DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown [Archive] - Page 14

Michi

Apr 24, 2012, 4:16 AM

Not a fan. I'm not a transportation planner, so I'd reserve critical dialogue for that professional, but I'm skeptical of the effectiveness of this. I think street cars are great and in a perfect world, it would be nice to bring them back, ala Toronto. I just don't think Woodward, like it once was, is a street car street. To plan for the needs of the future, we need a transit line along Woodward that is efficient and effective. Yes, a modernized street car that looks like LRT, will move you along the curb, but at what pace?

Yes, the commitment to build and impliment is amazing and so encouraging, but I just worry that accepting the shortcomings of efficiency in mobility along our most popular corridor will fan the flames of opponents. I just visited Atlanta and thought about the MARTA trains and how they deliver transit. Yah, that would be a dream come true for Detroit, but not realistic. Is a street car, instead, going to perform like MARTA trains? No, but shouldn't we be trying? That's why I think LRT is the bare minimum we should go w/ rail on Woodward. Street cars on Grand, Mack, etc...

hudkina

Apr 24, 2012, 9:22 PM

I don't think it really makes that big of a difference. This streetcar is essentially a prototype to show Metro Detroiters what transit can be. I'll be glad to just to see it built even if it isn't a major commuter line.

Onn

Apr 24, 2012, 9:35 PM

Exec: Retailers 'tripping over themselves' to get into Gilbert-owned buildings downtown

The Detroit News
Louis Aguilar
24 April 2012

Hundreds of retailers and other small firms have inquired about setting up shop in downtown Detroit buildings owned by Quicken Loans Inc. founder Dan Gilbert and his partners, a Quicken Loans-affiliated executive said Tuesday.

"People are tripping over themselves" to move into the buildings, said Bruce Schwartz, Detroit relocation ambassador of Bedrock Real Estate Services, the real estate arm overseeing Gilbert's expanding downtown empire.

Schwartz and Bedrock Managing Partner Jim Ketai spoke Tuesday afternoon at a Detroit Regional Chamber event in the MotorCity Casino Hotel.

"We've gotten hundreds of proposals, and we are vetting them now," Schwartz said. Ketai described the retailers include "restaurants, grocery stores, furniture."

Every downtown building Gilbert and company will buy will always have first-floor retail, Ketai said. Gilbert and his partners own nine downtown buildings.

"We want the right retailer, the right spot," Ketai said. "The kind of retailer we can't get in the suburbs."

The two executives also said Bedrock is considering the vacant space where the former Hudson's department store used to be located for building two residential towers.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120424/BIZ/204240431#ixzz1szqOEpMh

Onn

Apr 24, 2012, 9:45 PM

Wayne State to build $90-million biomedical facility

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120417&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=204170343&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Wayne-State-build-90-million-biomedical-facility

Detroit Free Press
17 April 2012

Wayne State University plans to pump more than $90 million into a new biomedical research facility at the edge of its campus -- a move that continues its push to improve Detroit's Midtown.

The university is hoping to use $30 million from the state, along with $63 million from its coffers, to renovate the old Dalgleish Cadillac building and tear down the American Beauty Iron Building next to it.

The project would be the largest in WSU's history.

The state share is included in a budget proposal from Gov. Rick Snyder, based on recommendations made during the previous administration, budget office spokesman Kurt Weiss said. In total, funding is recommended for projects at nine of the state's 15 public universities. The Legislature still needs to approve the plan.

WSU officials are confident the money is coming.

"One lawmaker told a colleague of mine, start building," WSU President Allan Gilmour said Monday.

If the money comes through, WSU would start demolishing the American Beauty building at Burroughs and Woodward this summer to make a parking lot for the new building.

Work on the Albert Kahn-designed building would begin in November. Plans include extensively remodeling the current 127,000-square-foot building and adding 70,000 square feet."

http://www.freep.com/article/20120417/NEWS01/204170343/Wayne-State-to-build-36-90M-biomedical-facility?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

untitledreality

Apr 24, 2012, 9:48 PM

If the money comes through, WSU would start demolishing the American Beauty building at Burroughs and Woodward this summer to make a parking lot for the new building.
Because from what I can see, there aren't enough surface lots surrounding the site anyways :rolleyes:

Onn

Apr 24, 2012, 9:52 PM

Because from what I can see, there aren't enough surface lots surrounding the site anyways :rolleyes:

Maybe they want to expand parking lot square footage. :shrug:

Onn

Apr 24, 2012, 10:09 PM

I know this isn't technically in Detroit, Dearborn is the city next door, but I drive by the site every day, so I might be able to get some shots. Right now there are just construction trailers on the site and some diggers putting in piping. When something more happens I'll try to let you know! When it's finnished the station will connect with The Henry Ford.

Dearborn, Michigan Gets Shiny New Train Station

Earth Techling
Nino Marchetti

http://c276521.r21.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dearborn-1.jpg

The slow revitalization of America’s once mighty consumer railway system continued today as the city of Dearborn, Michigan welcomed groundbreaking of a planned LEED intermodal passenger rail station. This station, funded 100 percent through federal money, will pull together existing local and national rail passing through the area with future high speed rail as well as motorized forms of transportation.

The Dearborn Intermodal Passenger Rail Station, according to city officials, is part of a 12-year vision of expanded Michigan passenger rail options. The $28.2 million facility, which got its federal funding last August, is designed to consolidate the city’s two existing rail depots into one operation in the western part of Dearborn’s downtown.

Described as being pedestrian friendly, the new train station looks to be a vast improvement over existing facilities on site for Dearborn commuters. The 16,000 square foot facility, seen above, is a stark contrast to the current offering, seen below. The new station will offer amenities like free wireless Internet and bicycle racks, as well as exhibits by local organizations and companies.

http://c276521.r21.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dearborn-2.jpg

The city of Dearborn, which is the Detroit suburban home of auto manufacturing giant Ford, is also home to the University of Michigan–Dearborn and Henry Ford Community College, whose students reportedly will make good use of the new station. Once completed, the station will also accommodate tourists visiting the Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village via a new pedestrian overpass.

As an intermodal station, the Dearborn facility will serve as a hub for current and future forms of transportation. Already in operation options for coming and going from this location will include connections to Amtrak’s Wolverine service that extends from Pontiac to Chicago; SMART, DDOT, Greyhound and charter buses; corporate and hotel shuttles; taxis and personal vehicles. Future plans will focus on a proposed Detroit to Chicago high speed rail line as well as an Ann Arbor to Detroit commuter rail line, which reportedly will also allow for easy bus connection to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The new Dearborn facility reportedly will be ready to open by fall 2013. It’s estimated, according to city officials, that the intermodal station project will create 280 temporary construction trade positions and, when completed, potentially offer 25 permanent positions.

Architects designing the Dearborn station looked to employ what is said to be “stylistic elements from historic train stations” that “juxtaposes contemporary streamlined elements drawn from transportation cues.” Green building elements planned, which it is felt will help reduce station operating costs, include metal roof with solar collectors; energy efficient lighting; geothermal heating and cooling; and storm water management features, such as rain gardens and bioswales.

“This project is part of a larger strategy to increase the number of potential customers coming to Dearborn every day. Increasing the customer base sustains existing businesses and attracts new activity and investment, “said Dearborn mayor John O’Reilly in a statement.

http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/04/dearborn-michigan-gets-shiny-new-train-station/

Rizzo

Apr 25, 2012, 12:02 AM

Because from what I can see, there aren't enough surface lots surrounding the site anyways :rolleyes:

On Woodward of course.....

I give WSU props on a lot of good things they've done, but their track record of architectural stewardship could be better. That goes for a lot of Universities though....

Dearborn gets a huge applause from me for that beautiful new train station. I hope if the streetcar plan in Detroit comes into fruition there will be a need for a new Amtrak station / intermodal center in Detroit.

LMich

Apr 25, 2012, 12:18 AM

On Woodward of course.....

I give WSU props on a lot of good things they've done, but their track record of architectural stewardship could be better. That goes for a lot of Universities though....

Dearborn gets a huge applause from me for that beautiful new train station. I hope if the streetcar plan in Detroit comes into fruition there will be a need for a new Amtrak station / intermodal center in Detroit.

There is already some money lined up for Detroit's intermodal station, and the first phase which consisted of clearing the site has been done since 2010, I think. The region's just waiting until Detroit gets it's transit issues under control to actual begin building the thing. The preliminary concepts for it show a very modest structure, but certainly better than the current Amtrak station. The site of this new station will be on the other side of the tracks.

animatedmartian

Apr 26, 2012, 12:07 AM

Big news.

Four downtown projects get tentative approvals
By John Gallagher
Detroit Free Press Business Writer
April 25, 2012

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120425&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=120425034&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Four-downtown-projects-get-tentative-approvals

Four significant development projects for the greater downtown area won tentative approvals Wednesday, signaling that recent development interest in Detroit is continuing.

Among the projects: The Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority tentatively approved a renovation plan for the historic Globe Building on the east riverfront. The authority also blessed a plan to build a new 140-unit upscale apartment building in the Harbortown complex on the east riverfront.

The authority also gave the go-ahead to a project to build a major medical supply warehouse and distribution center near the Henry Ford Hospital complex in the New Center area.

