DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[Docta_Love]

Found a conceptual rendering for the Core City Project.

A rendering shows plans for a park in the center of several commercial structures developer Prince Concepts is renovating. The green space and a connected, grassy beltway are aimed at improving walkability in Detroit's Core City neighborhood.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...oits-core-city

Cool to see the PGA Tour coming to Palmer Park after it looked like that course might go the way of Rogell.

It's official: PGA Tour coming to Detroit

By KURT NAGL
Crain's Detroit Business
May 30, 2018

-Tournament to take place in 2019
-Expected to take place at Detroit Golf Club
-PGA Tour hasn't been to Michigan since 2009


Detroit Golf Club (Palmer Park)

Dan Gilbert-owned Quicken Loans Inc. made the rumors official Wednesday in its announcement of a "long-term agreement" to create a new professional golf tournament in Detroit, expected to take place at the Detroit Golf Club on the city's north end.

The club's membership recently voted to empower its board to explore and execute a PGA Tour event at its historic Donald Ross-designed course.

It marks the first time the PGA Tour has hosted a tournament in Detroit's city limits.

Still to be determined is the name of the tournament and when it will be played, though it likely would be two weeks after the U.S. Open.

The Detroit-based mortgage company is partnering with Chicago-based marketing agency Intersport to oversee operation of the tournament, the release said. It is also planning "numerous related attractions and festivities" throughout the city during the event, which is expected to draw "hundreds of thousands of visitors," Farner said.

The Detroit tournament would be the first PGA event in the state since the Buick Open, which took place at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc 1958 through 2009, with a brief hiatus in the early 1970s.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ing-to-detroit

Detroit to invest $2.5 million in golf courses as future remains uncertain

By KURT NAGL
Crain's Detroit Business
May 30, 2018

-City to make largest capital improvements in several years
-Free community outreach events planned for June
-Previous manager Vargo and the city engaged in legal dispute after contract change


Rackham Golf Course

The city of Detroit is planning to invest $2.5 million in its three golf courses over the next two years amid a legal battle with its previous contractor and uncertainty over the fate of the courses.

Sorely needed capital improvements at Rouge Park, Chandler Park and Rackham golf courses would be the largest city course investment made in several years. It would include the basics: fixing the fencing, repairing drainage, patching up cart paths and sidewalks, getting the bathrooms functioning, etc., said Brad Dick, director of the city's General Services department.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...future-remains

City to replace fencing with perimeter boulders at 99 parks
This rocks

By Robin Runyan
Curbed Detroit
May 31, 2018



The program, cleverly titled “Rock Around the Park,” will allow visitors to walk or bike into the park from many points, instead of having to walk to the fence opening. But the boulders also serve as a barrier so cars can’t enter the parks.

The program is taking place in many smaller neighborhood parks as well as very large parks such as Rouge Park, Chandler Park, and Palmer Park.

According to the City’s General Services Department Director Brad Dick, The replacements should be complete at all parks by November.

https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/5/31...lders-99-parks

GM, Detroit chamber launch $150,000 neighborhood nonprofit grant program

By SHERRI WELCH
Crain's Detroit Business
May 31, 2018

-NeighborHub grant program to help small nonprofits build capacity, address issues
-Program will award $30,000 to each of five local groups to work on key issues and improve a physical, community space
-Chamber will help groups identify, capture metrics to show impact of their work

Last year, when General Motors Co. put out a request for proposals for the city of Detroit, it received about 100 grant applications mostly from grassroots community groups with important causes.

The groups had heart and were looking to address critical causes, but they weren't sharing the metrics and social outcomes the car maker requires of its grantees, said GM Chief Philanthropic Officer Lori Wingerter. As a result, those groups didn't move through the granting process

However, this left Wingerter thinking about what the company could do to help, and that led to joint development of a new neighborhood grant program with the Detroit Regional Chamber.

GM is granting $150,000 to help the Chamber fund the pilot NeighborhoodHub Community Grant program which would provide $30,000 grants to a community group in each of five Detroit neighborhoods. Proposals will need to include programming focused on needs in that community and improving an accessible physical space — whether a vacant storefront, a coffee shop where people gather, space in a local library or in a community church basement — to house the programming.

