DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[Docta_Love]

Found a conceptual rendering for the Core City Project.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/prince%20concepts-01_i.jpg?itok=eRaSMuFN
A rendering shows plans for a park in the center of several commercial structures developer Prince Concepts is renovating. The green space and a connected, grassy beltway are aimed at improving walkability in Detroit's Core City neighborhood.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180601/news/662386/renovations-add-commercial-residential-space-to-detroits-core-city

Cool to see the PGA Tour coming to Palmer Park after it looked like that course might go the way of Rogell.

It's official: PGA Tour coming to Detroit

By KURT NAGL
Crain's Detroit Business
May 30, 2018

-Tournament to take place in 2019
-Expected to take place at Detroit Golf Club
-PGA Tour hasn't been to Michigan since 2009

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/detroit%20golf%20club%20house_i.jpg?itok=G-kXK68r
Detroit Golf Club (Palmer Park)

Dan Gilbert-owned Quicken Loans Inc. made the rumors official Wednesday in its announcement of a "long-term agreement" to create a new professional golf tournament in Detroit, expected to take place at the Detroit Golf Club on the city's north end.

The club's membership recently voted to empower its board to explore and execute a PGA Tour event at its historic Donald Ross-designed course.

It marks the first time the PGA Tour has hosted a tournament in Detroit's city limits.

Still to be determined is the name of the tournament and when it will be played, though it likely would be two weeks after the U.S. Open.



The Detroit-based mortgage company is partnering with Chicago-based marketing agency Intersport to oversee operation of the tournament, the release said. It is also planning "numerous related attractions and festivities" throughout the city during the event, which is expected to draw "hundreds of thousands of visitors," Farner said.


The Detroit tournament would be the first PGA event in the state since the Buick Open, which took place at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc 1958 through 2009, with a brief hiatus in the early 1970s.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180530/news/662226/its-official-pga-tour-coming-to-detroit


Detroit to invest $2.5 million in golf courses as future remains uncertain

By KURT NAGL
Crain's Detroit Business
May 30, 2018

-City to make largest capital improvements in several years
-Free community outreach events planned for June
-Previous manager Vargo and the city engaged in legal dispute after contract change

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/rackham%20gc-main_i.jpg?itok=YNMJmgIu
Rackham Golf Course

The city of Detroit is planning to invest $2.5 million in its three golf courses over the next two years amid a legal battle with its previous contractor and uncertainty over the fate of the courses.

Sorely needed capital improvements at Rouge Park, Chandler Park and Rackham golf courses would be the largest city course investment made in several years. It would include the basics: fixing the fencing, repairing drainage, patching up cart paths and sidewalks, getting the bathrooms functioning, etc., said Brad Dick, director of the city's General Services department.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180530/news/662136/detroit-to-invest-25-million-in-golf-courses-as-future-remains


City to replace fencing with perimeter boulders at 99 parks
This rocks

By Robin Runyan
Curbed Detroit
May 31, 2018

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bi4Ay8sg2EOKsURtzP8Y5QyOyKE=/0x0:1170x393/920x613/filters:focal(492x104:678x290):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59910265/Sasser_Park_Before_After.0.jpg

The program, cleverly titled “Rock Around the Park,” will allow visitors to walk or bike into the park from many points, instead of having to walk to the fence opening. But the boulders also serve as a barrier so cars can’t enter the parks.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vcD8-YhFQVbBeEQfwY53oLvBaV0=/0x0:1919x1331/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1919x1331):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11454559/Screen_Shot_2018_05_31_at_11.14.33_AM.png

The program is taking place in many smaller neighborhood parks as well as very large parks such as Rouge Park, Chandler Park, and Palmer Park.

According to the City’s General Services Department Director Brad Dick, The replacements should be complete at all parks by November.

https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/5/31/17413256/city-detroit-replace-fencing-with-boulders-99-parks


GM, Detroit chamber launch $150,000 neighborhood nonprofit grant program

By SHERRI WELCH
Crain's Detroit Business
May 31, 2018

-NeighborHub grant program to help small nonprofits build capacity, address issues
-Program will award $30,000 to each of five local groups to work on key issues and improve a physical, community space
-Chamber will help groups identify, capture metrics to show impact of their work

Last year, when General Motors Co. put out a request for proposals for the city of Detroit, it received about 100 grant applications mostly from grassroots community groups with important causes.

The groups had heart and were looking to address critical causes, but they weren't sharing the metrics and social outcomes the car maker requires of its grantees, said GM Chief Philanthropic Officer Lori Wingerter. As a result, those groups didn't move through the granting process

However, this left Wingerter thinking about what the company could do to help, and that led to joint development of a new neighborhood grant program with the Detroit Regional Chamber.