And the city’s Downtown Development Authority approved the selection of Karp and Associates of Lansing as the lead developer to transform the Capitol Park district on downtown’s west side with renovations of three historic but derelict buildings.

All the projects need further approvals before becoming reality, but the mixture of projects encouraged city development leaders.

“This has been a great day in Detroit, and it shows that there is momentum, and it’s picking up and it’s not just in one part of town, either,” said George Jackson, president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

Efforts to bring new life to Detroit’s historic but derelict Globe Building on the east riverfront got fresh hope with tentative approval of a $2-million tax credit and development plan.

The Brownfield authority voted this afternoon to begin the process of approving a plan put forward by Detroit-based Roxbury Group, a real estate development firm. The plan calls for Roxbury to receive a state-approved $2-million credit against the Michigan Business Tax as part of a $12.5-million renovation plan.

Located at 1801-1803 Atwater on the east riverfront near the William G. Milliken State Park & Harbor, the Globe consists of structures of various ages dating to the late 1800s, when it served as a dry dock for the shipping industry.

A young Henry Ford worked as a mechanic on the site. The building is also notable as one of Detroit’s most prominent surviving 19th-Century industrial buildings.

The work will consist of a partial demolition, renovation of the remainder, and creation of an addition. Plans call for the mixed-use development to include a welcome center and Milliken State Park interactive displays, classrooms and office space for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

David DiRita, a partner in the Roxbury Group, told the brownfield authority that about half the historic structure would remain once the project is finished by late 2013. "It’ll be a mix of old and new when we’re done," he said.

In other action, the brownfield authority also approved tax incentives for an $18-million, 140-rental apartment building known as Harbortown Riverside Apartments to be built within the existing Harbortown complex on the east riverfront.

The project is headed by Arkan Jonna, principal owner of the A.F. Jonna Development firm in Bloomfield Hills.

Harbortown is a gated complex on the east riverfront that was launched in the 1980s. To date it includes two high-rise towers, low-rise residences, a marina, and shops.

The new project will fit within the existing Harbortown property. It will be adjacent to the Detroit RiverWalk but will not interfere with it.

Jonna indicated that all units will have balconies and be built with “contemporary flair and high-end finishes throughout.”

The units would range from one to three bedrooms and measure from 800 to 1,500 square feet. Rents will range from about $1,100 for smaller units to $2,200 per month for the largest units.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012204260452

Rizzo

Apr 26, 2012, 5:59 AM

There is already some money lined up for Detroit's intermodal station, and the first phase which consisted of clearing the site has been done since 2010, I think. The region's just waiting until Detroit gets it's transit issues under control to actual begin building the thing. The preliminary concepts for it show a very modest structure, but certainly better than the current Amtrak station. The site of this new station will be on the other side of the tracks.

Well that's good to hear. I'd really like to have something like Milwaukee's intermodal station.

LMich

Apr 26, 2012, 7:36 AM

In other action, the brownfield authority also approved tax incentives for an $18-million, 140-rental apartment building known as Harbortown Riverside Apartments to be built within the existing Harbortown complex on the east riverfront.

The project is headed by Arkan Jonna, principal owner of the A.F. Jonna Development firm in Bloomfield Hills.

...

The new project will fit within the existing Harbortown property. It will be adjacent to the Detroit RiverWalk but will not interfere with it.

Jonna indicated that all units will have balconies and be built with “contemporary flair and high-end finishes throughout.”

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120426&Category=BUSINESS06&ArtNo=204260452&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&4-downtown-Detroit-area-developments-get-tentative-approval

Ugh. I was hoping for something taller and better looking. The Spinnaker Tower at Harbortown is 18-floors and 101 units, and the Great Lakes Tower 175 units and 15-floors, so this could have definitely been taller and taken better advantage of its' location at the river's edge side of the property.

animatedmartian

Apr 26, 2012, 4:48 PM

:previous: Yea I agree.

Lots of development news this week.

Path clear for building revival at Capitol Park
City OKs plan for mixed-use development

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120426&Category=BIZ&ArtNo=204260342&Ref=V2&MaxW=600&Border=0

Detroit's Downtown Development Authority Wednesday cleared the way for Lansing's Karp and Associates to renovate three publicly owned, empty buildings in the city's Capitol Park area.

The authority's board approved Karp and Associates as part of an estimated $83.9 million deal to rehabilitate The Farwell Building at 1249 Griswold, the former United Way Building at 1212 Griswold and the Capitol Park Building at 1145 Griswold.

The board approved development agreements for the United Way and Capitol Park buildings that the authority owns.

The deal still awaits approval from the board of the state land bank of a development agreement for the Farwell Building.

"This is another home run for downtown," Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said in a statement.

The plan calls for a total of 204 loft-style apartments and 45,000 square feet of retail and office space.

[...]

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120426/BIZ/204260342#ixzz1tANC939m

Rizzo

Apr 27, 2012, 4:31 AM

:previous: Yea I agree.

Lots of development news this week.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120426/BIZ/204260342#ixzz1tANC939m

This really made my day. Capitol Park is an incredible underrated urban space. The potential for this area is huge. We'll look back 10 years down the road and wonder what the hell was going on and why this space was so forgotten.

As for Harbortown Riverside. I don't care for the design. It looks cheap, and there's really no excuse. You can do economical design and still have an excellent looking building.

Busy Bee

Apr 27, 2012, 5:09 PM

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120426&Category=BUSINESS06&ArtNo=204260452&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&4-downtown-Detroit-area-developments-get-tentative-approval

Eww. That's just careless.

LMich

Apr 28, 2012, 1:51 AM

Kind of surprised this was missed, but in an article, the other day, on Quicken attracting folks from Silicon Valley, Rock Ventures has said they are still very much planning to develop the Hudson site for apartment housing (15-stories) for the group of companies, but are waiting until rental rates go up to make the project work. Currently, the rate is $1.20 per squre foot, but local real estate agents are saying that the Broderick units could go for $1.50 per square foot. Still, they said they aren't building until the rate gets up to $1.75 per square foot even with incentives and credits factored in.

Rizzo

Apr 28, 2012, 5:35 PM

DesignerVoodoo

Apr 28, 2012, 6:09 PM

Rizzo

Apr 28, 2012, 6:39 PM

Are you certain about rental rates for downtown? I'm paying 96.25 a square foot here and just got a serious shock. I use to live in the Mies van der Rohe townhouses in 1988 but I can't remember what I was paying then, I guess this just really really surprised me. I want to see downtown be redeveloped with quality buildings too, the conceptual rendering offered is weak at best.

Rent on the Magnificent mile in Chicago is $2.40 / sf. My friend rents a condo in midtown Manhattan for $4 / sq. I think you aren't calculating cost / sqft / month. Downtown Detroit rents are about at where they should be, though there's definitely the opportunity for them to be higher.

Michi

Apr 28, 2012, 6:45 PM

It seems like there's a certain "beginners" standard in Detroit. One where you can't expect quality design. That's not to say we shouldn't, but the arguments about ppsf are valid, and a developer taking a chance on Detroit is making a riskier venture, which does not "enforce" higher design standards.

The gated community makes me wonder though. I wonder if this increases the value of rent rates, has no effect, or, in an urban setting, has a negative effect?

Rizzo

Apr 28, 2012, 7:04 PM

I think Detroit has proven before it can do good design even on a budget. You can use very inexpensive materials and still have a nice looking building. They could construct that building out of precast with a color and textured finish instead of what appears to be brick and metal and it might come out looking pretty awesome.

Onn

Apr 30, 2012, 3:02 PM

Dime Building renamed 'Chrysler House' as automaker creates Detroit office

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120430&Category=AUTO0101&ArtNo=204300373&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Dime-Building-renamed-Chrysler-House-automaker-creates-Detroit-office

The Detroit News
Louis Aguilar
30 April 2012

Chrysler Group LLC announced Monday morning that CEO Sergio Marchionne and 70 staffers are moving into Detroit's Dime Building, which is being renamed the Chrysler House in honor of the move.

The name change reflects the Auburn Hills automaker's commitment to downtown Detroit, Marchionne said at a Monday morning press conference. It is the first time in history Chrysler has had a Detroit office, he said.

The company used to be headquartered in neighboring Highland Park before moving to Auburn Hills in 1994. Marchionne will still keep an office at the Auburn Hills headquarters.

"This is such, such a major move," said Dan Gilbert, chairman of online mortgage company Quicken Loans Inc., whose Rock Ventures firm bought and operates the former Dime Building.

Most of the employees are from the Auburn Hills automaker's Great Lakes region sales and marketing organization. Marchionne will maintain his current office at Chrysler's Auburn Hills headquarters, too.

Local developers such as James Van Dyke of the the Roxbury Group, a Detroit-based real estate consulting and development firm that is rehabilitating the David Whitney building in downtown, said the move will help attract other companies. "Other businesses want to be around the decision makers," Van Dyke said last week. "It generates more activity in everything from restaurants to hotels."

General Motors Co. has its headquarters downtown in the Renaissance Center.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120430/AUTO0101/204300373#ixzz1tXLAIlMZ

Docta_Love

May 4, 2012, 9:21 PM

City in talks with carrier that wants to restore passenger service to Detroit

Suzette Hackney and Matt Helms
The Detroit Free Press
May 4, 2012

Mayor Dave Bing's administration said Thursday that the city is negotiating with a charter carrier that wants to return passenger service to Detroit.

