DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[The North One]

I did NOT know about Cambridge/Hampshire House, wow. Those are both the ones on Covington drive yes?

[subterranean]

Several of the larger projects I didn’t know about, including the Buhl. Is Gabriel Houz the building kitty corner to the Book Cadillac? I always thought that would be the perfect building for an Apple Store.

Anyway, I saw on this site a few months back say they thought Detroit was the most overrated success story. I couldn’t disagree more. I am so damn impressed and it makes me proud to be a native Michigander. I miss home a lot and I look forward all the time to catching up on all the new happenings every time I’m there.

Cheers and thanks for the updates. Greatly appreciated.

[DetroitSky]

The North One, yes they’re on Covington. They look good!

subterranean, it is kitty corner from the Book Cadillac.

This is only a small fraction of projects underway, too. There’s so many I haven’t been able to photograph.

[e-dub]

Detroit the beautiful!

[Jasoncw]

Thank you!!

[DetroitSky]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the photos!

Also, for those interested, this is about the only photo I can find of Checker Bar's original facade. It's on the far left edge of this photo. The Gayety Theatre and neighboring hardware store are a parking lot today. I believe the Gayety was torn down in the '50s.

[DetWin]

Another amazing thread! Thanks so much

[mousquet]

Not bad. Hey, I can remember, when I joined the forum long ago, I predicted the downtown area would recover from ruin.
Bon, frankly, you didn't have to be any fucking smart prophet to assume it, cause it was pretty obvious.

The rest of town seems pretty chaotic, less consistent, like a Paris suburb, or like messy planets in orbit around their burning star.
That's always the way it is.

[uaarkson]

The amount of redevelopment, especially renovations, happening in the core is nothing short of remarkable. People forget that only 6 short years ago the city was bankrupt, and the fate of many downtown icons was still up in the air. Several high-profile demolitions were still being planned/executed.

The city seems to be making all the right moves to maintain this trajectory. They've been making very smart, incremental changes in almost every neighborhood. The biggest ingredient now is time, and chance that the national economy doesn't fuck it all up. This new Detroit is already a success story whether you know it or not.

[RossDetroit]

Thanks DetroitSky. I always enjoy your updates so much. I live in Belgium and wait for the Hudson site to be finished. I love Detroit and shall certainly come back. Keep us posted please.

[DetroitSky]

Here's some restaurant news from around town. Not huge developments, but I'm all for a few less vacant storefronts.

Birmingham's Phonecia Opening Downtown Detroit Spot In October

For more than four decades the Eid family has been operating Phoenicia, an upscale Lebanese restaurant on Old Woodward Avenue in downtown Birmingham.

Now the father-son team of Sameer and Sammy Eid plan to open Leila, a more casual version in Capitol Park in downtown Detroit. A debut the week of Oct. 14 is envisioned.

The 130-seat "cosmopolitan" restaurant will be in the Farwell Building at 1249 Griswold St. and will occupy 4,500 square feet. It will include a 20-person private dining room and lounge.

Midtown Detroit Is Cooking: Smith & Co. And Savant Restaurants Open

It's come to this: Restaurant launches in the former Cass Corridor are so numerous they bunch up.

First-nighters on Friday have a choice of two openings less than a mile apart -- Savant on West Forest Avenue and Smith & Co. on Selden Street.

"A new restaurant opening in Midtown is hardly news these days," Detroit News food writer Melody Baetens acknowledges near the top of a Thursday afternoon piece on Smith & Co.

New In Detroit: Magnet Restaurant Features Wood-Fired Cooking And No Tips

This addition, opening Friday in a former radiator shop on Grand River Avenue in the Core City neighborhood, features selections "kissed by a little bit of wood flavor," chef Brad Greenhill tells Annalise Frank of Crain's Detroit Business. All cooking will be done on a charcoal grill or a wood-fired oven.

He and partner Philip Kafka also are co-owners of Takoi, a Corktown hotspot a mile and a half away on Michigan Avenue. (Takoi's third owner, Courtney Henriette, isn't part of Magnet.)

The 78-seat restaurant's menu includes a whole grilled eggplant, a full cauliflower, topped flatbreads and celery root kabobs.

