediate the site of hazardous materials and to build a 684,000-square-foot industrial building "that will create hundreds of jobs and generate tax revenue for the city, county and state."

Dan Gilbert Buys Weird Downtown Detroit Subway

Dan Gilbert has added a downtown Detroit oddity to his real estate portfolio: the stand-alone Subway sandwich shop on Beaubien that looks like it got lost on its way up north.

The building purchase is likely about location, Crain's reporter Kirk Pinho writes in his Real Estate Insider column. It sits across from the $300-million University of Michigan innovation center Gilbert is building with fellow billionaire Stephen Ross.

Blue Bird Inn in Detroit spared from demolition after historic designation

One of the most fabled sites in Detroit music is off the endangered list.

The long-abandoned Blue Bird Inn — a vital nerve center for homegrown jazz and visiting artists during the heyday of bebop — has been formally designated a Historic District by the city of Detroit.

The classification spares the Blue Bird from a demolition that had been threatened since 2017, when the building at 5021 Tireman was placed on the city’s dangerous structures list.

The designation, approved by the Detroit City Council in October and signed by Mayor Mike Duggan’s office, clears the way for a planned restoration by the Detroit Sound Conservancy (DSC), which bought the property in spring 2019.

It’s a relief for members of the DSC, a nonprofit founded in 2012 to preserve Detroit music history.

Detroit post office to be renamed for Aretha Franklin

The Queen of Soul will forever be remembered at a Detroit post office.

President Donald Trump has signed a law that names a post office for Aretha Franklin, who died in 2018.

"No matter where life took her, Aretha never forgot about her hometown of Detroit,” said U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, a Detroit-area Democrat who sponsored the bill. “Renaming this facility after her is a small gesture of gratitude for her countless contributions to Detroit and the United States.

The post office, known as Fox Creek Station, is about five miles east of downtown Detroit on East Jefferson Avenue. It's not far from a concert amphitheater on the Detroit River that's also named for Franklin.

[DetroitSky]

Just walked past the United Artists Building and there were JC Beal employees entering the fence around the building. I asked if construction was about to begin but they said no because of Covid.

Interesting that they quietly put a major residential renovation on hold while simultaneously announcing a large residential renovation (the Henry St buildings). They really seem to have no intention of finishing any of these projects and it’s so disappointing but not surprising. End rant.

[DetroitSky]

Here's some renderings of La Joya Gardens, one of the projects that recently received an affordable housing grant, from SITIO Architecture's site:







Meet Metropolitan Variety Store, the Bar and Market Moving Into West Village

The chefs behind former Corktown restaurant Gold Cash Gold are taking over the shuttered Craft Work address in West Village, bringing a fresh perspective to the Agnes Street restaurant space. Chefs Hailey Enszer and Brendon Edwards plan to open Metropolitan Variety Store this spring, offering a combination of neighborhood boutique market and bar with lighter Latin American-influenced food.

Enszer’s and Edwards’s project has been in the works for a while now. The chefs, whose restaurant closed in February 2020, began hosting pop-ups in the vacant Craft Work restaurant last fall. The pair in partnership with developer Jonathan Hartzell of Detroit Shipping Company, construction executive Rick Stanza, and Ashley Price (beer, wine, and liquor buyer for Holiday Market) have formed the DSC Hospitality management group.

Price will take the lead in developing the market side of the space, which formerly housed Craft Work’s dining room, while Edwards and Enszer will manage and develop the menus for the bar and restaurant. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback already from the neighborhood that they’re really excited about is having something local they can walk to,” Edwards says of the market project, noting that the market will feature Guernsey and Calder Dairy products as well as local produce, pantry staples, and grab-and-go items.

Southfield Seafood Boil Spot Saucey Crab Prepares to Open Second Location in Detroit

After opening its Southfield location in late 2019, seafood boil startup Saucey Crab is branching out with a second location on the Northwest side of Detroit. The new outpost is set to open on Monday, January 18, in a space along Eight Mile Road.

Originally from Chicago, owner Angela White says she noticed there was a dearth of seafood boil options compared to the Windy City. “I didn’t see one here,” she says and suggested to her husband, Jonnie, they start offering seafood bags at their other business, Sauce Bar, in Detroit. In 2018, the bar’s “Seafood Wednesdays” turned out to be a big hit among the clientele and the husband-and-wife team developed a loyal following for the bags.

Yesterday I noticed that another retailer is moving into New Center's retail district, a salon and spa called Creme Brulee, which will be in the corner retail space at Baltimore Station.