Jason Watt, general manager of the Coleman A. Young International Airport, told the City Council on Thursday that the city has a letter of intent from a carrier interested in re-establishing scheduled passenger travel. He would not publicly identify the company.

Commercial passenger service ceased at the airport in 2000, though private pilots, cargo companies and charter operations still use the facility.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120504/NEWS05/205040366/City-in-talks-with-carrier-that-wants-to-restore-passenger-service-to-Detroit

I am glad to see the possibility of passenger service returning to City Airport. The area around the airport now is in dire need of reinvestment, the area now is more or less a blank slate. This is the areas greatest asset though, if the city's plans are realized and a private firm takes over running the airport and provides much needed improvements. The area around the airport could be redeveloped into a neighborhood catering to the needs of passengers as well as making the area more attractive to high-tech industrial firms. Although an east side areotropolis is still just a far off dream at this point, reestablishing passenger service is a start.

animatedmartian

May 5, 2012, 6:02 PM

Toronto real estate firm buys historic Penobscot Building for estimated $5-million

By John Gallagher
Detroit Free Press
May 5, 2012

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120505&Category=BUSINESS04&ArtNo=120505008&Ref=AR&MaxW=300&Border=0&Toronto-real-estate-firm-buys-historic-Penobscot-Building-estimated-5-million

Another major downtown Detroit skyscraper has been sold, and — surprise! — the buyer was not Dan Gilbert.

Triple Properties, the Toronto-based real estate firm that already owns the Silverdome in Pontiac, bought downtown’s historic Penobscot Building last week for a price estimated to be in the $5-million range.

The seller was Capmark, an investment firm that obtained the title to the Penobscot in a foreclosure action against the former owner, the Northern Group.

[...]

The building is about 45% to 50% occupied with tenants including Strategic Staffing Solutions and Wayne County Friend of the Court.

Bob Mihelich, a broker with Southfield-based CBRE who represents Triple Properties, said Triple’s owner Andreas Apostolopoulos plans to offer office rental rates in the Penobscot of about $10 per square foot — below the general market asking rate of $14 to $20 per foot.

“By doing that it would hopefully draw some people who either want to switch, move, or come downtown,” Mihelich said Friday. “The idea is to lure people in with very attractive rental rates and then (Triple) will spend some money to dial up the suites.”

[...]

http://www.freep.com/article/20120505/BUSINESS04/120505008/PenobscotToronto-real-estate-firm-buys-downtown-skyscraper?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

Pretty good deal for a 47-foot skyscraper.

Docta_Love

May 5, 2012, 8:39 PM

Pretty good deal for a 47-foot skyscraper. Well i wouldn't necessarily say that, but for a 47-story skyscraper not a bad deal at all ;). The article mentions the building needing some renovations, which came as a surprise for me. I had thought that the owners who installed the facade lighting had updated the building, i guess the 50% occupancy rate speaks for itself though. It will be interesting to see what this guy does with the building a healthy Penobscot would be a huge asset for the CBD, hopefully encouraging other outside investors to step into the Detroit office market. Fingers crossed with the Penobscot and the Silverdome (Pontiac is in dire financial straights they could really use the tax revenue generated by a functioning entertainment venue of that size).

The North One

May 6, 2012, 8:16 PM

Only 5 million?!

There are homes in Oakland county that go for more than that. If they renovate it though that's sure to cost a pretty penny.

animatedmartian

May 7, 2012, 4:16 PM

Another preservation versus progress fight.

WSU plan to raze building angers some in Midtown
By John Gallagher
Detroit Free Press
May 7, 2012

A long-vacant factory in Detroit's Midtown is the latest flash point in the city's long-running debate over preservation of buildings of historic or architectural significance and efforts to grow walkable districts that retain big-city character.

Wayne State University plans to demolish the two-story American Beauty Electric Iron building, designed by famed architect Albert Kahn, to make way for a staging area for construction vehicles working on a new $93-million biomedical research center at the adjacent site.

Midtowners and preservationists say it should be saved and that too many of Detroit's old buildings have been sacrificed for surface lots. They say American Beauty is important to Midtown's continuing evolution to a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood.

The site at Woodward and Burroughs is adjacent to the old Dalgleish Cadillac dealership that WSU is converting soon to the research center.

WSU officials say American Beauty's demolition will help ensure the preservation and reuse of the Dalgleish structure, also designed by Kahn. They also say the site, after some use as an employee lot, could eventually house an expansion of the biomedical center.

"There's never any intention to make this permanently a parking lot," said Rick Nork, vice president and chief financial officer for WSU. "To me it just does not make any sense to leave that building in place when you're going to be investing $93 million in a state-of-the-art research building immediately adjacent."

[...]

Central to the debate is the larger question of what happens to surrounding cityscape when buildings are demolished. Critics say razing almost any building for a surface parking lot runs counter to the desire to create a densely packed, walkable urban village, a goal for Midtown.

Melanie Markowicz, chair of the nonprofit group Preservation Detroit, noted that two hubs of Detroit's evolving entrepreneurial economy, NextEnergy and TechTown, are located across Cass from the site.

"It's supposed to be this vibrant area of innovation, but somehow it's turning into a land of parking lots, and this would be just another contributor to that," she said.

Markowicz agreed that the American Beauty building is not significant architecturally, being a fairly routine industrial structure of the early 20th Century. But such buildings often make great spaces for loft apartments or small businesses.

"Just because a building is old and doesn't have features that make it a masterpiece like the Guardian doesn't mean we should tear it down," she said.

[...]

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120507&Category=BUSINESS06&ArtNo=205070398&Ref=V1&MaxW=600&Border=0

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120507&Category=BUSINESS06&ArtNo=205070398&Ref=AR&MaxW=600&Border=0

Rizzo

May 7, 2012, 4:36 PM

Another preservation versus progress fight.

As I stated previously, I'm not particularly happy with WSU's track record of preservation. And I don't understand why they want to provide space for staging construction vehicles. Why? When you stage construction in urban areas, you simply place all the trailers and materials on a scaffold over top of the sidewalk. Or utilize a vacant building next door for storage and project offices.

I think WSU needs to be held accountable for this decision, and we should expect to see some report as to the options they pursued and their reasoning behind this demolition.

Sometimes I wish Detroit would have the same alderman and ward system as Chicago. Public officials that are always accessible by the general population and give citizens a voice in guiding development....even against strong corporations, developers, and public institutions. If there was enough citizen concern voiced through one of these public offices, I feel we would have both the American Beauty and Biomedical Buildings.

LMich

May 10, 2012, 10:50 AM

This article is a few weeks old, but apparently, Gateway Marketplace (formerly the pretentiously named Shoppes at Gateway) up near 8 Mile and Woodward will begin construction on the 17th. I know, I can't believe it, myself. lol

http://media.mlive.com/business/detroit_impact/photo/10352974-large.jpg
Jonathan Oosting | MLive.com

Gateway Marketplace to break ground next month with plans for Detroit's first Meijer store (http://www.mlive.com/business/detroit/index.ssf/2012/04/gateway_marketplace_to_break_g.html)

By Jonathan Oosting | MLive.com

April 26, 2012

Developers of the long-planned Gateway Marketplace are expected to break ground next month near Woodward and 8 Mile in Detroit, launching construction on a retail hub slated to include the city's first Meijer grocery store.

Mayor Dave Bing and Gov. Rick Snyder are expected to attend the groundbreaking ceremony on May 17.

...

Michi

May 10, 2012, 3:32 PM

This article is a few weeks old, but apparently, Gateway Marketplace (formerly the pretentiously named Shoppes at Gateway) up near 8 Mile and Woodward will begin construction on the 17th. I know, I can't believe it, myself. lol
Pet Peeve: the word "SHOPPES"!!!!
Just as bad: "CENTRE"

Nothing says a trashy development like spelling words wrong in order to be "fancy", especially since there's nothing fancy about oversized parking lots accessed by ugly, high-speed surface streets designed to get cars PASSED any attempts at quality economic development. High profile intersection, but with those key words to market the place, I worry about the quality. Gotta start somewhere, I guess. :whip:

LMich

May 11, 2012, 7:15 AM

animatedmartian

May 11, 2012, 8:00 AM

Speaking of Meijers, according to Detroiturbex (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=412163952150655&set=a.148501728516880.28941.109210839112636&type=1), Redford Highschool has been sold and is also on the way to being demolished.

In other demolition news...

Detroit to raze nursing home, WSU sites
BY CHRISTINE MACDONALD THE DETROIT NEWS MAY 8, 2012

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120508&Category=METRO01&ArtNo=205080354&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Detroit-raze-nursing-home-WSU-sites

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120508&Category=METRO01&ArtNo=205080354&Ref=V2&MaxW=600&Border=0

[...]

Karla Henderson, a group executive for Mayor Dave Bing, said the city will spend $4.4 million to raze the facility this summer along with the former Wayne State University Shapero Hall, an eight-story high-rise off Interstate 375, and a handful of smaller commercial buildings across the city.