Pink Flamingo Food Truck Adds A Palmer Park Carry-Out Restaurant In Detroit

Seven years after Meiko Krishok began serving food from an Airstream trailer on Vermont Street in North Corktown, her Pink Flamigo enterprise adds a counter-service restaurant this week.

Located near Palmer Park at 17740 Woodward Ave., the new quick-service restaurant will allow Pink Flamingo’s team to free itself from the constraints of Michigan winters and refocus on serving affordable, local food to the community all year.

It opens Sunday at 11 a.m. with a $20 brunch buffet until 3 p.m. (Tickets are here.) The menu has baked herb-and-cheese eggs, turkey-chicken patties, vegan white bean patties, roasted garlic and herb potatoes, grits, mushroom gravy, biscuits and cinnamon raisin walnut bread. Carryout selections become available at 3 p.m. opening day.

[DetroitSky]

Wayne County to build housing for refugee resettlement in Hamtramck

A modest housing project for refugee resettlement is coming to a part of metro Detroit that’s become a hub for immigration and multiculturalism for decades.

Earlier this month, Wayne County announced that was looking to build three two-family homes in Hamtramck to be used as transitional affordable housing for refugees and immigrants. Called Freedom Village, the project is a partnership between the county, Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Samaritas, and the city of Hamtramck.

This week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded funding for the project. It’s expected to cost $1.2 million, none of which will come from the city of Hamtramck.

It’s slated for a summer 2020 opening.

The site located on Faber Street

North End development gets $2 million in financing, incentives

The planned redevelopment of the former Packard Automotive Showroom in Detroit's North End neighborhood has received approval for more than $2 million in loans and other financing.

RainCheck Development LLC, owned by Neal Check, has received a $1.4 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program loan for his planned $8.16 million redevelopment of the building at 40 Hague St. and Woodward Avenue and another $562,000 or so in brownfield financing.

The project, first reported by Crain's in April 2018, is anticipated to bring 38 apartments to the market, according to a Michigan Strategic Fund board briefing memoradum. The board approved the financing Tuesday morning.

Fauna Holistic ‘Working-class’ Massage Spa Opens in Eastern Market

Fauna Holistic, a new therapeutic massage spa in Detroit’s Eastern Market, is targeting local service-industry workers and others who once may have thought massage therapy and bodywork to be too expensive.

Fauna Holistic is owned and operated by Fiona Maier, a licensed massage therapist from New York, who comes from a blue-collar family and says she wants to serve others who are in need of restoring their bodies after a hard day’s work.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Eastern Market community,” says Maier. “I was raised by a carpenter father and a mother who worked odd jobs and is now a librarian. I believe everyone should have access to massage. Fauna Holistic is geared toward working-class individuals. I really want to reach out to restaurant workers, many of whom I know personally and are sorely in need of bodywork. I also really want to get away from the expensive, luxury spa stereotype and provide an alternative space for everyone in need of massage services.”

Men’s Outdoor-inspired Fashion Line MuskOx Launches in Downtown Detroit

MuskOx, a men’s fashion label designed to bring the features of outdoor apparel to everyday fashion, is launching in downtown Detroit. The line is designed to be wearable at everything from camping trips to the office. The company’s offices are located above The Fillmore Detroit.

Detroit’s North End Gains A Moroccan-Style Gathering Spot

An innovative cross-cultural project in Detroit’s North End area drew dozens of neighbors, supporters and discoverers to a three-hour event Sunday.

It was at a Moroccan-style riad, or community courtyard, marking completion of its first phase.

Visitors stood below stainless steel arches cut with Islamic patterns. The towering series of arabesques create a public space for art shows, performances, workshops and a garden. The next goal is to add vegetable plants, a fountain, "sculptural furniture" and food preparation capability by 2021.

Eventually, partners say, the decorative metal canopy will unite eight formerly abandoned buildings at East Euclid Street and Oakland Avenue, between Chicago and East Grand boulevards.