Programs could include helping high school students fill out financial aid forms; mobility issues, such how to get kids to school; or revitalization of local parks.

"We're leaving it open to whatever the issue may be," Wingerter said.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-grant-program

[DetroitSky]

More info has been released on the five projects in Lafayette Park. Full article here.

1. Pullman Park/Friends School site

A collaboration between Broder & Sachse Real Estate and Hunter Pasteur Homes & Woodborn Partners, Pullman Park is a residential development that will include rental and condo units at 1100 St. Aubin.

The project, which will start construction sometime between the end of 2018 and the start of 2019, includes 148 apartments and 197 parking spaces for rent.

It also has 231 residential units for sale: 56 townhomes, 25 carriage homes, 83 units and 139 garage spaces.

2. 1475 East Jefferson/small format Meijer

Built by the East Jefferson Development Company LLC, this mixed-use project will have a supermarket as an anchor (at 1475 E. Jefferson) but also will include residential units and other retail spaces. The small-format Meijer will be the city's third.

The five-story building — plus underground parking — will have 213 residential units. Of those, 60 will be studios, 104 will be one-bedrooms, and 49 will be two-bedrooms.

3. Above The Cut
This is the project on the empty land bounded by Gratiot, the Dequindre Cut, St. Aubin and E Vernor

The Detroit real estate development company The Platform, is behind Above the Cut, a mixed-use development that will be located between 1920 and 1940 Gratiot, next to the Dequindre Cut. A groundbreaking is scheduled for April 2019.

The project includes 160-180 residential units and 195-240 parking spaces. There also will be 25,000 to 30,000 square feet for retail/commercial space.

Of the residential units, 45% are "micro-units" or studios, 50% are one-bedroom units and 5% are two-bedroom units.

Affordable housing will be offered for 20% of the units — somewhere between 32 and 36 units — and will be based on a yet-to-be determined percentage of the Area Median Income, which includes Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan statistical area. It should be noted that use of this standard to determine affordability could hurt Detroiters. While the metropolitan statistical AMI of a single person is $48,000, the true median income in Detroit is $28,000.

4. Eastern Market mixed use development
The article gives a lot of addresses. They're referring to the block bound by Gratiot, Russell, Maple and Rivard and split down the middle by Service Street, which is really just a brick alleyway. There's no mention about whats to become of the buildings currently on the block.

With a projected groundbreaking scheduled for June 2019, this six-story project spans a number of blocks: 1314-1388 Gratiot Ave., 2011-2105 Russell St. 1301-1399 Maple St. and 1350-1366 Service St.

Spearheaded by Develop Detroit, the project is mixed-use. There will be 235 residential units, with 47 units — 20%— reserved for people making 60% or less of the AMI.

5. Lafayette West

With an expected groundbreaking of April 2019, this project is slated for 1401 Rivard St. The development will include 374 residential units — 60 will be for sale and 314 for rent.

[deja vu]

Thanks for the breakdown of the Lafayette Park projects. Super excited for this to start!

And Detroit-area golf courses have some beautiful old clubhouses. Very cool to hear about the PGA coming here.

[Docta_Love]

I'll say it again I'm a big fan of Lafayette West imo keeps with the ascetic traditions of Lafayette Park but clearly looks fresh and modern.

Some comments about Detroit's failure to secure a MLS expansion I feel it sums things up pretty well. The last min switch to Ford Field was the cause of the bids failure however the Detroit sports media market along with the Detroit Sports brand is something that the MLS wont want to pass on especially when you consider Metro Detroit holds the US record for attendance at a single soccer game.

Historic Albert Kahn building sold
New owners plan conversion into 200 apartments

By KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit Business
June 03, 2018

-Historic Albert Kahn Building sold last week
-200-plus apartments, 60,000 square feet of retail, office planned
-Redevelopment to begin in about six months



The deal, which closed last week for an undisclosed price, makes Birmingham-based Lutz Real Estate Investments and Farmington Hills-based Northern Equities Group the new owners of the Albert Kahn Building, which was owned by a joint venture between Detroit-based The Platform LLC, New York City-based HFZ Capital Partners and New York City-based Rheal Capital Management, which is owned by Detroit native John Rhea.