[deja vu]

The ribbon cutting was held on Tuesday for the new Henry Ford Cancer Pavilion, and the first patients were welcomed yesterday. SmithGroup posted a news release about it on their website -

Henry Ford Cancer Institute Opens New Pavilion in Detroit
SmithGroup
January 19, 2021

Today, SmithGroup celebrates the opening of the new Henry Ford Cancer Institute pavilion, connected by skywalk to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Tomorrow, the 187,000 sf, $155 million cancer pavilion welcomes its first patients. The new pavilion is a global destination for seamless and integrated cancer care, and the anchor of the Henry Ford Cancer Institute, which provides world-class cancer care to nearly 10,000 new patients each year. It brings together the newest and most innovative treatment options, including specialty clinics for 14 types of cancer, precision medicine, clinical trials and supportive services in a patient-centered care environment...

Source: SmithGroup

[deja vu]

I know this opened a while ago now, but I thought these finished photos from the CM were interesting enough to post here. Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center -










Source: LinkedIn | The Christman Company

[DetroitSky]

$10 Million Housing And Retail Development Planned For Northwest Detroit

A development planned for Six Mile near Livernois in northwest Detroit would bring 38 apartments and ground-level retail to the area next year, helping transform a long-idling commercial strip where a deadly police shooting occurred last summer.

Crain's reports three Detroit developers are behind the project: George N'Namdi, of the N’Namdi Gallery in Midtown; Richard Hosey, a Downtown Development Authority member who has spearheaded historic redevelopments in Midtown and downtown; and Roderick Hardamon of Urge development group, a firm "focused on systemic change in urban communities through creative place keeping and placemaking." They're targetting a summer groundbreaking and plan to have the development complete by late 2022.

Source

Gallery: Saucy Brew Works From Cleveland Is Coming To Detroit's Brush Park Area

Ales, porters, stouts, shandys, fruit beers and other craft brews are due to start flowing in March at an Ohio transplant coming to John R and Alfred Streets in Brush Park, just north of downtown Detroit.

Saucy Brew Works, born in Cleveland four years ago, is building out a 5,700-square-foot space at City Modern, a Bedrock mixed-use development open since mid-2018. It will be the startup's fourth pub and the first outside its state.

Three Detroit Sites Join National Register Of Historic Places

A brick multi-story apartment building, two blocks along Michigan Avenue and an old car factory turned nonprofit recycling center are the latest Detroit additions to the National Register of Historic places, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation annonced Monday.

The 30-unit Great Lakes Manor, located at 457 East Kirby in Midtown, gained the status because it was "one of the first (buildings) in the city to rent to African American individuals at a time when housing discrimination was rampant," the MEDC said. Also added were the old Warren Motor Car Company Building, now the site of Recycle Here!, and a two-block stretch of vacant storefronts along the south side of Michigan Avenue, from 3301 — 3461.

Warren Motor Car Company Building, which is slated for renovations


Great Lakes Manor

Crème Brûlée Salon to Open in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction Neighborhood

Crème Brûlée, a multicultural salon, is slated to open this spring inside The Platform’s Baltimore Station development in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood.

Owner Katrina Wilson entered cosmetology at age 13 and wanted to open a salon. With the support of $170,000 in grants from Motor City Match, Midtown Detroit Inc., and others, Wilson will open a 2,000-square-foot, full-service upscale and multicultural beauty salon.

The “place of sanity and serenity” for consumers represents a total investment of almost $800,000 in the community, Wilson states.

The Detroit News has some photos of the Amazon Fulfillment Center construction at the former state fairgrounds that can be seen here.

[NYC2ATX]

Damn... I really thought that was like a café-type setup where their thing is crème brûlée and they call it a "crème brûlée salon" ..someone needs to invent this now

[DetroitSky]

More info has been released about City Club Apartments Midtown:

Upscale Apartments With Rooftop Pool, Discount Grocery Planned For Midtown Detroit

An undeveloped seven-acre parcel at Woodward and Mack Avenues in Midtown could soon house two apartment towers with "resort-class amenities" and a large discount grocery.

The plan for the plot once eyed for a Target was detailed Thursday at a City Planning Commission meeting in advance of a Feb. 4 public hearing for a zoning change, the Free Press reports.

The project's three components are:

A 16-story residential tower with 270 apartments
A six-story midrise with 70 apartments and ground-floor storefronts
A 32,000-square-foot building for a large unnamed retailer

Updated rendering:


Source


Source

Bottles Nation Relocates to Detroit from Chicago

Bottles Nation, a team of sommeliers, cicerones, and mixologists that deliver one-hour tasting and education events nationwide for corporate and in-home gatherings, has relocated its headquarters to downtown Detroit from Chicago.