[DetroitSky]

$6.6M mixed-use building with artistic theme planned for Woodbridge

Two Detroiters—one a gallery owner and another who cut his teeth in New York City finance—are planning a $6.6 million mixed-use development on Grand River Avenue at the edge of Woodbridge. Called the Osi Art Apartments @ West End, plans for the development were revealed in public records submitted to the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority earlier this month.

Plans for the over 26,000-square-foot Osi Art Apartments currently call for around 30 apartment units and ground floor retail, as well as parking behind the building. The site, which was purchased in May this year, is currently vacant and sits next to the Patterson Dog and Cat Hospital between Avery and Commonwealth streets.

Roderick Hardamon, founder URGE Development Group and one of the project’s partners, says he expects at least 50 percent of the units to be available to tenants who make 80 percent of the area median income (around $42,000 per year).

Random fact: Patterson Dog and Cat Hospital, founded in 1844, is the oldest small business in Detroit and the oldest veterinary practice in the US.

Preservation of Ossian Sweet home underway

Nearly 100 years after Dr. Ossian Sweet defended his home from a white mob, it’s set to be preserved for hopefully another century.

In August last year, the city of Detroit was awarded $500,000 from the African-American Civil Rights program of the Historic Preservation Fund, the National Park Service, and the Department of the Interior to turn it into a permanent visitation site.

Now, restoration work is underway on the home at 2905 Garland Street, as well as two across the street, on Detroit’s east side. According to the Detroit News, local restoration artists are upgrading essential features of the home—woodwork, painting, electrical and plumbing systems—as well as prepping the house for historic preservation.

Eventually, the basement will be turned into an interactive museum with information about the 1925 attack and trial.

Auto parts maker Faurecia to invest $10.7M in Highland Park, create 500 jobs

Officials say auto parts maker Faurecia is planning to invest $10.7 million and create 500 jobs in the Detroit enclave of Highland Park.

The planned investment was announced Tuesday as the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said the company is expected to get a $2 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Plans call for workers to assemble automotive seats, seat frames, foam cushions and seat covers.

Nonprofit developer, neighborhood group to rehab buildings in Detroit's Woodbridge

Cinnaire purchased the three-story building, built in the 1920s, from the Presbytery of Detroit for $330,000 in January. Its days as a bank predate Napier, who remembers taking her kids there for dance, acting and other extracurricular activities. Most recently, it was home to the nonprofit Barnabas Project, which moved out around five years ago and left unclaimed items such as golf clubs and old computers to collect dust.

Cinnaire is planning to invest nearly $1 million to renovate the building for a commercial tenant on the first floor and flexible office space on the upper two levels, said Ed Potas, development manager for Cinnaire. The neighborhood group is pitching in a big chunk of the $150,000 Kresge Foundation grant it was awarded in June for some cleanup and community engagement.

The partnership between the Woodbridge group and Cinnaire started in 2017 when the developer gave it a construction loan to renovate a house in the area. If all goes well with the bank building, the groups would like to continue elevating their work together with the revitalization of a ramshackle 18,000-square-foot former elementary school and nearby 8 acres of vacant land in the neighborhood.

Cinnaire bought the school building at 1780 W. Hancock St. from private owner Blair Evans for $1.7 million, according to city property records, along with acreage at West Forest Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard. Potas said that project is still being budgeted and presents bigger challenges due to the condition of the building.

Former bank at 3530 Grand River

Cuban-Influenced Burger Favorite Frita Batidos Opens Next Week in Detroit

After more than four years of anticipation and many delays, Ann Arbor’s Cuban-influenced burger favorite Frita Batidos is scheduled to open the doors at its second restaurant in Detroit next week. Chef Eve Aronoff confirms to Eater that the restaurant will debut on on Wednesday, October 2 along the new pedestrian-friendly Columbia Street promenade in downtown Detroit near the Fox Theatre. Several invitation-only previews are scheduled for this weekend.

The Corner at Former Tiger Stadium Site in Detroit Opens

The Corner, a $31 million mixed-use development at the site of the former Tiger Stadium at Michigan and Trumbull avenues in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, opened yesterday.

It features 111 multifamily units of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, with 20 percent designated affordable at 80 percent of area median income.