The apartments are slated for floors two through 11, while the first floor and lower level would be about 60,000 square feet of retail and office space.

"The building is in great condition and it lays out great (for apartments)," said Adam Lutz, principal of Lutz Real Estate Investments. "We love what The Platform is doing, the access to the freeways and the QLine going downtown. It's going to be tremendous."

Lutz expects the renovations to start in about six months. Some of the units should be available about 10 months after construction begins, with the entire project taking about 18-20 months.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-building-sold

Detroit and Major League Soccer: What went wrong

By BILL SHEA
Crain's Detroit Business
June 03, 2018

It's unclear the level of public thirst for a fifth pro team in downtown Detroit, but the central issue continues to be the stadium and who will blink first in the standoff over it.

MLS has long been explicit that it wants its new teams to play in soccer-specific stadiums — there have been exceptions — but the Detroit bid's principals opted in November to abandon a $1 billion plan for a soccer stadium at the unfinished downtown county jail site in favor of instead using Ford Field. That decision was met with a distinct lack of enthusiasm by MLS, but the league may be softening on the topic.

After Cincinnati's expansion announcement on Tuesday evening, MLS Commissioner Don Garber told reporters the decision to use Ford Field instead of a new soccer-specific stadium harmed Detroit's chance for an expansion team. But he also left the door open to MLS acquiescing to a team sharing the Detroit Lions' home stadium.

"In many ways, they have come together to retrofit Ford Field, which could make it very MLS-ready; and they can talk about what those ideas might be, but they were really front runners when they were looking at the jail site," Garber said in comments provided by MLS.

'A must-have market'

One soccer insider believes Detroit will get a team because it's in Major League Soccer's best interest.

"I think Detroit is more or less a must-have market for MLS. It's such a big national market. Detroit is a much more lucrative market for MLS than Cincinnati will ever be," said Stefan Szymanski, a University of Michigan sports professor who's published several soccer economics books.

Szymanski, a longtime critic of Major League Soccer's business model, said the league could also cave on the stadium issue. Or MLS could agree to allow Detroit to use Ford Field for some years to test long-term fan and corporate interest before a soccer stadium is built downtown.

"Committing to a soccer-specific stadium would push the bid over the line," he said.

Another question that Szymanski said looms over Detroit's MLS bid is the presence of semi-pro soccer club Detroit City FC in Hamtramck, where it commands crowds of 5,000-plus for home matches. A cadre of its most zealous fans, known as the Northern Guard, actively and often profanely oppose MLS and any expansion to Detroit, which is perceived as a threat to their home-grown effort.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...hat-went-wrong

[DetroitSky]

Retro West Village apartments get sleek makeover





The article says they're installing landscaping in the courtyard, which is a nice feature to the building. Remember when a project like this would have been a big deal? Haha.

[mind field]

Southfield’s Accenture to Relocate to Detroit, Add 200 Tech Jobs, Launch Innovation Hub in Livonia
GRACE TURNER
Published: Monday, June 4, 2018 on Dbusiness.com

Accenture today announced it would relocate its office to downtown Detroit from Southfield this fall, and that it launched an innovation hub in Livonia designed to help companies in the automotive, industrial equipment, technology, energy, and utilities industries address the shift to digital products and services, transform their engineering, manufacturing, and field operations, and digitize their enterprises.


http://www.dbusiness.com/daily-news/...ub-in-Livonia/


It's amazing to watch the tide turn and companies flock back to the city after so many of them left for Oakland County a few decades ago. Although, I'm afraid that too many more moves and traffic into downtown is going to become a huge issue, if it isn't already. We need an extensive light rail system to enable more of these moves and accommodate all the extra workers.

[Docta_Love]

^One way to move forward can be to look back on the past.

Now I'm not holding my breath but I would love to see a plan similar to the Red Line's Dan Ryan section in Chicago run a circuit from say Southfield to downtown on the Lodge then back up 75 to the Troy/Birmingham area & while were at it why not throw in a cross town connection down 696 between the Lodge & I-75.

