[DetroitMan]

Corktown booms with new condos, apartments as Ford campus takes shape

But the growth of Corktown seems to be on steroids these days, and much of it is happening right in the shadow of Ford's massive investment in Michigan Central Station and some adjacent properties. That includes a $6 million makeover of Roosevelt Park into a public plaza in front of the former train station, which had previously been largely unkempt green space.

And while the renovation of the train station stands as perhaps the most visible rehab project underway in the neighborhood known for its smaller single-family homes largely dating back more than a century, more in-fill condo and apartment projects are dotting Corktown's blocks. Also, more large-scale projects along Michigan Avenue, such as the $93 million, seven-story housing and retail development dubbed the Michigan and Church Street project are nearing completion. Since Ford's announcement nearly five years ago that it was buying the long-vacant train station for an innovation campus, there has been approaching $500 million in private investment in various projects in the Corktown area, according to an estimate by city of Detroit officials. Additionally, city and state investments in infrastructure in the area total about $27.5 million.

That's all in addition to the roughly $950 million that Ford has invested in its projects in the neighborhood. Real estate experts in the area are quick to note that the development boom happening in Corktown is occurring before the Dearborn automaker has even begun to fully occupy the buildings in which it has invested.

"We still haven't seen the full of impact of Ford hit yet," said James Tumey, a real estate agent with O'Connor Real Estate, a residential and commercial brokerage firm with its offices on Michigan Avenue in Corktown, and which has worked on several of the condo projects in the area. "It's exciting to surf the wave and build more projects. I don't know if Corktown will be ready for it."

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...us-takes-shape