Large commercial demolitions are rare in Detroit, which instead has focused scarce funding on demolishing about 4,300 dangerous houses since 2010. The money for Arnold Nursing Home and the other buildings comes from leftover federal grants, Henderson said.

[...]

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120508/METRO01/205080354#ixzz1uXu3gtRN

I've always wondered about the WSU building. It's directly next to Lafayette Park and seems like an ideal spot for new residential high rises.

LMich

May 11, 2012, 8:31 AM

I always figured Shapero Hall would be renovated. Too bad to see it go. We know the site's going to site empty for years.

The demolition of Shapero Hall may be more complicated. Some neighbors are celebrating the move, but the owner's lawyer argued the demolition would be "an egregious waste of city funds."

"It displays an incredible amount of hubris for the city and others in the community to insist the building come down," said Margaret Andrews, an attorney for owner Dennis Kefallinos, who is fighting the city's plan. "It is 100 percent structurally sound."

The eight-story building is windowless and the first floor is boarded. Kefallinos originally wanted to turn it into a hotel when he bought it in 2007 from the university for $2.3 million, records show. But the plan was stalled in part by zoning issues, Andrews said.

He now wants to develop studio lofts, she said.

Henderson said in an email the building is "an eyesore, blighted and abandoned structure where criminal activity has occurred including a murder of a 61-year-old man last year." She said Kefallinos "does not have a positive track record as being a responsible property owner."

I had no idea it had been allowed to erode so much. I remember Kefallinos buying the thing, and had assumed that even if the renovation didn't go through the least he would have done is kept it secure.

animatedmartian

May 11, 2012, 8:55 PM

Here comes Whole Foods.

Whole Foods to break ground May 14
Natural, organic market chain hopes to open spring 2013

By MEGAN KRUEGER | The South End | May 11, 2012

Whole Foods Market will have an official ground breaking ceremony on May 14 at 9:45 a.m for their future Midtown location to celebrate the new chapter for the grocery store chain.

According to Whole Foods website, the future store will be located at the northwest corner of John R and Mack Avenue. The groundbreaking ceremony at the site will include local food and entertainment, according to the groundbreaking invitation on its website, and attendees are encouraged to park in the Wayne State parking structure near the site or in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra parking structure.

The Austin, Texas-based chain currently has five other stores in Michigan, all of which are located in Detroit suburbs as close to the city as Troy and as distant as Ann Arbor.

“We are looking forward to being a part of the Detroit community and all the wonderful things that are happening in the city of Detroit,” Whole Foods said on its website. “There have been many dedicated people working toward this new development for several years, and it is because of their hard work and commitment to Detroit that we are able to open the store in Midtown.”

While the John R and Mack Avenue location is under construction, Whole Foods has opened a temporary location at 3670 Woodward Ave. in the Ellington Building, according to its website.

[...]

http://thesouthend.wayne.edu/index.php/article/2012/05/whole_foods_to_break_ground_may_14

Michi

May 12, 2012, 1:51 AM

Hey, I've always said that since it's out at 8 Mile and Woodward, I couldn't care less about the design. I've come to expect very little of the vast majority of the new architecture in a place like Detroit. This is far enough from the core (literally at the edge of the city) that I'll excuse a lot so long as they start sprucing up the area around the ridiculously abandoned State Fair neighborhood.

Where'd you get Centre from, though?
I don't like that you'll settle for lower standards. :(

These are still places where people live, or at least they should be treated like that when developed. Also, these developments rely on a regional base, so their impact radiates beyond the neighborhood it exists. Ferndale is across the street, Palmer Woods & Woodlawn Cemetary is across the street. Just because the streets traveling through the area suck, shouldn't mean this should be a missed opportunity to improve the economic stability of both the neighborhood and the greater market. This intersection is a node of activity, or at least should be.

Ha! All that over the stupid name of the project. I just pulled out Centre because it's used too much also. :)

fishrose

May 12, 2012, 2:58 AM

Pet Peeve: the word "SHOPPES"!!!!
Just as bad: "CENTRE"

Nothing says a trashy development like spelling words wrong in order to be "fancy", especially since there's nothing fancy about oversized parking lots accessed by ugly, high-speed surface streets designed to get cars PASSED any attempts at quality economic development. High profile intersection, but with those key words to market the place, I worry about the quality. Gotta start somewhere, I guess. :whip:

Nothing says irony like criticizing intentional "misspellings" and then immediately misspelling a word by accident, with emphasis even. :haha::tup:

Honestly, 8 Mile and Woodward is surrounded by suburban built densities on all sides. It's already on an island of non-walkability because of the cemetery, fairgrounds, and railroad tracks, not to mention the roads themselves.

Barring the complete reconstruction of Woodward and 8 Mile Road (not happening ever) or the redevelopment of the Fairgrounds as a new urbanist mixed-used neighborhood (probably the least likely outcome at this point) an automobile-oriented shopping center is pretty much the only economically viable retail model for that location. The best we can hope for is that it will be well-served by mass transit.

hudkina

May 13, 2012, 8:28 AM

I was going to say. It seems like that corner would be the least concern. All that matters is that people who live in the area will have access to a respectable grocery and general merchandise store. They don't need a disneyfied landscape of coffee shops and apple stores.

Michi

May 13, 2012, 10:54 PM

Haha!

Yah, you can have good suburban design too. Though my responses were just talking about the silly naming of centres, it's as if I'm leading to believe the design of this proposed place will be bad.

The future of this area may have the opportunity to be a TOD. Why not put some of those design elements into it?

Docta_Love

May 14, 2012, 6:54 PM

The shear amount of traffic at that intersection (if you can call it that its more like a freeway interchange) argues for a auto oriented development. But like Michi said because of its proximity to Palmer Woods and Ferndale it could be a much higher quality development. That block it sits on is in bad shape drug dealing is a major problem a quality urban retail/residential development integrated in to the surrounding neighborhood could change the whole area for the better. I'm not going to complain though the city needs the retail even if it comes surrounded by a sea of parking.

Btw has anyone heard any recent news about the plans for the old Redford High School site, or seen any activity? i know another Meijer had been planned there.

Docta_Love

May 14, 2012, 9:28 PM

State may help save City Airport

Bill Shea
Crain's Detroit Business
May 13, 2012

Michigan's top public aviation official said it's likely the state could end up subsidizing a portion of the $1 million annual operating deficit of Detroit's Coleman A. Young International Airport while the city struggles to solve its wider cash crisis

As a budget-tightening measure, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has unsuccessfully sought to eliminate the general aviation airport's subsidy and privatize the facility for the past three years. Federal Aviation Administration regulations, however, prevent the city from ceasing funding without alternative arrangements for its finances or from arbitrarily closing the airport.

While state aid is possible, the Michigan Department of Transportation (parent of the Aeronautics Commission) is in its budgeting process, which means it's not clear what funding could be available to aid City Airport, Trout said. Other possibilities include wrapping the airport into the Wayne County Airport Authority or the state assuming ownership.

The last commercial airline at City Airport, ProAir, ended service in 2000 when its four Boeing 737s were grounded by the FAA for poor maintenance and service. A number of regional airlines had service out of City Airport, but most ended in the early 1990s. The biggest carrier, Southwest Airlines, operated at the airport from 1988 to 1993. Passenger service peaked in 1990 with 782,000. By contrast, Detroit Metro has about 31 million passengers annually.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120513/SUB01/305139970/state-may-help-save-city-airport

It seems like there was more to the original announcement by the city that they were in talks with a carrier. City Airport falling under the management of the WCAA is by far the best option in terms of who should end up running the facility. But the Airport is only bringing in 1/3rd of what it needs in terms of revenue to break even. Not to mention the money it needs for upgrades to the terminal and a possible runway extension to accomidate anything larger than the aging and small 737. The WCAA said that they would not provide funding for City Airport's operational shortfalls so lets hope the state and city can come up with some kind of plan.

Onn

May 15, 2012, 8:37 PM

$13M revamp: Detroit Historical Museum closes to install new exhibits, renovate old ones

http://multimedia.detroitnews.com/pix/c9/b5/dc/45/a6/2b/20120514220811_2012-0503-ad-historical005.jpg

The Detroit News
Michael Hodges
15 May 2012

You've got just over a week to visit the Detroit Historical Museum before it goes away for six months. In its biggest touch-up since the 1960s, the museum will close May 24 for renovations and upgrades that will yield new galleries within and a Hollywood-style Detroit Legends Plaza out front. The 83-year-old museum will reopen Nov. 23.

In addition to new exhibits, the $13 million project will reach out to tech-savvy youngsters by boosting interactive elements at both the Historical Museum and its maritime branch, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum (which will close for its own makeover in December). To make sure everyone notices when the two institutions reopen, admission fees will be suspended at least until 2014.

"We think that's a game-changer," says Robert Bury, head of the Detroit Historical Society, which owns and runs both museums.

The first visible improvement will debut two months before the rest of the Historical Museum reopens. Detroit Legends Plaza in front of the museum will be unveiled sometime in September with sidewalk handprints and signatures from some of Detroit's most glittering stars, from Martha Reeves to Gordie Howe.