Through the company’s events, attendees can enjoy wine, beer, and spirits tastings or learn how to pair drinks and food. Located inside Bamboo Detroit at 1420 Washington Ave., Ste. 301 (Julian C. Madison Building), the company also offers wine cellar inventory services.

“Bottles Nation is about celebrating all things in a bottle,” says Michael Bottigliero, a nationally recognized sommelier and company co-owner and co-founder. “We believe that being surrounded by good family and friends, while sipping a beer, a glass of wine. or a cocktail is a good way to slow down, understand one another, and enjoy life’s simple pleasures.”

[Blocky858]

Drove down Woodward yesterday and the Woodward West development looks like it's already got it's elevator cores and some other things already built and underway! It will be interesting to have the Mid, SoMa, AC Hotel, and Woodward West all popping at around the same time and essentially the same places.

[DetroitSky]

New shipping container development, SteelHaus Detroit, underway in Corktown

On Michigan Avenue in Corktown, with Michigan Central Station in sight, a new mixed-use development is underway. Steelhaus Detroit will use shipping containers to build out new retail and residential space.

The process has taken longer than expected. Nicole Stopka-Nichols and Chris Nichols bought the land in 2016/17, then went through the design process with architects and builders. They broke ground in early fall 2020, to discover that creating the foundation would take much more work than they anticipated.

The previous building on the site was demolished in 2004 (appx.) and with little city oversight at that time, much of the building debris was buried in the ground. In excavating the site, they found tires, pipes, teddy bears, and bricks everywhere.

Currently, work is underway digging trenches and the couple is picking out their shipping containers. 11 in total will be used for build-out. Since the aesthetics of shipping containers can be harsh, they'll use wood, greenery, and windows throughout the modern, Scandinavian design to bring in warmth.

The building on the left here is under renovation currently



Interior plasterwork restoration starts at Michigan Central Station

One of the most exciting restorations in the city, the state, and arguably, the country, is Ford's work with Michigan Central Station. The restoration of the iconic landmark is set to complete in late 2022.

Ford recently hired renowned architectural firm EverGreen Architectural Arts to restore more than 56,000 square feet of plasterwork - mainly in the waiting room and restaurant spaces. This work should take 18 months to complete.

The firm will repurpose much of the remaining building material, although some plaster will need to be recreated. They'll use three techniques - traditional three-coat plaster, ornamental plaster, and veneer plaster. Some work will be done digitally, but a team of 15 to 20 will be onsite finishing the plasterwork by hand.

Sonder USA Opens 125-unit Hospitality Residence in Downtown Detroit

Barbat Holdings today announced the opening of the Gabriel Houze — a 125-unit hospitality residence located at the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Washington Boulevard, kitty-corner from the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.

Formerly known as the Gabriel Richard Building, the Gabriel Houze — located at 305 Michigan Ave. — was the home of the Archdiocese of Detroit for more than 50 years. The building has been leased by Sonder USA Inc., a company that provides personalized, high-end hospitality experiences at affordable prices.

Sonders, which has 5,000 listings in 35 cities across the globe, offers studios, lofts, hotel rooms, and apartments.

“The building is beautiful inside and out, I am proud of our team for such a tremendous accomplishment,” says Joe Barbat, CEO of Barbat Holdings in West Bloomfield Township. “Our anchor tenant Sonder has also added significant value by tastefully furnishing each of the 125 units offering exceptional value to this community.”

Racquet Up Detroit Breaks Ground on New Youth Facility

Racquet Up Detroit, a nonprofit organization that supports youth in the northwest part of the city through mentorships, education, and sports, has announced the construction of a new facility that is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

The 19,000-square-foot facility will serve as the hub for the organization’s youth development program that places an emphasis on educational attainment, physical fitness, wellness, and college and career preparation.

Detroit RiverWalk to expand after successful river remediation

The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is poised to begin construction on a new segment of its Detroit RiverWalk, following the recent completion of a multi-million-dollar federal remediation effort along the Detroit River.

Located on Detroit's riverfront, the RiverWalk is a popular promenade that regularly attracts bicyclists, pedestrians, and others who come to enjoy the scenic views and other amenities that it offers.

This past December, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrapped up a $2.9 million effort to remediate an area of the Detroit River that both the U.S. and Canada had designated a toxic hot spot. Part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the effort involved placing a special cap into the river that's designed to isolate polluted material and keep it secure for hundreds of years.