Back in 1940's there was originally a plan to run heavy rail down the middle of the Lodge FWY & possibly what would become I-75, 94 & 96 this came out of the immediate post war urban planning. We all know what happened next with buses winning out over the extensive street car network.

This is a from a really old thread over at detroityes.

Downtown things would go underground with a large subterranean multi-modal transit center under Cadillac Sq.

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messa...tml?1160845287

Ideas sought to reactivate empty commercial spaces in Detroit for community use

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 05, 2018

-City launches Design Center in a Box competition
-Winners to install temporary neighborhood gathering spaces in two empty storefronts
-Funded through $205,000 Knight Cities Challenge grant

The Planning and Development Department is requesting submissions for Design Center in a Box, a new competition funded through a $205,000 Knight Cities Challenge grant.

The idea is for entrants to envision a gap in a neighborhood commercial corridor as a small, active space for residents to discuss planning issues, and for local businesses and organizations to showcase their work, according to a city announcement Tuesday.

The city plans to use the contest to work with building owners and help them transition vacant, deteriorated storefronts into tenant-ready spaces, said Michele Flournoy, an urban designer for the city.

Two winning design teams will install their concepts in spaces the city selects. The installations will stick around for about a year, and then ideally a more permanent tenant would move in, Flournoy said.

"It's thought to be temporary activations of the storefront space to bring people in," she said. "That's part of the design brief. How do you design something that can be inserted into a box?"

The city will get help from the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. to find two storefronts to get the treatment, likely using information from the DEGC's recent commercial corridor and retail study.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...in-detroit-for

[Detroit]

Originally Posted by Docta_Love

^One way to move forward can be to look back on the past.

Now I'm not holding my breath but I would love to see a plan similar to the Red Line's Dan Ryan section in Chicago run a circuit from say Southfield to downtown on the Lodge then back up 75 to the Troy/Birmingham area & while were at it why not throw in a cross town connection down 696 between the Lodge & I-75.

Back in 1940's there was originally a plan to run heavy rail down the middle of the Lodge FWY & possibly what would become I-75, 94 & 96 this came out of the immediate post war urban planning. We all know what happened next with buses winning out over the extensive street car network.

This is a from a really old thread over at detroityes.





http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messa...tml?1160845287




http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...in-detroit-for

I really like this Detroit subway system mock up by Mike Weiss. Seems very functional and somewhat reminds me of the Underground in London.

[Docta_Love]

That's a really great mock up & if money wasn't an issue or if this was in the past that would be a great plan. The region has many different employment and residential nodes that would have to be somehow worked into a comprehensive plan obviously & the diffuse nature of the region has until the recent resurgence of the city proper tying in high growth areas with the central urban core was a non-starter for the exurbs.

This situation is slowly changing tho, the regional balance of power is shifting to something more equal it's not just the tri-counties anymore the Washtenaw - Wayne axis is possibly the most important for the future of the region. However at the moment the Wayne - Washtenaw axis has some of the slowest growth in the metro area while Oakland & Macomb continue to have among the fastest they therefore hold the trump cards.

I don't mind if we have a unified system under SMART or DDOT or The RTA I just want to see progress on the issue amalgamating the regional transit systems & see the "opt out" communities be brought into the fold. I do see a danger in asking Macomb County voters to renew the SMART millage and at the same time create a new regional transit authority at the same time.

I'm hoping to see some kind of consensus come out of the Mackinac Policy Conference.

James Place Lofts, new Brush Park condos, to open this fall

By Robin Runyan
Curbed Detroit
Jun 5, 2018


We now have a better idea of what the new condos under construction along Mack Avenue will look like, along with their cost. Now called James Place Lofts, the development will have 11 for-sale, two-bedroom condos and will range from mid-$400K to mid-$500K.

The condos are up for sale this week and should be ready this fall. The newly-formed Alexander Real Estate Detroit is leading the sales. The design is led by Krieger Klatt Architects.

https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/5/...open-this-fall

[subterranean]

Those hypothetical subway lines seem awful short to be very functional and some of the locations don't seem to make much sense to me. No connection going straight out Woodward seems odd, for starters. Also, a few of the lines would make more sense connected instead of emanating from a center along spokes with no cross-town trips without connecting somewhere (except maybe Blue). Anyway, I know nothing like it will happen in my lifetime, if ever, but it just seems way too complicated.