New in November will be three permanent exhibits at the Midtown museum. Highlighting the city's outsized role in helping win World War II, when local industry cranked out planes and tanks in stupefying numbers, will be "Detroit: The Arsenal of Democracy."

"We'll tell the story of Detroit's impact on the war," Bury says, "and the war's impact on Detroit."

The "Allesee Gallery of Culture" will spotlight Detroit architecture, entertainment and sports over the past 100 years, while the "Gallery of Innovation" will profile Detroit inventors famous and overlooked alike.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120515/ENT01/205150302#ixzz1uyPMVbHD

LMich

May 17, 2012, 7:35 AM

Just for reference, the siteplan for Gateway Markplace. It's not a surprise, but we can see the exact nature of the auto-oriented layout:

http://media.mlive.com/business/detroit_impact/photo/gateway-marketplace-detroit-meijerjpg-027d68fa208752d8.jpg

Don't know why the out-lot buildings need as much parking as planned, but...whatever. I like the amount of vegetation.

animatedmartian

May 17, 2012, 8:38 AM

Yea looks alright. I actually like the vegetation as well. There's also a surprisingly good amount of sidewalk. I can't even count the times I've walked across massive parking lots wishing there was sidewalks. Little things like that make a big difference in the suburban pedestrian world.

Onn

May 17, 2012, 4:14 PM

Regardless of being an auto centric development this is badly needed!

jodelli

May 17, 2012, 6:27 PM

State may help save City Airport

It seems like there was more to the original announcement by the city that they were in talks with a carrier. City Airport falling under the management of the WCAA is by far the best option in terms of who should end up running the facility. But the Airport is only bringing in 1/3rd of what it needs in terms of revenue to break even. Not to mention the money it needs for upgrades to the terminal and a possible runway extension to accomidate anything larger than the aging and small 737. The WCAA said that they would not provide funding for City Airport's operational shortfalls so lets hope the state and city can come up with some kind of plan.

Maybe Byng can pull a Daley and just bulldoze the runways in the middle of the night, giving the finger to the FAA.

Onn

May 17, 2012, 7:01 PM

Meijer shopping center breaks ground in Detroit

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120517&Category=BIZ&ArtNo=205170473&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Meijer-shopping-center-breaks-ground-Detroit
Robert Facino Wayane County Executive, with Hank Meijer, Co-chairman and CEO of Meijers, Mayor Bing and Gov. Snyder with shovels. Southfield-based Redico Management Inc. on Thursday will break ground on the Gateway Marketplace. (Charles V. Tines / The Detroit News)

The Detroit News
Karl Henkel
17 May 2012

Detroit — Gateway Marketplace will soon bring Detroit much-needed retail options, including its first large-scale, full-service grocer in two decades.

City officials and others broke ground Thursday on the 350,000-square foot project, which will be home to the city's first Meijer Inc., as well as other major retailers, including Marshalls and K&G Superstore. A PNC Bank and McDonald's also are planned for the shopping center at Woodward Avenue and Eight Mile.

The project will create 1,200 jobs -- 900 of those being permanent retail jobs, officials said.

Southfield-based Redico Management Inc.expects the center to open next spring. In December, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved $6.1 million in Brownfield redevelopment tax credits for the project.

Thursday was also about giving Detroit residents another shopping option, which the city has lacked for decades.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120517/BIZ/205170473#ixzz1v9iN1k9S

subterranean

May 18, 2012, 12:21 PM

Good ol' boys throwing a shovel full of dirt really doesn't do anything for me.

But I'm glad Detroit is getting a Meijer.

Onn

May 19, 2012, 4:22 PM

Henry Ford puts expansion into motion in New Center

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120519&Category=BIZ&ArtNo=205190360&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Henry-Ford-puts-expansion-into-motion-New-Center

The Detroit News
Louis Aguilar and Melissa Burden
19 May 2012

Henry Ford Health System has begun clearing whole streets near its Detroit hospital, ramping up its campaign to expand the flagship medical facility and remake 300 acres of the surrounding New Center neighborhood.

Hospital officials had put a $500 million price tag on the project, which they hoped will spur another $500 million in outside investment in the area: housing, retail and other commercial activity.

In a month, the health system is expected to announce details of the development plan. A Henry Ford Health System spokesman had no comment Friday.

Plenty of movement is under way. Residents of two blocks just off West Grand Boulevard have moved, their houses bought and boarded up, and the demolition process has begun, according to a construction crew.

"We just started this week. We're doing the entire block," James Willer of WARM Training Center said Friday as he stood on Trumbull, just off the boulevard.

Willer said he and his crew from the Detroit-based nonprofit housing development group have been hired by Henry Ford Health System and the nonprofit Southwest Solutions to "deconstruct" the empty homes, removing materials for use elsewhere.

"We also are going to do the same with the next block," he said, referring to a boarded up block of homes on Sterling Street. Nearby residents said Friday that people lived in some of the homes as recently as a year ago.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120519/BIZ/205190360#ixzz1vKlVBnkn

animatedmartian

May 19, 2012, 11:06 PM

Great news for that area. I've always felt that New Center has been a largely ignored neighborhood especially for its potential. Though I know with hospital facilities there is a fair amount of parking space usually required so hopefully development spurred from the hospital will make up for it.

hudkina

May 21, 2012, 4:31 AM

This isn't anything special. They are tearing down a historic (though depressed) neighborhood with the prospect of one day constructing a series of crappy, suburban-style developments with cheap materials and no charm.

Rizzo

May 21, 2012, 4:57 AM

If I remember correctly, mostly surface lots southeast will be consumed. But yeah....it's a suburban looking campus.

LMich

May 21, 2012, 7:06 AM

So long as they keep the street grid - and I've not heard any plans to do anything otherwise - spreading redevelopment west along Grand will be nothing but a good thing, and god knows the neighborhood needs it. I really want to see this immediate area and the area to the north-northwest (Dexter-Linwood) experience regeneration. I've always wanted to see storefronts built all the way up 12th and Linwood, again, and always hated that the area around the museum deteriorated as it did. I'm a little biased, though, since this was my family's old neighborhood.

subterranean

May 21, 2012, 7:48 PM

Well...

Red Wings Pick Architects for New Arena to Replace Joe Louis:

A new National Hockey League Arena in Detroit will be designed by the architecture firms of HKS Architects (http://hksinc.com/) and the NBBJ office in Boston that merged with Chan Krieger Sieniewicz (http://chankrieger.com/news/news.html) to create Chan Krieger NBBJ.
The Red Wings intend to develop a new 18,000-seat facility to replace outdated Joe Louis Arena, sources said. Over the past few years, the team has considered renovating the 33-year-old, city-owned facility as well as sharing the Palace of Auburn Hills with the NBA Pistons and building a new arena for both teams. The team is considering a few sites for a new arena, sources said, including property behind the Fox Theatre, headquarters of Olympia Entertainment, a sports and entertainment company owned by Mike Ilitch, owner of the Red Wings.

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/red-wings-select-architects-for-new-arena-to-replace-joe-louis.php

montréaliste

May 22, 2012, 5:51 PM

Good news sub! I hope they can add a coupla levels of subterranean parking
in there.

animatedmartian

May 22, 2012, 9:02 PM

DNR expects a million visitors a year to Detroit riverfront discovery center

By John Gallagher
Detroit Free Press
May 22, 2012

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120522&Category=NEWS06&ArtNo=120522025&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&DNR-expects-million-visitors-year-Detroit-riverfront-discovery-center

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said this morning it anticipates as many as a million visitors a year coming to its planned discovery center to be built in the historic Globe Building on Detroit’s east riverfront.

Features will include a 60-foot climbing wall, an archery range, simulator rides demonstrating kayaking and other water sports, and classrooms to teach schoolchildren and other visitors outdoor safety as well as the science of natural resources and wetlands.

The details were revealed at this morning’s meeting of the city’s Economic Development Corp., a quasi-public board that holds title to the Globe building for the city.

Built in stages from the late 19th Century, the Globe was one of the city’s most important industrial buildings in the pre-automotive era. A young Henry Ford worked there before starting his car company, and the building, which served as a dry dock, is a link to the city’s past as a center of shipping. It has been mostly vacant for decades.

Under a deal approved this morning, the EDC will sell the building to local developer Roxbury Group for a dollar. Roxbury will then develop it to DNR’s specs with the help of a $11 million financing from the state’s Natural Resources Trust Fund. DNR will eventually purchase the building when it’s ready in fall 2013 for a total project cost of $12.8 million.

About half of the historic building will come down, with the rest preserved and renovated for the DNR space, which is adjacent to the William Milliken State Park, as well as the Detroit RiverWalk.

...

http://www.freep.com/article/20120522/NEWS06/120522025/DNR-discovery-center-Globe-Building-riverfront?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

LMich

May 23, 2012, 7:05 AM

Good news sub! I hope they can add a coupla levels of subterranean parking in there.

If it's built similar to the other new downtown stadiums (i.e. playing fields built below-grade), and then given how incredibly cheap land is in the city, I seriously doubt that.

What I was surprised about given how consistently popular the sport is in the region this was that they are planning 2,000 fewer seats than JLA.

subterranean

May 23, 2012, 12:16 PM

It would be nice to have all four teams back in the city of Detroit.

hudkina

May 23, 2012, 6:20 PM

subterranean

May 23, 2012, 7:54 PM

Rizzo

May 24, 2012, 3:21 AM

Good news sub! I hope they can add a coupla levels of subterranean parking
in there.

