DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[Thirteen Mile]

Looking back on the condition of the UA Building and especially the theatre at the time ownership changed hands to Olympia Entertainment makes it worse.

It’s an example of the old game developers played with downtown even the ones that actually did care you leave hard to redevelop buildings exposed to the elements and open to scrappers the building becomes a nuisance.

We all know the game at this point demolition is called for to clean up blight while making the area attractive for developers the new parking will be needed and proceeds will help pay for something better.

Olympia deserves credit for actually caring and trying but they bit off more than they could chew with their Fox Town dream. However just like with Ford and Michigan Central when The Book Cadillac was saved that was a turning point showing the game was bullshit.

It’s a damn shame they wasted so much goodwill and potential not just to the detriment of the city but their own. They city was culpable too for enabling by not enforcing its own codes it’s hard to forget sometimes how bad corruption was back then.

Just look at the kind of detail remained in the early 2000s







Water winter wonderland

[Detroit]

Guy on Youtube who works at the Hudson Site claims tower will be 670'
I don't really care to question the guy on whether or not he has seen a final takeoff of the tower, but here is his youtube if anyone here cares to inquire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJQ7Wo3CyqM

[The Best Forumer]

Originally Posted by Detroit

Guy on Youtube who works at the Hudson Site claims tower will be 670'
I don't really care to question the guy on whether or not he has seen a final takeoff of the tower, but here is his youtube if anyone here cares to inquire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJQ7Wo3CyqM

Are trehre any rendering s for this?

[Thirteen Mile]

Bedrock

Not really but this is a new rendering that they put out of “the crains that will
go to work on the site” seems like same proportions as the 900 footer but scaled back. To me it seems like they’re not trying to put anything out until they are damn well sure that they’ve gotten the hotel portion squared away which means watching if the pandemic continues to wind down.

[The North One]

This is old news. The 680 or so height was revealed awhile ago.

[DetroitSky]

I left a comment on the video saying "I thought it was supposed to be 680 feet tall" and he said "you could be right but whats 10 feet between friends". He doesn't know what he's talking about.

[Detroit]

Originally Posted by The North One

This is old news. The 680 or so height was revealed awhile ago.

I know it has, was curious if the guy knew what was being built or seen the final plan seeing as he works on the site. Like I said, I didn’t really want to pick his brain since he may not know anything about the tower portion.

[seabee1526]

Originally Posted by Detroit

I know it has, was curious if the guy knew what was being built or seen the final plan seeing as he works on the site. Like I said, I didn’t really want to pick his brain since he may not know anything about the tower portion.

I’d love to hear from somebody “in the know” in regards to Monroe Blocks. The movie theater and roller rink etc is a cool idea, I just hope that is not their permanent location.

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by seabee1526

I’d love to hear from somebody “in the know” in regards to Monroe Blocks. The movie theater and roller rink etc is a cool idea, I just hope that is not their permanent location.

It’s not permanent. They’re trying to activate the block and get some revenue from it for the time being.

[DetroitSky]

A couple new Corktown projects have been posted on the city's website:

1628-1650 Bagley
16 townhouses and 6 carriage homes to be built on vacant land. More info here.



Dalzelle Court, 2019 Dalzelle
6 townhouses to be built on vacant land adjacent to 3 historic houses currently being renovated by the developer. More info here.

[DetroitSky]

Detroit council approves sale of historic Brodhead Naval Armory to Parade Co.

Detroit — The City Council on Tuesday approved the controversial sale of parkland, including an abandoned historic military site along the Detroit River, to the Parade Co.

The Parade Co., which puts on Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving Day parade, submitted a plan in August to buy a portion of Gabriel Richard Park on Jefferson Avenue near Belle Isle. The land contains the historic Brodhead Naval Armory, which serves as a legacy of the Navy and Marine Corps in the city.

After more than an hour of debate, council members approved the $300,000 sale of the city-owned land by a 6-2 vote, with council president Brenda Jones and Councilwoman Raquel Castañeda-López voting against it. The two raised concerns over finalizing the sale without an appraisal and disputes over the preservation of historic murals.

An anonymous Bedrock employee informed me of a few things today:
-The Fowler Building is on track to reopen late this year.
-Monroe Blocks is, as we already knew, undergoing a complete redesign. Current estimate for completion is 2028.
-The final height of the Hudson's Site depends on, as we assumed, the hotel operator. An operator has been selected and the design is getting closer to being finalized. It appears to be at or around 680 feet. No word on when we'll hear an announcement.

[The North One]

Monroe going through complete redesign?? urgh, why.

2028? This is killing me.

Did they say anything about the innovation center?

[CrazyCres]

Originally Posted by The North One

Monroe going through complete redesign?? urgh, why.

2028? This is killing me.

Very disappointing.

The original plan had a four-year construction timeline so it looks like this won't start until 2024. Late 2023 at the earliest.

The redesign might not be so bad as long as they keep the height and not use cheap materials.

[ShadowSoarer]

This is a quote from someone on the SkyscraperCity Detroit Development News page in regards to the City Club Apartments in Midtown:

"that in a recent interview with the Free Press City Club says they are targeting a Q4 2021 or Q1 2022 groundbreaking for city club apartments Midtown."

[deja vu]

It seems like there have been a lot of fires in the news lately. Others have pointed out the ones in Lapeer and Calumet. I was saddened to read that the Reeber Furniture Co. building, located at 3363 Michigan Ave. (west of downtown) also suffered a fire a few days ago. This was one of two suspicious fires in the area, that morning. The building was designed by local architect Peter Dederichs Jr. and constructed in 1887.

Sadly, it was already pretty bombed-out. This SHPO application includes some photos of it, before the fire.


Source: Instagram | 313historicpreservation

[Jasoncw]

Hey guys I just noticed this thread is on page 313.

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by Jasoncw

Hey guys I just noticed this thread is on page 313.

Good catch! Cheers to that!

It's a good thing this isn't the Saginaw / Midland / Bay City Regional thread; we would have to wait all the way to page 989 for a cold one!

[The North One]

This thread has been here since 2006. Kinda surprising it only just now got to 313 pages.

I guess the Detroit skyscraperpage community has always been small.

[subterranean]

There are 6300 posts here. And this doesn’t include all the sub threads for individual projects and transportation. Stuff has really slowed down though. It’s kinda hard to get excited about a forum that can’t even get with the century and do updates. It’s already competing with social media. Much easier to search a hashtag.

[DetroitSky]

Eater Detroit is reporting that the Michigan Avenue Bucharest Grill is now closed. The building will be torn down to make way for the Michigan and Church apartment building. They will open a new Corktown location in 2023 at Trumbull and Church, which I believe will be in the Michigan and Church/Godfrey Hotel garage, which has planned retail space at that corner.