The four-story building also will include 27,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, 60 percent of which will be at 50 percent of market rental rates. The first wave of businesses includes BUILD Institute, Plum Health, Skinphorea, and Vivid Space Yoga. There are three retail spots left.

The project also created more than 400 jobs, 50 percent of which went to Detroit residents. At least 121 of the 237 construction jobs and at least 90 of the 150 permanent jobs went to low-income people.

[DetroitSky]

A Facebook user in the Historical Detroit Area Architecture group posted this photo of the Eddystone yesterday. I haven't gone by yet to check it out for myself, but it definitely looks like some actual rehab work is underway.


Source

DetroitYes user JonWylie also posted this photo yesterday of steel framing underway at DMC Sports Medicine Institute. This project is on Woodward and Sproat between Little Caesars Arena and Mike Ilitch School of Business.


Source

Hammer & Nail Brings Mid-Century Cocktail Vibes to Midtown in October

A mid-century styled cocktail bar is preparing to open its doors at the base of the Plaza apartments in Detroit, sporting one of the building’s iconic neon hammer and nail signs. The bar, first teased back in 2017, is called Hammer & Nail and is on track to open by mid-October, Crain’s reports.

Hammer & Nail will be located in the lobby of the 12-story building in Midtown, formerly known as the Professional Plaza. The building was saved from demolition and underwent a $22 million rehab under the stewardship of the Roxbury Group beginning in 2016. In 2017, the company began leasing the Plaza apartments. As part of the redevelopment, Roxbury took down the famous hammer and nail signs, donating one to the Carpenter’s Union and refurbishing the other one to hang on the wall on the ground floor of the Plaza.

Bon Bon Bon to open Midtown location with dog treats, later hours

The middle of Midtown will get even sweeter next month with the opening of a new Bon Bon Bon showroom.

The gourmet Detroit confectionery revealed that its third location will debut Oct. 8 at 441 W. Canfield, right near Jolly Pumpkin Pizzeria & Brewery and Third Man Records.

[dc_denizen]

some incredible renovations in detroit. can't wait to see the completely updated buhl building and book tower..

[Docta_Love]

Killer work D-Sky I havn't had enough time lately to get around and check out all that I've wanted to so the update is very much appreciated. You really hit just about every project that I could think to want an update on except the mixed-use on Livernois but that's small potato's compared to what you did cover. Had to throw out some props for the comprehensive tour, good looks man keep up the good work!

*Finally some actual work on the Eddystone it's embarrassing that in late 2019 the work has only just getting serious but hopefully the public pressure has gotten Chris Illitch to get off his ass and do right by his father's memory & planned legacy by at least doing the bare minimum ie renovating the abandoned buildings they own around Foxtown & GCP.

[DetroitSky]

^I missed a few other major projects I hope to include in the next one like the new Wayne County court and jail. There's so much going on its impossible to capture it all in one post. Glad you enjoyed the photos!

Blue Cross commits $5 million in Detroit's East Warren/Cadieux area

The BCBSM investment will go toward improving neighborhood streetscapes and walkability and help jump-start local businesses, as well as expand and preserve affordable housing, the release said.

Blue Cross employs nearly 5,500 people in Detroit, about 50 of whom who live in and around the East Warren/Cadieux area, the release said.

The Strategic Neighborhood Fund and the Affordable Housing Leverage Fund account for $422 million in private and public support, the release said. Both are expected to leverage more than $1 billion in investment in the city's neighborhoods.

"This strategic investment will help build on the great progress we have begun to see in neighborhoods like Morningside, Cornerstone Village and East English Village, as well as along the area's commercial corridors," Duggan said in the release.

Detroit Rising: High-rise condos at The Mid could cost buyers up to $1 million

Developers of The Mid plan to break ground this fall on construction of a 25-story high-rise building on 3.78 acres of vacant land sandwiched between the Whole Foods Inc. grocery store and The Plaza apartments, across Woodward Avenue from the Max M. Fisher Music Center where Detroit Homecoming VI was held Sept. 19-20.

The 25-story building is the first phase of a two-tower development totaling $377 million and will include a hotel and 51 for-sale condo units on the higher floors.

