DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[DetroitMan]

Article from Today's Crain. According to the article, rising construction costs have delayed the project. The developer, Roxbury Group, hopes to close on financing by the end of the year and start construction soon after which is expected to take 18-24 months.

Detroit's Lee Plaza is likely a year behind schedule. Here's why.

David Di Rita stood on a stage inside the decrepit Lee Plaza hotel 13 months ago to share his excitement about the $7 million Detroit City Council earmarked for his planned rehabilitation project of the long-vacant high-rise."It's a preview to coming attractions," Di Rita, a founder and principal of the Roxbury Group, said at the time. He expected construction at the 16-story building at 2240 W. Grand Blvd. in New Center to begin a year later — or, about now.
But Di Rita said this month that rising construction costs have delayed the project, which would turn the 15-story building into 117 units of senior affordable housing, plus some market-rate units. He said he now expects financial closing to come at the end of this year, and for construction to begin after that. Rehabilitation of the 1927 building is expected to take between 18 and 24 months. "We have not begun any physical work on the building yet," he said. "We're still in the pre-development stage." Di Rita said there was still a $10 million financing gap for the project, and he has exhausted "all the usual sources" of financing. But he said he's "increasingly" sure the numbers will work.

"I have a high degree of confidence we'll figure this out," he said. "Lee Plaza, it's all or nothing."

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...d-rising-costs

[Van Dyke Brown]

Why do the legitimate posts regarding the Monroe Block update in this thread keep being deleted?

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by Van Dyke Brown

Why do the legitimate posts regarding the Monroe Block update in this thread keep being deleted?

They’re being moved to the Monroe Blocks (now Development at Cadillac Square) thread where they should have been posted in the first place.

[subterranean]

Yeah, the Cadillac Square title threw me and blanked that it was the same as the Monroe Blocks so I originally posted it here not knowing where it should go.

[DetroitSky]

A DetroitYes user uncovered renovation plans to 1133 Griswold downtown. There have been workers on the site for about a month now. Sounds like its pretty much an addition to neighboring Capitol Park Lofts. Plans call for the removal of the horrible '70s facade currently on the building, a new neo-art deco facade and the addition of 4 stories, bringing it to the same height as Capitol Park Lofts. There will be commercial space on the first two floors and 27 apartments above. Residents will use the entrance, elevators and hallways located in Capitol Park Lofts.

More info here and here.

This leaves only the old Cunningham's Building that wraps around the Stott and the Film Exchange Building as the last two large vacant downtown buildings without plans.

[Blocky858]

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

This leaves only the old Cunningham's Building that wraps around the Stott and the Film Exchange Building as the last two large vacant downtown buildings without plans.

I thought that the new plans for the District Detroit by the Illitches have them demolishing the Film Exchange building and replacing it with some sort of other office space.

[seabee1526]

I like this

Bascomi.com/portfolio/44-Michigan-Ave

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=...AAAAAdAAAAABAD

[davidberko]

Originally Posted by seabee1526

I like this

Bascomi.com/portfolio/44-Michigan-Ave

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=...AAAAAdAAAAABAD

Wow, build it! That's really nice

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by Blocky858

I thought that the new plans for the District Detroit by the Illitches have them demolishing the Film Exchange building and replacing it with some sort of other office space.

Conceptual renderings showed that yes but that doesn’t mean that’s what’s going to happen, especially with the Ilitches. I would be surprised if they get even a fraction of that concept off the ground to begin with.

[VegasMatt]

The slabs on the front are getting removed, and then windows will be restored to a Classic Deco design. Four floors will also be added with the continued theme. First Floors Retail, Upper Floors Apartments:



Goal:




I really like the direction of this building.
Hope the Detroit revival contiues to play on the classy Detroit deco themes.
It think it will help Detroit stand out from the crowd of other up and coming citites in the furture.
So many other cities with recent growth look completely generic.

[DetroitMan]

While not a development, Blue Cross Blue Shield is moving 500 employees from Southfield to their downtown campus. This is certainly a nice boost for the downtown employment numbers.

Blue Care Network moving 500 workers to Detroit from Southfield

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's HMO subsidiary, the Blue Care Network, is relocating its headquarters from Southfield to Detroit.
The relocation will entail moving more than 500 Blue Care Network employees to Blue Cross' Jefferson Building, 441 E. Jefferson, in downtown, Blue Cross CEO Daniel Loepp told the Free Press in a statement Friday.

The Blue Care Network will depart the Southfield office building at 20500 Civic Center Drive, where it has been headquartered. Once the relocation is completed, more than 5,900 Blue Cross employees will be "assigned" to the health insurer's Detroit campus, which includes the Jefferson Building, the Blue Cross headquarters building at 600 E. Lafayette Blvd. and leased space in the Renaissance Center.