[hammersklavier]

To pile on, while heavy rail may have made sense in the 30s and 40s, the way Detroit is set up today, I think a better long-term vision would be to develop light rail along youse guys' really ridiculously wide main roads, like Woodward, Gratiot, Jefferson, Michigan, etc. I've seen a couple of ideas that might help jump-start that, like your streetcar (although it unnecessarily runs in mixed traffic when Woodward could use a road diet) and an idea for BRT along other major roads in the city.

[Docta_Love]

I agree that we need to focus on the basics ie better use of buses plus expansion of current light rail plus in addition to building new lines. However where the infrastructure is in place looking into the reopening the Pontiac to Detroit commuter heavy rail line or Toledo to Detroit line perhaps.

Jefferson Ave. seemed to be the next "spoke road" under consideration for light rail & or BRT with lanes being slashed for bike lanes, wider sidewalks & more on street parking. However with the ownership of Michigan Station in the hands of a law firm tied to Ford (my pops an internal safety employee confirmed that the firm in question has Ford ties) Michigan Ave. in Corktown & Mexican Town possibly out to Dearborn or to who knows where west of there ... anyways I'd say Mich seems to have the most steam behind it.

You can take it for what it's worth because it came from a Moroun but the son seems to get PR despite whatever his political views may be, he offered for Crown Enterprises to play the "Roger Penske" role to bring major stakeholders to the table for a Michigan light rail line done on the Q Line model.

DMC sports medicine facility to be built in District Detroit

By JAY GREENE and KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit Business
June 06, 2018

-Five-story building will be built between Little Caesars Arena and new Wayne State business school
-Facility will serve Red Wings and Tigers, other athletes, general public
-Retail expected to be included on the building's first floor


A conceptual rendering shows the planned sports medicine facility at 2715 Woodward Ave. in Detroit, between Little Caesars Arena and the under-construction Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business.

Ilitch also said the company's investment would not be possible without DMC's commitment to a long-term lease for approximately 50,000 square feet of the building. He said construction will begin in early 2019. It is expected the facility will open in 2020.

"There is a growing demand for sports medicine in the city," said Ilitch, who hesitated and then added he wasn't sure he should comment on this in front of DMC officials, but "we hope our players never see" the DMC doctors at the sports medicine facility.

Several former Red Wings players and Ken Holland, general manager of the Red Wings, were present for the announcement at Little Caesars Arena.

DMC CEO Tony Tedeschi, M.D., said the DMC Sports Medicine Institute will be staffed with about 20-30 employees, including doctors, nurses, trainers and therapists, some of whom will need to be recruited to DMC.

DMC's 11 sports medicine clinics in Southeast Michigan are experiencing rapid growth, Tedeschi said. DMC may be looking to expand its outpatient center network in sports medicine and rehabilitation, but Tedeschi declined to comment on any active plans.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...strict-detroit

Mobility startups can tap up to $1 million for road, facility testing in Michigan

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 06, 2018

-PlanetM grants are for facility and public road testing
-Derq installed AI software in downtown Detroit
-Announcement comes a week after state launched $8 million mobility challenge


Derq Inc. used a $80,000 grant from PlanetM to install smart technology in downtown Detroit at the busy intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street.

PlanetM announced the new yearlong funding program Wednesday during the 2018 Intelligent Transportation Society of America annual meeting at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit.

Downtown Detroit is already home to the product of the program's first grant. Through PlanetM, the Michigan Department of Transportation enlisted Dubai- and Detroit-based Derq Inc. to install artificial intelligence-based software at the difficult intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street, said Trevor Pawl, vice president of PlanetM.

As of May, Derq is studying risk factors there to improve light timing for pedestrians, vehicles and those using the tunnel to Windsor.

Derq's $80,000 grant comes ahead of the official application period, which is expected to start within a month, Pawl said.

Two types of grants will be available: Testing grants will give startups discounts of up to 75 percent to access vehicle- and technology-testing facilities, while pilot grants will go to in-state and out-of-state startups that want to try out technology on public roads.