In the case of an arena, it's actually easier to locate the parking...or shall I say parking garage on the roof. The roof will require deep trusses and the parking could be placed within what otherwise be empty plenum space. It's rarely done, but it's been done...not so attractively.

BTW, the Globe Trading Company reno looks fantastic.

NYC2ATX

May 24, 2012, 3:53 AM

It would be nice to have all four teams back in the city of Detroit.

Detroit needs a soccer team next ;)

The ATX

May 24, 2012, 4:18 AM

Detroit needs a soccer team next ;)

Nobody needs a soccer team. I kid, I kid. I enjoy kicking stuff.

fishrose

May 24, 2012, 4:29 AM

Detroit needs a soccer team next ;)

Detroit has a team in the minor league NPSL. The Detroit City FC is new this year, but they're doing pretty well.

LMich

May 24, 2012, 7:14 AM

Fewer seats means more sell outs. When demand outpaces supply, they can charge much higher prices for the tickets. There will almost certainly be a lot more suites which also generate far more profit than a typical seat. It's the same reason MLB and the NFL are building smaller stadiums than they used to.

I was thinking about this why I typed that, but was also thinking that there is a point at which the return for shrinkage becomes a wash. 2,000 seats just sounded kind of steep, but I admit that I didn't do any basic math, it was just a gut feeling.

hudkina

May 24, 2012, 5:02 PM

Assuming they can get at least a 10-15% premium (depending on what the actual average ticket price is), then they should be able to generate more revenue.

$60 x 20,000 = $1,200,000, while $68 x 18,000 = $1,224,000. That's a 13% increase. I have no idea what the average ticket price is, nor what sort of premium they are expecting from a new arena.

animatedmartian

May 29, 2012, 5:23 PM

Bing, Godbee break ground on new Detroit Police headquarters
By John Gallagher
Detroit Free Press
May 29, 2012

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120529&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=120529026&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Bing-Godbee-break-ground-new-Detroit-Police-headquarters

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Police Chief Ralph Godbee broke ground this morning on what will become the city’s combined police, fire and emergency management headquarters.

An existing building that earlier served as the MGM Grand temporary casino and an IRS data center will reopen in summer 2013 as the combined headquarters after a $60-million makeover.

Bing told about 100 people at the groundbreaking that the new building will increase efficiency in the fight against crime and violence.

“I know this is a difficult time in our city’s history,” Bing said. “But I also know we can fight back and win. We can’t let fear paralyze us. We must be motivated to take our city back.”

In addition to Detroit’s police and fire department headquarters, the remade complex will house the city’s EMS, Homeland Security and related agencies. Negotiations are under way to include the Michigan State Police’s Metropolitan Forensic Laboratory within the facility.

...
http://www.freep.com/article/20120529/NEWS01/120529026/Bing-Godbee-break-ground-new-Detroit-Police-headquarters?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Rizzo

May 29, 2012, 5:41 PM

I'm happy the temporary casino will find a meaningful purpose, but I'd ask people to type "new police headquarters" or "new federal building" into google and see what other cities are doing.

animatedmartian

May 30, 2012, 4:30 AM

Yea San Francisco's looks nice (http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2011/09/mission_bay_public_safety_building_officially_breaks_gr.html). But it also costs $240 million. Detroit is has $60 million and so that's the type of building we get. I think it looks pretty decent relative to most local projects. It's designed by the same guys who did the YMCA building so I'm pretty okay with it.

More via Curbed (http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/behold-new-detroit-police-fire-hq-will-totally-overhaul-design-of-the-old-mgm-casino.php).

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/4fc5286985216d2ba505746b/REVISED%20-%20DPSH%20GroundBreaking%20Signs%2020120523_Page_1.jpg

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/4fc5285c85216d2ba5057457/REVISED%20-%20DPSH%20GroundBreaking%20Signs%2020120523_Page_2.jpg

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/4fc5286285216d2ba5057461/REVISED%20-%20DPSH%20GroundBreaking%20Signs%2020120523_Page_3.jpg

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/4fc5287185216d2ba5057475/REVISED%20-%20DPSH%20GroundBreaking%20Signs%2020120523_Page_4.jpg

Rizzo

May 30, 2012, 5:41 AM

LMich

May 30, 2012, 10:32 AM

Up in New Center...

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120530&Category=BIZ&ArtNo=205300320&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Made-New-Center-Bikes-watches
Robin Buckson | Detroit News

Made in New Center: Bikes, watches (http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120530/BIZ/205300320/Made-New-Center-Bikes-watches?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p)

By Louis Aguilar | The Detroit News

May 30, 2012

The founder of Fossil Inc. has chosen a New Center site to make bicycles and watches and is close to signing a lease agreement to sell those goods in a West Canfield Street retail shop in Detroit's Midtown, according to three sources familiar with the dealings.

Tom Kartsotis, founder of Fossil watches, sunglasses and apparel, has signed a lease for a 30,000-square-foot space in the College for Creative Studies' A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because they didn't have permission to speak publicly.

Kartsotis could not be reached for comment. Officials at the College for Creative Studies referred calls to the public relations firm Lovio George, where a staff member said Tuesday the person who could possibly comment was traveling and unavailable to talk.

The line of watches will be sold under the brand Shinola and has begun to be made in the college's space, which is in a 760,000-square-foot building designed by Albert Kahn. General Motors donated the building to the college in 2008. Prototypes of the bicycles are also being made now, according to the sources.

...

Rizzo

May 31, 2012, 2:13 AM

^ This is really awesome news and good for New Center!

NYC2ATX

May 31, 2012, 4:29 AM

^ This is really awesome news and good for New Center!

This is really awesome news for America. :cheers: :worship:

LMich

May 31, 2012, 7:02 AM

Nearby...

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120530&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=120530041&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Large-medical-warehouse-built-Detroit-s-Midtown-south-Henry-Ford-Health-campus
Henry Ford Health System

Large medical warehouse to be built in Detroit's Midtown, south of Henry Ford Health campus (http://www.freep.com/article/20120530/NEWS01/120530041)

By Patricia Anstett | Detroit Free Press

May 30, 2012

The Henry Ford Health System Wednesday announced its first major tenant in its $500 million plan to redevelop 300 acres of vacant and deteriorated housing south of its Detroit flagship campus.

The development is part of a much larger collaboration with the Detroit Medical Center, Wayne State University and others to revitalize areas between Detroit’s downtown and midtown.

“We are starting to fill in all the gaps between midtown and downtown,’’ said Robert Riney, president and COO of the Ford system. “This pushes those boundaries further.”

The joint effort with the Detroit Medical Center and Cardinal Health, a Dublin, Ohio health company, will build a large medical warehouse to the area just west of the Ford and Lodge freeways, on land pock-marked with old railroad tracks and empty petroleum and manufacturing buildings.

The move will transfer 140 jobs to Detroit from Romulus, where Cardinal Health has a distribution center. Pending city approvals, construction will begin later this year, to be completed by late 2013.

I love the ever-expanding borders of "Midtown". lol Maybe it's because I use to live near this area, but this is an expansion westward of New Center as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, I'm excited about this more than most things. I've always wanted Detroit to reclaim a lot of its idnustrial land for industrial reuse, because this is where you're going to build a general jobs base from which to build off of. Sure, the building is no Albert Kahn warehouse, but it's some good jobs.

uaarkson

May 31, 2012, 6:18 PM

So now that manufacturing is really starting to pick up in Chicago, might we start seeing some of that action spilling into Michigan?

subterranean

May 31, 2012, 8:36 PM

So now that manufacturing is really starting to pick up in Chicago, might we start seeing some of that action spilling into Michigan?

From the MEDC Facebook page:

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/217993_10150819585587805_255818217804_10191605_1737358555_n.jpg

Rizzo

May 31, 2012, 10:13 PM

So now that manufacturing is really starting to pick up in Chicago, might we start seeing some of that action spilling into Michigan?

Manufacturing is growing in Michigan though I'd hope to see more of it concentrated in urban centers and less on the fringe of cities.

Keep the jobs coming! For a warehouse, that building looks nice.

hudkina

Jun 1, 2012, 4:03 AM

It looks typical of all the suburban warehouses that have gone up around here in the last few decades.

LMich

Jun 1, 2012, 7:09 AM

So now that manufacturing is really starting to pick up in Chicago, might we start seeing some of that action spilling into Michigan?

You got that a bit backwards. Manufacturing has been coming back in Michigan faster than just about any state in the union. A lot of it is replacing auto jobs cut during the recession, but a lot of it is general manufacturing, too.

LMich

Jun 4, 2012, 9:53 AM

Not really new news, but an ongoing story, but...

Rental unit demand grows near downtown (http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120604/BIZ/206040338/Rental-unit-demand-grows-near-downtown?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE)

By Karl Henkel & Louis Aguilar | The Detroit News

June 4, 2012

Rental apartments from Midtown to Corktown to downtown are filling up because more workers and students are choosing to relocate to Detroit.