GM is granting $150,000 to help the Chamber fund the pilot NeighborhoodHub Community Grant program which would provide $30,000 grants to a community group in each of five Detroit neighborhoods. Proposals will need to include programming focused on needs in that community and improving an accessible physical space — whether a vacant storefront, a coffee shop where people gather, space in a local library or in a community church basement — to house the programming.

Programs could include helping high school students fill out financial aid forms; mobility issues, such how to get kids to school; or revitalization of local parks.

"We're leaving it open to whatever the issue may be," Wingerter said.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180531/news/662341/gm-detroit-chamber-launch-150000-neighborhood-nonprofit-grant-program

[DetroitSky]

More info has been released on the five projects in Lafayette Park. Full article here. (https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/06/02/lafayette-park-developments-detroit-meijer/659175002/)

1. Pullman Park/Friends School site
A collaboration between Broder & Sachse Real Estate and Hunter Pasteur Homes & Woodborn Partners, Pullman Park is a residential development that will include rental and condo units at 1100 St. Aubin.

The project, which will start construction sometime between the end of 2018 and the start of 2019, includes 148 apartments and 197 parking spaces for rent.

It also has 231 residential units for sale: 56 townhomes, 25 carriage homes, 83 units and 139 garage spaces.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/9de603a1702cb0dade0ae0985d05dec37d2dc95d/c=24-0-472-337&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2018/06/01/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636634476136467786-Screen-Shot-2018-06-01-at-10.59.32-AM.png

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/ccfa68ecea425dc97437b2350933920662e776b0/c=6-0-683-509&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2018/06/01/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636634475071079241-Screen-Shot-2018-06-01-at-10.57.19-AM.png

2. 1475 East Jefferson/small format Meijer
Built by the East Jefferson Development Company LLC, this mixed-use project will have a supermarket as an anchor (at 1475 E. Jefferson) but also will include residential units and other retail spaces. The small-format Meijer will be the city's third.

The five-story building — plus underground parking — will have 213 residential units. Of those, 60 will be studios, 104 will be one-bedrooms, and 49 will be two-bedrooms.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/d249f03cef0504b96e357a738deef78705f4ad44/c=207-0-765-420&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2018/06/01/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636634477363811523-Screen-Shot-2018-06-01-at-11.01.45-AM.png

3. Above The Cut
This is the project on the empty land bounded by Gratiot, the Dequindre Cut, St. Aubin and E Vernor
The Detroit real estate development company The Platform, is behind Above the Cut, a mixed-use development that will be located between 1920 and 1940 Gratiot, next to the Dequindre Cut. A groundbreaking is scheduled for April 2019.

The project includes 160-180 residential units and 195-240 parking spaces. There also will be 25,000 to 30,000 square feet for retail/commercial space.

Of the residential units, 45% are "micro-units" or studios, 50% are one-bedroom units and 5% are two-bedroom units.

Affordable housing will be offered for 20% of the units — somewhere between 32 and 36 units — and will be based on a yet-to-be determined percentage of the Area Median Income, which includes Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan statistical area. It should be noted that use of this standard to determine affordability could hurt Detroiters. While the metropolitan statistical AMI of a single person is $48,000, the true median income in Detroit is $28,000.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/7b9315a72386275bc6fb8a8365278381359ed742/c=553-0-1126-431&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2018/06/01/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636634478477655083-Screen-Shot-2018-06-01-at-11.03.37-AM.png

4. Eastern Market mixed use development
The article gives a lot of addresses. They're referring to the block bound by Gratiot, Russell, Maple and Rivard and split down the middle by Service Street, which is really just a brick alleyway. There's no mention about whats to become of the buildings currently on the block.

With a projected groundbreaking scheduled for June 2019, this six-story project spans a number of blocks: 1314-1388 Gratiot Ave., 2011-2105 Russell St. 1301-1399 Maple St. and 1350-1366 Service St.