PlanetM wants the pilot grant projects to solve real-world road issues, so it's working with MDOT and municipalities to identify problem spots, Pawl said.

For testing facility use, PlanetM is working with Mcity, the University of Michigan's autonomous vehicle testing center. It is also in talks to use the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti and plans to enlist others.

With the one-year pilot grant program, which could be renewed in future years, PlanetM aims to address local startups' funding struggles and draw tech companies from out of state, Pawl said. Grant figures will vary based on what businesses and local governments require.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ity-testing-in

Wayne County bond rating gets 2-notch boost as jail project nears

By TYLER CLIFFORD
Crain's Detroit Business
June 05, 2018

-Wayne County's bond rating gets a BBB+ rating from S&P Global
-Ratings agency credits the county's structural balance
-Bond rating could be in line for future raises if balance is sustained


A rendering of the planned $533 million criminal justice complex at I-75 and East Warren Avenue in Detroit that would replace Wayne County's existing complex downtown.

The analytics firm gave a BBB+ rating, up from BBB- on debt issued for Wayne County. The county benefited from S&P Global's methodology update in April that designated its bond rating as investment grade.

Officials welcomed the news as Wayne County prepares to issue bonds to fund construction of a new $533 million criminal justice complex. The County Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on the jail project Thursday, The Detroit News reported.

"We are borrowing $315 million (in bonds), but the payments we have to make over the next 30 years are built into our annual budget," Wayne County Chief Financial Officer Henry Dachowitz said.

The higher rating may not mean Wayne County will pay less on the jail bonds, however. Dachowitz said the county hopes the jail bonds' rating will be based on the state of Michigan's AA credit rating.

John Sauter, S&P Global Ratings credit analyst, credits the rebound to cost-cutting measures led by Executive Warren Evans, including a consent agreement and recovery plan, and better fiscal and operational management. The recovery plan eliminated health care for future retirees and pulled support from the delinquent tax revolving fund that led to three budget surpluses.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-project-nears

[hammersklavier]

It's also fair to say that most of Detroit's useful commuter ROWs are still in place -- not just to Pontiac and Toledo, but for example Ann Arbor and Port Huron as well. I remember when I mucked around with it, years and years ago, I discovered the only historic railroad ROW with commuter value in the Detroit metro that isn't around anymore is the one that heads towards the Rochester area.

With Ford putting major offices in Michigan Central, it's probably also a good time to look at returning it to active use as a major rail station. The Wolverine already runs into Detroit from Ann Arbor and out to Pontiac so you can pretty much start up two dedicated commuter rail routes for the cost of some push-pull equipment right now.

On a sidenote, I've always liked this idea: http://fwrail.org/

ETA: Detroit is the 3rd largest MSA in the USA and Canada with no commuter rail AFAIK -- the only two that are larger being Houston and Dallas. There's no reason for that, either, when it has more resources for it than places like Phoenix or Las Vegas. All of the major Midwestern cities, in fact, have excellent commuter rail resources ... it's just a question of civic will, and perhaps a sense that a growing city needs better infrastructure.

[DetroitSky]

Alamo Drafthouse movie theater set for key Midtown Detroit site

• New cinema house would open at 90-114 Stimson St.
• Construction to start this year, finish first quarter 2020
• Theater would have nine screens, seating capacity of about 900

Finley, Jacques: Detroit poised for retail boom

In the future, Bedrock wants all of its building projects to open with retail, rather than waiting to add it later. That starts with the new Shinola hotel on Woodward, which is slated for a November debut. The initial focus is on filling in the Woodward storefronts, as well as those in Capitol Park. The Book Building on Washington Boulevard will have a robust shopping presence, Mullin says.

[subterranean]

And once that retail boom happens, the game changes.

[Docta_Love]

Well said.

Wayne County approves new $533 million jail complex in Detroit

By KURT NAGL
Crain's Detroit Business
June 07, 2018

-Work on jail could start this fall; demo of Gratiot site sooner
-Commissioners voted 14-1 to approve plan
-County will fund $380 million, Rock Ventures will cover the rest

The Wayne County Building Authority approved the project Wednesday.