In an interview at Detroit Homecoming for the Crain's "Detroit Rising" podcast, the master developer behind The Mid confirmed the condos could reach $1 million in price when phase one of the project is complete in the second quarter of 2021.

"It is potentially true," said Emery Matthews, founder and co-owner of Detroit-based Real Estate Interests LLC.

The condos atop of the 25-story tower "will probably be on the higher end in this market, more akin to what you might find in Birmingham," Emery said.

Detroit City FC to debut women's team next year

When Detroit City Football Club colors hit Keyworth Stadium in 2020, it won't just be men stepping out onto the field.

Club ownership will launch a separate women's team, DCFC was to announce at its game Saturday evening in Hamtramck.

The club's new semi-professional team will start spring 2020 in the United Women's Soccer league's Midwest Conference, making it a competitor with local teams Pontiac-based Detroit Sun, AFC Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids FC, Lansing United and Michigan Legends. The women's team will share Keyworth with the men's team, which is going pro next season.

The U.S. Soccer-sanctioned women's league founded in 2015 runs its seasons May-July. UWS is second division, under the professional National Women's Soccer League.

[DetroitSky]

Islandview is going to be one of the next neighborhoods to explode in popularity, I think. We keep hearing more and more positive news out of Islandview and its location definitely positions itself to grow:

Brewery Faisan set to open Oct. 24 in Detroit's Islandview neighborhood

A new microbrewery is coming to the City of Detroit later this month.

Brewery Faisan, started by Rachel and Paul Szlaga, will begin serving beers with a focus on Belgian-style ales on Oct. 24 from its 2,000-square-foot taproom on 1087 Beaufait in Detroit's Islandview neighborhood, according to the brewery's Facebook page.

"The goal of Brewery Faisan is to produce and serve a selection of the highest quality craft beers brewed in the Belgian and American traditions for the responsible enjoyment of the Detroit community and beyond," the brewery said in a Facebook post.

The Szlagas purchased the property — which also includes a 4,000-square-foot production space that'll house a 15-barrel brewing system — in 2016, and spent the past few years "procuring drawings, funding, and building permits." They've been brewing since 2010, when they won a homebrew kit in a chili cook-off.

Well, this is infuriating. A month or so ago it was announced this building was saved, but now its going to be demolished very soon for only 12 parking spots. The owner also owns at least 2 of the 3 parking lots already on the block. I don't understand why he's decided to demolish the second to last structure on the block instead of building a garage. The garage could also be directly attached to the Fort Shelby and he could gain extra profit from renting spots or retail space. But in typical Detroit fashion, the worst choice is made.

Detroit Saturday Night Building to soon be demolished, turned into 12 parking spots

A lengthy saga to save a historic downtown structure has failed.

For a long time, the owner of the luxury condominiums at the Fort Shelby Residences has been trying to demolish the Detroit Saturday Night Building at 550 W. Fort Street. The demolition would make way for a fourth surface parking lot to accommodate an additional 12 cars.

Building owner Emmett Moten has been trying to pull a demo permit since July 2018, and briefly did in November 2018 before it was rescinded. Again last week, Moten pulled a demo permit and heavy construction equipment was seen outside the building.

Preservations once rose to action to try and save the building, which was designed by Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls and opened in 1914. The latest attempt would make the building an interim local historic district, requiring a year-long study and likely delaying demolition.

But at a formal session of Detroit City Council on October 1, a resolution put forward by Councilmember James Tate to begin the study failed by a 7-1 vote (one member of council was absent).

[LMich]

Islandview is definitely a diamond-in-the-rough, though one that's been seeing small-scale redevelopment for quite a few years, now. The location at the foot of East Grand Boulevard really helps it. The other big thing going for it is the nice mix of land-uses/zoning, so you have land for residential, commercial/retail, and industrial infill. The eastern end of the Belt Line railroad corridor cuts through the western end of the neighborhood. The track is no longer there, but you could redevelop the warehouses that remain into a lot of legitimately mixed-usages.



End of the physical line at Warren before going south into Islandview:



This could be a new trail, a future light rail connection, an alley...

[MN/WI]

Awesome updates.