Coffee shop to open on Grand River: ‘We want to honor the rich history of Grandmont Rosedale’

Though there’s a significant age gap between them, the brothers Edwards, Jason, 36, and James, 22, maintain a close relationship. That familial bond draws tighter as the two prepare the opening of their new business together, a neighborhood coffee shop in Grandmont Rosedale.

Finishing touches are being made at Public Square, a new coffee shop at the former location of Always Brewing and Town Hall Caffe’ on Grand River Avenue. The coffee shop opens this Wednesday, Feb. 3.

Detroit gets green light to begin demolishing, renovating thousands of blighted homes

Detroit’s ambitious project to renovate and demolish thousands of homes will move forward soon after the city announced Friday that it has sold $175 million in bonds to finance the endeavor.

Voters in November approved the sale of the bonds as part of Prop N, an initiative to sell $250 million worth of bonds to demolish 8,000 dilapidated houses and fix up another 8,000 salvageable homes.

The city plans to sell another $75 million in bonds next year.

Mayor Mike Duggan said the city, which emerged from bankruptcy in December 2014, had no problems selling the first bonds, a strong sign that the city has bounced back financially.

Detroit's Union Street restaurant could be put out of business by new grocery store

It appears the owners of the building that houses Union Street, a longtime Detroit bar and restaurant, want to pave the way to rehab the building add a parking lot and put up a grocery store.

Union Street on Woodward in Midtown, known for its Dragon Eggs appetizer, vegetarian Scooby Doo pasta dish and jambalaya, may not reopen.

Plans submitted to the city in late January by building owners KP Detroit Holdings call for turning the building into a grocery store, Crain's Detroit Business first reported. The building is at 4133 Woodward and 67 W. Willis in Midtown across the street from Majestic Theatre.

Housed in the same building is Midtown Liquor at Woodward and Willis. It's a bustling store that also has a small grocery selection along with household items and cleaning supplies. It attracts a diverse customer base from the neighborhood.

More info can be found here.

Crain's is reporting that Stanley Hong's Mannia Cafe in Milwaukee Junction has been sold and will be renovated:

[Thirteen Mile]

After a slow start there seems to be a concerted push to get the Joe Louis Greenway going along with other important pieces of green infrastructure such as the remainder of the east riverwalk, the west riverfront park, may creek greenway & the northern leg of the dequindre cut. I’m excited to see the effect that the JL Greenway will have on the Livernois corridor & the Russel Woods community especially when the area is linked with the (believe still planned) university district spur.


Detroit Greenways Coalition

Detroit greenway trail set to start construction, but city in land dispute

Crain’s Detroit Business
ANNALISE FRANK
January 31, 2021

-Ongoing lawsuit could delay construction of Joe Louis Greenway, city says in documents

-Dispute doesn't involve first leg of 27.5-mile loop, for which groundbreaking is expected in May

-Property disputes over railroad land being converted to a public trail aren't uncommon



Former railway land in northwest Detroit at Dexter Avenue and Doris Street is under dispute as city alleges private companies are trespassing on land the city bought for the Joe Louis Greenway project. Dexter Doris LLC says the land rightfully belongs it the company and its tenants, Sun Valley Foods and Great Lakes Baking Co.

....

The Detroit Greenways Coalition director's sighting in 2019 has led to an ongoing legal battle the city has said will hold up progress in creating a 28-mile neighborhood-connecting loop around the city.

The pathway, envisioned in 2007 and named after legendary Detroit boxer Joe Louis in 2017, is expected to start the first phase of its construction in May. The finished trail — previously estimated at $50 million but lacking a final cost — will stretch from the riverfront up to Hamtramck, Highland Park, along Livernois Avenue and connect to Dearborn.

Proponents hope it leads to new business and development alongside it. But moving the trail forward hasn't come without roadblocks, including a physical one that could affect future phases of the plan near Oakman Boulevard and Livernois Avenue in northwest Detroit

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/transp...y-land-dispute

[Blocky858]

Core City development will bring 30 apartments, ample public green space

The landscape of Core City changed four years ago with the addition of True North, a development of Quonset huts. Architect Edwin Chan of EC3 and developer Philip Kafka are once again collaborating on a new development off of Grand River.

This new residential project, just approved by the planning department, will bring 30 rental units across an array of buildings (21,325 square feet) along 15th Street. Kafka's Prince Concepts is partnering with the Ferlito Group on development.

[uaarkson]

Originally Posted by Blocky858

Core City development will bring 30 apartments, ample public green space

The layout of these structures has given me eye cancer.

[Blocky858]

Originally Posted by uaarkson

The layout of these structures has given me eye cancer.

Yeah, I don't like the layout or the look of them either, or what the company has been trying to do with those 'huts' the article mentions and all the weird projects going up over there. Don't know how to describe my dislike for them other than it looks bad.