Some Blue Cross workers follow "hybrid" work arrangements and do not visit an office every day.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/bu...d/69968841007/

[deja vu]

That building at 441 E. Jefferson could use a major facelift! Maybe having an extra 500 employees there will trigger that.

[DetroitMan]

A few tidbits on developments planned for the area.
Eastern Market nonprofit's new president has plans for housing, food distribution

"Dave was instrumental in doing a lot of site acquisition, helping with the rezoning of what we call the Food Innovation Zone, the expansion area east and northeast of the historic core of the market," said Dan Carmody, president of Eastern Market Partnership, the parent organization of the EMDC. "Moving forward we want to transition from simply acquiring land. We want to start building stuff or helping others build stuff and helping community groups build capacity to improve their neighborhoods as well."
That includes not only the 45,000- to 50,000-square-foot wholesale distribution center, on which construction will start next year — expected to cost about $16 million on one of two sites being considered — but also three new affordable housing projects.

First on the list is a proposal from West Chester, Ohio-based Pivotal, which would build 53 units of workforce housing with one-, two- and three-bedroom units on St. Aubin Street.A second project, which the city says has not yet been finalized, would be Harper Woods-based American Community Developers building affordable housing on a Division Street site near the Dequindre Cut for which there was an RFP. Economic Growth Corp., a Rock Island, Ill.-based developer, also is working on another project several years out, Carmody said.

Carmody also said the partnership is working on things like the E.W. Grobbel Sons Inc.'s plans for the Grobbel's Gourmet Fresh Neighborhood Market and a Sy Ginsberg-branded Jewish-style deli later this year at 2456 Market St.; and Ping Ho's new offshoot of the popular West Village restaurant and butchery Marrow.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...eastern-market

[DetroitMan]

Update on the U-M Innovation Center, it has a new name now, it will officially be called the University of Michigan Center for Innovation. In addition, Stephen Ross' Related Cos. is no longer developing the project and the university will take over. One final note, the university also stated they are still planning to renovate the Rackham Building in Midtown.
UM's Detroit Center for Innovation gets a new name, development shakeup

The proposed Detroit Center for Innovation has a new name: The University of Michigan Center for Innovation.

That's not the only change for the $250 million, 200,000-square-foot facility expected to break ground this year on Ilitch family-owned property west of the Fox Theatre.

Stephen Ross' New York City-based Related Cos. is no longer developing the property, and the university is now taking the lead on designing and building it, akin to how it built the business school in Ann Arbor that bears the developer's name. And its academic and programmatic offerings are being expanded beyond graduate studies to fields like robotics, computer science and technology, UM said in a Monday release. Geoffrey Chatas, executive vice president and CFO for UM, said in the release that by taking the lead on construction, the university can tailor it to "its specifications, needs and academic and community programming."

It's not known why that change is being made now. UM declined to make an official available for an interview.

The innovation center is also now planning to offer things like "talent-based community development and community engagement," the release says. Things like workforce training, professional development and certificate programs are also planned.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...ter-innovation

[gratiotfaced]

Should we be concerned that Ross/Related are no longer developing the site, or was this always to be expected as the project moved ahead? Does the article mention if Ross/Related are still part of the rest of The District's plans?

[DetroitMan]

Originally Posted by gratiotfaced

Should we be concerned that Ross/Related are no longer developing the site, or was this always to be expected as the project moved ahead? Does the article mention if Ross/Related are still part of the rest of The District's plans?

The rest of the article didn't state that Related would be pulling out of the rest of the District Detroit project. I believe this is a good move honestly as UM would have been running this center in the end anyway. Maybe with the UM taking over the project, it will get done faster.

[hybrydy]

Originally Posted by gratiotfaced

Should we be concerned that Ross/Related are no longer developing the site, or was this always to be expected as the project moved ahead? Does the article mention if Ross/Related are still part of the rest of The District's plans?

Unclear. The original Detroit Center for Innovation consisted of

a 200,000-square-foot research and graduate education building for UM students in mobility, artificial intelligence, data science, entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, financial technology, and more. The initial phase of the Center for Innovation build-out also will include incubator and start-up services for entrepreneurs, collaboration space for established companies, residential units, a hotel and conference center, and event space.

source

DCI Site


DCI technology Incubator (left) ???


DCI Residential

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by gratiotfaced

Should we be concerned that Ross/Related are no longer developing the site, or was this always to be expected as the project moved ahead? Does the article mention if Ross/Related are still part of the rest of The District's plans?

Your handle, bruh

Love it.

[deja vu]

Recent pic of the Rev. Dr. Jim Holley Building (affordable housing) at Woodward & Taylor -


Source: LinkedIn | Hamilton Anderson Associates

[Velvet_Highground]

Here’s a video from Frankie Detroit’s February 2023 Brush Park update. There’s been a lot of work done over the winter we only had that one real cold snap before Christmas & significantly less snow than usual, made it easier.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1PFF1bg3uBg