Approval means Dan Gilbert's Rock Ventures has the go-ahead to build the jail complex to replace the long-scrapped "fail jail" site on Gratiot Avenue. The county will invest $380 million and Rock will cover the rest.

Work on the new jail complex is expected to start as soon as the fall. Gilbert intends to redevelop the unfinished county jail site at the foot of downtown Detroit, with demolition expected to begin before fall.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...lex-in-detroit

Reviving historic building rehab tax credit gains steam in Legislature

By CHAD LIVENGOOD
Crain's Detroit Business
June 06, 2018

-Preservationists trying to restore tax credit for rehab projects
-Coalition pushing Snyder to re-consider his past opposition
-Rehab of Michigan Central Station could benefit from tax subsidies



Preservationists are hoping Ford Motor Co.'s potential rehabilitation of the long-vacant Michigan Central Station will win over Gov. Rick Snyder to bring back the tax credit for restoring historic buildings that he axed in 2011.

Legislation resurrecting Michigan's historic preservation tax credit cleared the House Tax Policy Committee on Wednesday after legislators capped the annual amount of credits that could be awarded at $15 million.

"We knew that Snyder was not in love with this so House leadership suggested we put some caps in place to rein in the scope," said Dan Austin, a Detroit historian and spokesman for a coalition of preservationists backing the legislation.

Senate Bill 469 would restore the tax credit Michigan previously had on the books that subsidized up to 25 percent of the costs of rehabilitating historic buildings and homes.

"The place where that might come in handy is if an automaker wanted to renovate an old train station in Detroit," said Austin, who represents the MI Impact Coalition.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...in-legislature

Detroit Soccer District sports facility to open Saturday

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 05, 2018

-Construction started last month at former junkyard
-It will offer memberships, sports leagues, youth programming and event space
-9,000-square-foot facility's indoor space to open in fall


The outdoor section of Detroit Soccer District opens Saturday and starts scheduled programming Monday at 5157 Stanton St. in Detroit, west of Midtown.

Construction started last month at a former junkyard to create Detroit Soccer District, a venue with a 6,000-square-foot outdoor field and 3,000 square feet of indoor space for handball, volleyball and basketball.

Joseph de Verteuil, a nearly lifelong Detroit resident who was born in Brazil, founded Detroit Soccer District and has spent $50,000 renovating the property.

"I love to play soccer," the 26-year-old said. "I didn't want to wait for someone else to start something, so I took it upon myself to start it myself."

Shuttling out to the suburbs to play soccer while he was growing up was expensive for Verteuil's parents. He wanted to create something affordable, so he based his concept on compact sports facilities in Brazil that still get big crowds for tournaments and practice time.

The venue expects to offer a look at its outdoor facilities during its soft opening Saturday, ahead of scheduled programming starting Monday. The indoor section is to open in the fall.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-open-saturday

[LMich]

More on the planned re-retailing of downtown.

Upscale fashion, furniture shops expected to open in Detroit this year

By Dana Afana, MLive.com

June 6, 2018

Downtown Detroit's retail scene is expected to include more upscale fashion by the fall, with a focus on local and nationally known boutiques.

"You're going to see a lot more high-fashion, a lot more variety in women's fashion, more in travel ... in furniture ... food and beverage (and) electronics," said Dan Mullen, president of Bedrock, Downtown Detroit's dominant real estate firm with more than 90 properties.

"You're going to kind of see a lot of that coupled with service."

On top of that, developers anticipate a November opening for the luxury boutique Shinola Hotel at the corner of Woodward and Grand River avenues.

And a coveted national retail chain that's long avoided Detroit may be get closer to venturing into the city, Bedrock executives said.

Target is the one that they are talking about, and apparently Target says there is enough activity, now, for a downtown store.

[subterranean]

What is the building under construction in that photo?

[SupaK]

Originally Posted by subterranean

What is the building under construction in that photo?

It's the addition to the "rear" of the new Shinola Hotel.

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by SupaK

It's the addition to the "rear" of the new Shinola Hotel.

Thanks. For some strange reason, I had it in my mind that the Shinola Hotel was on the other side of Woodward.