Brad Jones, 25, a member of the marketing team at Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc., found a 1,100-square-foot apartment at the Woodward Loft for $750 a month. But it took some luck.

"They had one vacancy open because a gentleman had moved out the day before," Jones said. "I was extremely lucky to find a place. All of the other six buildings I stopped into were full and were going to be full for five to six months."

The squeeze is likely to continue even as developers begin to complete new apartments by renovating old buildings, instead of building new structures. For example, the Newbury Hall Building in Midtown already has leased all of its 28 apartments, while the Broderick Tower in downtown has reservations for 90 of its planned 124 rental units.

Finding rental housing has been a struggle for many. Robert Guttersohn, 28, stayed with relatives for a short time after moving from Ohio, until he came across an opening at the Villa Lante Apartments in Midtown.

...

Vacancy rates in Detroit hot spots such as downtown and Midtown, as well as in many suburbs, have fallen and continue to decline.The Midtown vacancy rate is below 4 percent and about three-quarters of apartment complexes in the area have raised rents during the past six months, said Sue Mosey, president of Midtown Detroit Inc., the nonprofit that is a major development force in the area. The rate cited by real estate companies is a higher 12 percent, because it includes other neighborhoods in the general area. The same is true for downtown, whose 9.1 percent vacancy rate includes Corktown to the west and Indian Village to the east.

...

The article goes on to say that the inner-city isn't seeing much major new construction residential because of lenders continue to be tight with their money, so we'll continue to see a lot of reuse and rehabs.

Docta_Love

Jun 4, 2012, 10:12 PM

Take that Matty!

Snyder set to bypass Legislature on bridge
Michigan Strategic Fund is the vehicle

Crains Detroit Business
June 03, 2012
By Bill Shea

Gov. Rick Snyder will use the Michigan Strategic Fund as a conduit to build a new Detroit River bridge, rather than going through the Michigan Legislature, sources familiar with the matter have told Crain's.

Since enabling bills died in a state Senate committee last fall, Snyder has been seeking a way to authorize Michigan's participation in the $2.1 billion New International Trade Crossing project without going through the Legislature -- where Republicans have long opposed the span.

The governor's office declined to discuss specifics

....

The law permits interlocal agreements with other states and Canada -- deals that require approval from the governor rather than the Legislature.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120603/FREE/306039917/snyder-set-to-bypass-legislature-on-bridge

I'm pleased that the governor is attempting to make this happen and i'm not surprised that there is some tool he can use to circumnavigate the legislature. There's been a good deal of circumnavigating of local governments by the executive branch. At least this time this kind of power is being used to get around the roadblocks set up by a grouchy old billionaire who doesn't want to see the state cut in on his monopoly of cross border truck traffic.

Docta_Love

Jun 4, 2012, 10:37 PM

Not really new news, but an ongoing story, but...

The article goes on to say that the inner-city isn't seeing much major new construction residential because of lenders continue to be tight with their money, so we'll continue to see a lot of reuse and rehabs.

When i read the article i came across this part, had no idea of what exactly was driving the recent wave of renovations. Other than extremely low vacancy rates, obviously. haha.

The state's historic preservation income tax credit, which offered federal and state income tax incentives and grant programs to support the rehabilitation of historic and older buildings, expired last year. That helps level the playing field for an upswing in new rental housing construction and development, Di Rita said.

"As the market improves, the availability for financing (for new construction) is improving, albeit slowly," he said.

"We're looking at projects again from a new perspective that, a couple years ago, we couldn't make work."

I can say with confidence that over the past few years it's been a good thing that the market has been skewed towards renovating, there are still WAY too many beautiful vacant buildings in the city. Hopefully we will start to see a decrease in the number of parking lots, not just one built on while another is created next door. But bring on the new construction can't wait to hear whats planned for the Hudson's site as well as what developments might accompany a new Wings arena.

Onn

Jun 8, 2012, 8:57 PM

Owner of Detroit's historic Hotel Charlevoix seeks demolition

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Avis=C3&Dato=20120608&Kategori=METRO&Lopenr=206080421&Ref=TS&NewTbl=1&MaxW=310&Border=0

Louis Aguilar
The Detroit News
8 June 2012

The owner of Detroit's historic Hotel Charlevoix building in Grand Circus Park is seeking permission to destroy it.

The 2029 Park Ave. structure is in such disrepair that pieces of the building recently have fallen onto the street.

At 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, the City Historic Commission will hold a public hearing at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center that could approve the proposed demolition. The Charlevoix is owned by Ralph Sachs. The building has been closed for more than two decades, according to the website historicdetroit.org. The Charlevoix opened in 1905, according to the website.

The sidewalk surrounding the building has been fenced off for several weeks to prevent possible debris from the crumbling building falling onto passersby and traffic. The Charlevoix is across the street from Cliff Bells and Park Bar.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120608/METRO/206080421#ixzz1xEpz8k9h

uaarkson

Jun 8, 2012, 9:17 PM

Michi

Jun 9, 2012, 2:56 AM

Ok, downtown deep pockets...time to step up!

The rest of this "historic district" is threatened too. Wipe out all the vacant buildings in one fell swoop and get rid of all the streets. Lord knows they won't be needed when a crappy stadium fortress is plopped down on top of them and surrounded with a parking lot the size of Lansing. :slob:

animatedmartian

Jun 9, 2012, 2:51 PM

Whenever there's one story of demolition, there always seems to be another about a renovation.

Masonic Temple, Cass Park may get $38M renovation

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120609&Category=BIZ&ArtNo=206090318&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Masonic-Temple-Cass-Park-may-get-38M-renovation

A plan is in the works to pump $38 million into Detroit's Masonic Temple and the surrounding desolate area.

The investment in the world's largest Masonic Temple, in the Cass Corridor, is being driven by a team of state and city economic power brokers who are working on the financing and declare the deal could be done by year's end, according to information that was posted online by the Michigan Magnet Fund.

"At this stage, it is expected the project will be able to close in six to eight months," according to the memo, written about a month ago, by the Magnet Fund. It's not clear how long the memo was online, but it was removed Friday after The Detroit News made telephone calls to fund officials.

Plans call for a $9.3 million parking garage, as well as $5 million in inside upgrades that include a new geothermal heating system and more women's rest rooms.

The 14-story complex has 1,037 rooms and multiple theater and entertainment venues. Jack White last month played two sold-out concerts at the temple's rarely used Scottish Rite Cathedral.

The once-grand facility has a storied past in Detroit entertainment history, often used by traveling companies of Broadway shows, as well as top musical acts of the day.

The project also calls for $4 million in upgrades to outdoor public lighting and improvements to Cass Park across the street.

[...]

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120609/BIZ/206090318#ixzz1xJCNmRlI

Rizzo

Jun 10, 2012, 7:11 AM

Whenever there's one story of demolition, there always seems to be another about a renovation.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120609/BIZ/206090318#ixzz1xJCNmRlI

Very happy to see this news. It would be great if it had a hotel component (American Hotel). The garage, which I believe will go up behind the Masonic could serve both structures.

Doubt people will have a reason to stay in that area though until the Wing Stadium moves forward.

animatedmartian

Jun 10, 2012, 1:50 PM

Very happy to see this news. It would be great if it had a hotel component (American Hotel). The garage, which I believe will go up behind the Masonic could serve both structures.

Doubt people will have a reason to stay in that area though until the Wing Stadium moves forward.

I sort of suspected that the garage (or the whole renovation) might have something to do with the stadium. I've been to the Masonic and Cass Tech for a few events, and there's always enough parking along the street including the lots in the area. It leads me to believe that this stadium is going to be announced before the end of the year (especially after the architects were announced not to long ago).

LMich

Jun 11, 2012, 6:59 AM

The arena guessing game is starting to drive me crazy, if only because they seem to have everyone wondering if it's going to be north or south of the Fisher. The conventional wisdom is that it's somewhere north of the freeway, but then you'd have the Ilitche's buying up everything north/west of Grand River, downtown, for years and for what?

animatedmartian

Jun 11, 2012, 5:18 PM

It's been said Ilitch wants to Pistons to come Downtown, but I don't think they're giving up the Palace anytime soon. Possibly he could sell the land to developers or build something of his own. Perhaps an entertainment complex a la LA live? There's many things that could happen, I think. Only time will time.

Rizzo

Jun 11, 2012, 5:56 PM

An LA Live Complex wouldn't work in downtown Detroit. There isn't any critical density downtown to justify a huge civic space like that which would remain empty most of the time. I can think of lots of people who enjoy sitting in a nice public square full of trees, but I cannot think of anyone that would enjoy standing in a windswept plaza full of electronic screens. I've been to LA Live 3 times now, i'ts always been quiet except during events.

I'd rather see that area fill up with urban density. I actually hope a future stadium would be pushed back from the major streets to force people to walk a block or two through what could become a developed area. Placing an arena too close to Grand River or Woodward would create no-mans land behind it.

Of course, I don't want a Comerica Park situation where it's set back and full of surface parking out front. I still think it would be awesome to fill those lots with bars, restaurants, hotel and retail and create a wide pedestrian promenade between the Fox and the stadium.

animatedmartian

Jun 11, 2012, 9:50 PM

I kinda like being able to see Comerica from Woodward. Though I do agree it should be something other than parking lots.