[deja vu]

Here's something a little more timeless... just a great angle on the city -


Source: Instagram | @lumen8shun

[DetroitSky]

Narrow mixed-use building completed in Corktown

A new building in Corktown has just passed inspection and will soon open with a new business. Spectacle Society will add to the many women-owned small businesses that have made a home at the corner of Bagley and Trumbull.

Ballet Real Estate, owned by Brian and Stacy Mulloy, built the new construction right next to the corner building they redeveloped in the last five years. Brian says they always wanted to build in the lot next door on Bagley, specifically a simple two-story, four corner building with many windows facing the street. Becky Nix of bioLINIA designed the building, delivering just what Brian and Stacy wanted, using simple bricks on the exterior. "The recessed window and door openings are lined with beautiful bricks that echo the recessed openings of the historic, 1870s brick building to the east," says Brian.

Permits to build were pulled in late 2019, but COVID delayed construction by four months.

The new tenant, Spectacle Society, is eager to open by the end of the month. Owner and Optician Tina Arroyo grew up in New York and always wanted to own a business and live in an apartment over it. Fate and Detroit connections have finally made it a reality.

Revamped 511 Woodward ready for new tenants

Standing in the shadow of architectural royalty can't be easy for 511 Woodward. The dark, glass, boxy building has sat vacant on the other side of the Guardian Building for decades. Its recent renovation is nearly redone - with a big facelift - and it's looking for new tenants.

The building was purchased in 2019 by the Elia Group, who quickly started the renovation. The striking facade was designed by Yamasaki Inc., and features an exoskeleton screenwall (see the before/after below). The outdoor landscaping is the last portion of the building to be completed - once the snow is gone.

Kees Janeway of Iconic Real Estate tells us that the new Capital One Cafe, which will be in the northeast corner of the ground and second floors, will have a glass elevator, a very open, airy feel, and a landscaped patio. Where there was once an uneven staircase in front of the building has now been removed and the patios will be at sidewalk level.

This leaves just a couple more vacant retail spaces in Woodward and Grand shopping district:

East African Restaurant Baobab Fare Finally Debuts in New Center

OpeningOpening a restaurant is already a challenge, and Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere have navigated the ups and downs of owning their own business. The couple were planning to open their highly anticipated East African restaurant Baobab Fare last May when the pandemic hit. With final inspections recently completed, Mamba and Nijimbere debuted Baobab Fare in its own space at the corner of Grand Boulevard and Woodward Avenue in New Center. Until the grand opening next month, the couple will offer limited reserved seating at the restaurant, along with takeout.

“Highly anticipated” is a phrase thrown out often enough when talking about the latest restaurant in Detroit. For Mamba and Nijimbere, this phrase isn’t hyperbole. Ever since their days doing pop-ups at Brooklyn Street Local in 2017 and vying for the $50,000 Hatch Detroit grand prize (which they won,) Baobab Fare and its East African dishes have been on the radars of people throughout Detroit.

When asked why Baobab Fare generated such early buzz and kept it up for several years, Mamba says, “we’re bringing something new [to Detroit]. And our story, as well, what we achieved, our courage … people [told us] keep pushing, it’s not easy, but keep going. That was a big push and big motivation for us, because … people wanted us to be here.”

Promenade Artisan Foods Opens Next Week in the Historic Fisher Building

Promenade Artisan Foods opens next week in the Fisher Building

Trenton-based Promenade Artisan Foods, owned by Chelsie and Jono Brymer, opens its second Detroit location at the Fisher Building in New Center on Thursday, February, 18. The cafe replaces Fisher Bakery at the building and serves sandwiches, salads, quiche, croissants, and macarons and other sweet treats. As part of a sneak peek on Fat Tuesday, Promenade plans pop-up in the new location offering its signature craczki — a croissant take on the traditional paczki doughnut. While it ramps up service at the Fisher Building, the cafe will only open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays until March 18, when the dining room opens. Once fully open in mid-March, expect breakfast and lunch to be served at the cafe. Grab-and-go dinners and catering will also be available. [Official]

Folk Detroit reopens for limited service after reconstruction

Folk Detroit closed in late January to undergo renovations and will reveal its brand new space when it reopens Sunday, February 14. Folks transformed its space from a sit-down restaurant to a neighborhood market and cafe offering grab-and-go meals, groceries, and limited lunch counter seating. Window service is available on Valentine’s Day for gift boxes, wine, candles, flowers, and chocolates. Preorders for Valentine’s Day and Paczki Day available. [Official]