Meanwhile, up the road....

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120611&Category=BIZ&ArtNo=206110379&Ref=V2&MaxW=600&Border=0

Midtown's Woodward Garden Theatre due to open spring 2013
BY KARL HENKEL | THE DETROIT NEWS | JUNE 11, 2012

Detroit's newest theater should be open by this time next year, and an adjoining housing and commercial development won't be too far behind, developers said Monday.

The Woodward Garden Block Development, a more than decade-old project, received the last financing needed in April to complete the $12.3 million rehabilitation of the 32,000-square-foot Woodward Garden Theatre.

The theater will be modeled after the Pageant Concert Nightclub in St. Louis.

The theater's open venue will have a capacity of 1,300 with primarily standing attendee arrangements, said Michael Byrd, a partner in Woodward SA-PK LLC, which has worked with Woodward Garden Theater LLC on the project since 2002. It will house "concerts of all kinds" but will lean toward Motown and bluegrass artists, he said.

"We're not looking to be the Fox (Theatre)," Byrd said. "We're looking to be the best at our level."

The residential and commercial development should be completed in 14 months, Byrd said.

There will 47 apartments priced "between market rate and high-market rate," he said. The Midtown area currently has an apartment vacancy rate of less than 4 percent, according to Midtown Inc.

The commercial development could include a clothing store, shoe store, computer center and battery repair shop, but no commitments will be official until the structure is complete, Byrd said. The project will create an estimated 380 jobs.

The long-closed Garden Theater in Detroit's Midtown area, on the 3900 block of Woodward Avenue, received $1 million in loans from state and Detroit development agencies in April.

The theater development also is using part of a state brownfield tax credit of $2.2 million approved in 2007.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120611/BIZ/206110379#ixzz1xWcGnnER

Rizzo

Jun 12, 2012, 1:37 AM

And next door that...

Did I miss this?
http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/06/have-a-gander-at-the-garden-theaters-upcoming-neighbor.php

It looks great! I love this kind of density fill up along Woodward. Piece by piece the puzzle is coming together.

animatedmartian

Jun 12, 2012, 5:24 AM

Yep, this is all one development it seems. I thought I had saw some really really nice renderings of the apartment section (a little more flashy than the curbed one...I think it was on the UCCA website), but over all the whole block has gone through renovation and the apartment tower is the final phase.

This streetview (http://goo.gl/maps/2Agf) still has what it looks like pre-development.

http://woodwardgardensdetroit.com/jpg/photos/002.jpg

http://woodwardgardensdetroit.com/jpg/photos/003.jpg
http://woodwardgardensdetroit.com/index.php

animatedmartian

Jun 12, 2012, 4:13 PM

According to Curbed (http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/06/updated-renderings-for-garden-theater-and-woodward-gardens.php)these are the most up to date and current renderings of the apartments. Interesting color.

Also the orange brick building on the opposite corner already has a coffee shop (http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/06/new-great-lakes-coffee-shop-decor-great-is-an-understatement.php) that's set to open by the end of the month. This is how you properly do infill development in Detroit. :D

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/5702/screenshot20120612at113.jpg

http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/5702/screenshot20120612at113.jpg

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/5702/screenshot20120612at113.jpg

Interior.

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5702/screenshot20120612at113.jpg

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/5702/screenshot20120612at113.jpg

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/5702/screenshot20120612at113.jpg

Onn

Jun 13, 2012, 1:51 AM

DMC unveils $43M Children's Hospital Specialty Center

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120612&Category=BIZ&ArtNo=206120403&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&DMC-unveils-43M-Children-s-Hospital-Specialty-Center

Karl Henkel
The Detroit News
12 June 2012

The Detroit Medical Center Tuesday showed off its $43 million, 106,550-square-foot Children's Hospital of Michigan Specialty Center, capping the first major expansion for the Detroit Midtown campus in nearly three decades.

The new five-story building is located across the street from Children's Hospital of Michigan and the DMC's main campus.

The specialty center, which will house about 235 employees, will offer 14 medical sub-specialties, infusion, dialysis and rehabilitation services. Ancillary services include lab, X-ray, ultrasound and a retail pharmacy.

There are 86 examination rooms, two large gyms, 11 dialysis bays, 13 infusion bays and a satellite pharmacy.

The expansion is one of several ongoing DMC projects, which include a $110 million investment in the new DMC Heart Hospital and $78 million in upgrades to DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital, among others.

Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanguard, a for-profit company that acquired formerly nonprofit DMC last year, plans to spend $850 million — including $500 million in new construction — during the next five years, though it fell short of its first-year target for spending.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120612/BIZ/206120403#ixzz1xdQRpSSo

LMich

Jun 13, 2012, 7:27 AM

Oh, the Woodward Gardens look nice, a pleasant surprise.

LMich

Jun 15, 2012, 10:38 AM

Okay, so not exactly a development story, but a really interesting event that unfolded in a city often maligned for being at best ambivalent towards the idea of historic preservation:

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120615&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=206150429&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Neighbors-owner-tangle-over-deconstruction-historic-Detroit-home
The area around the Van Dyke Place mansion at 649 Van Dyke in the historic West Village district of Detroit has been blocked off after a dispute over scrapping. The home's new owner says it was restoration work; neighbors say they aren't convinced. / JARRAD HENDERSON/DETROIT FREE PRESS

Neighbors, owner tangle over deconstruction at historic Detroit home (http://www.freep.com/article/20120615/NEWS01/206150429/Neighbors-owner-tangle-over-deconstruction-at-historic-Detroit-home?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p)

By Megha Satyanarayana | The Detroit Free Press

June 15, 2012

Residents of West Village in Detroit sprang into action this week when two men appeared to be scrapping the architectural features off one of the historic neighborhood's most famous mansions.

City officials said the homeowner had not secured the proper permits nor gone through the requirements involving historic homes to do work on the former Van Dyke Place Restaurant.

On Wednesday night, Detroit police arrested and later released the men working on the house, from T&T Construction in Findlay, Ohio, as they investigated neighbors' complaints.

The former Van Dyke Place, a 10,000-square-foot building, was built about 100 years ago by the man whose overalls eventually would anchor the Carhartt brand of work clothes.

Residents said the workers pulled doors off their hinges, carefully disassembled a limestone balustrade and cut a massive limestone façade out of three layers of brick above the door. But in their historic neighborhood, such deconstruction requires permit after permit, with public hearings and community approval. By about 7 p.m. Wednesday, 20 residents gathered at the house and demanded to know what the men were doing.

"The intention was to strip the house," said architect Brian Hurttienne, executive director of the Villages Community Development Corp., a neighborhood organization. "It undermines everything that community really is."

...

Read the whole story; a very interesting read. An argument can be made of an overreaction, but in a city where illegal scrapping often happens in broad daylight, this overreaction was oddly kind of heartening to read about.

In actual redevelopment news, a rather unconventional revitalization of an old Briggs/Corktown property...

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120615&Category=NEWS05&ArtNo=206150440&Ref=V2&MaxW=600&Border=0
A resident of Spaulding Court walks past the building Tuesday. Purchased for $1,000, plus payment of the back taxes, the Friends of Spaulding Court is renovating the aging complex and hope to attract more residents.

As Spaulding Court turns 100, renovated complex making a comeback (http://www.freep.com/article/20120615/NEWS05/206150440/As-Spaulding-Court-turns-100-renovated-complex-making-a-comeback?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE)

By Megha Satyanarayana | The Detroit Free Press

June 15, 2012

When Josephine first moved to the Spaulding Court apartments north of Corktown a decade ago, she wouldn't let her children go outside because of the fights, shootings and drug deals.

The mother of 10, who wouldn't give her last name, said she would make her children quickly come inside from school and would shut the door until the following morning. A few years ago, the complex was firebombed. She said she listened as people were beaten or worse just outside her window.

"On Friday, Saturday, I'd get up in the morning and had to wash off the porch because of the blood," she said.

This Saturday will be different as Spaulding Court turns 100.

The neighborhood is celebrating with a block party that will mark its rebirth. For the past two years, a group of local residents has been rebuilding the 20-unit complex one apartment at a time, giving Josephine new neighbors, and her children and grandchildren a chance to play outside again.

"It's much quieter," she said.

In February 2010, a group of nearby residents formed Friends of Spaulding Court. Led by engineer and Corktown Residents' Council member Jon Koller, the group bought the dilapidated apartment complex from the county for $1,000, plus about $10,000-$15,000 in back taxes.

...

With five units filled, the buildings are more stable, Koller said. Donations at Saturday's event will help pay off the rest of the back taxes and will kick off a 100-day period of planning and designing a Spaulding Court that will be full of people, gardens and neighbors with open doors.

"We'll start work on the 101st day. We're committed to moving it along," Koller said.

As Spaulding Court changes, so does the neighborhood.

Hostel Detroit is around the corner, giving visitors an inexpensive place to stay. A bar, restaurant and resale shop dot the open land. Brother Nature Farm supplies local restaurants and farmers markets.

"It really illustrates how an abandoned property can act as a malignant tumor on a neighborhood," said Jeff DeBruyn, a neighborhood activist who led the Corktown Residents' Council around the time that Friends of Spaulding Court was formed.