Spearheaded by Develop Detroit, the project is mixed-use. There will be 235 residential units, with 47 units — 20%— reserved for people making 60% or less of the AMI.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/c9f795b3c5631eacfa465b624f6572ebf77cb922/c=446-0-914-352&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2018/06/01/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636634479895871127-Screen-Shot-2018-05-31-at-10.54.28-AM.png
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/047aa85ab7a4ddc76987c93fdc826557ab8bb4db/c=18-0-518-376&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2018/06/01/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636634481639196078-Screen-Shot-2018-06-01-at-11.05.45-AM.png

5. Lafayette West

With an expected groundbreaking of April 2019, this project is slated for 1401 Rivard St. The development will include 374 residential units — 60 will be for sale and 314 for rent.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/6b751dc09c6f390407f2f3c19d7d3a82016201f8/c=110-0-871-572&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2018/06/01/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636634482650879524-Screen-Shot-2018-06-01-at-11.10.37-AM.png

[deja vu]

Thanks for the breakdown of the Lafayette Park projects. Super excited for this to start!

And Detroit-area golf courses have some beautiful old clubhouses. Very cool to hear about the PGA coming here.

[Docta_Love]

I'll say it again I'm a big fan of Lafayette West imo keeps with the ascetic traditions of Lafayette Park but clearly looks fresh and modern.

Some comments about Detroit's failure to secure a MLS expansion I feel it sums things up pretty well. The last min switch to Ford Field was the cause of the bids failure however the Detroit sports media market along with the Detroit Sports brand is something that the MLS wont want to pass on especially when you consider Metro Detroit holds the US record for attendance at a single soccer game.

Historic Albert Kahn building sold
New owners plan conversion into 200 apartments

By KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit Business
June 03, 2018

-Historic Albert Kahn Building sold last week
-200-plus apartments, 60,000 square feet of retail, office planned
-Redevelopment to begin in about six months

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/AlbertKahnBuilding-Interior-02_i.jpg?itok=xnduQvFd

The deal, which closed last week for an undisclosed price, makes Birmingham-based Lutz Real Estate Investments and Farmington Hills-based Northern Equities Group the new owners of the Albert Kahn Building, which was owned by a joint venture between Detroit-based The Platform LLC, New York City-based HFZ Capital Partners and New York City-based Rheal Capital Management, which is owned by Detroit native John Rhea.

The apartments are slated for floors two through 11, while the first floor and lower level would be about 60,000 square feet of retail and office space.



"The building is in great condition and it lays out great (for apartments)," said Adam Lutz, principal of Lutz Real Estate Investments. "We love what The Platform is doing, the access to the freeways and the QLine going downtown. It's going to be tremendous."

Lutz expects the renovations to start in about six months. Some of the units should be available about 10 months after construction begins, with the entire project taking about 18-20 months.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/P8jiOAIQN4eyrXfhrGCroyMXiXY=/0x0:2097x1227/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2097x1227):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11480825/Screen_Shot_2018_06_04_at_1.35.07_PM.png


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180603/news/662541/historic-albert-kahn-building-sold


Detroit and Major League Soccer: What went wrong

By BILL SHEA
Crain's Detroit Business
June 03, 2018

It's unclear the level of public thirst for a fifth pro team in downtown Detroit, but the central issue continues to be the stadium and who will blink first in the standoff over it.

MLS has long been explicit that it wants its new teams to play in soccer-specific stadiums — there have been exceptions — but the Detroit bid's principals opted in November to abandon a $1 billion plan for a soccer stadium at the unfinished downtown county jail site in favor of instead using Ford Field. That decision was met with a distinct lack of enthusiasm by MLS, but the league may be softening on the topic.

After Cincinnati's expansion announcement on Tuesday evening, MLS Commissioner Don Garber told reporters the decision to use Ford Field instead of a new soccer-specific stadium harmed Detroit's chance for an expansion team. But he also left the door open to MLS acquiescing to a team sharing the Detroit Lions' home stadium.

"In many ways, they have come together to retrofit Ford Field, which could make it very MLS-ready; and they can talk about what those ideas might be, but they were really front runners when they were looking at the jail site," Garber said in comments provided by MLS.


'A must-have market'

One soccer insider believes Detroit will get a team because it's in Major League Soccer's best interest.

"I think Detroit is more or less a must-have market for MLS. It's such a big national market. Detroit is a much more lucrative market for MLS than Cincinnati will ever be," said Stefan Szymanski, a University of Michigan sports professor who's published several soccer economics books.

Szymanski, a longtime critic of Major League Soccer's business model, said the league could also cave on the stadium issue. Or MLS could agree to allow Detroit to use Ford Field for some years to test long-term fan and corporate interest before a soccer stadium is built downtown.

"Committing to a soccer-specific stadium would push the bid over the line," he said.

Another question that Szymanski said looms over Detroit's MLS bid is the presence of semi-pro soccer club Detroit City FC in Hamtramck, where it commands crowds of 5,000-plus for home matches. A cadre of its most zealous fans, known as the Northern Guard, actively and often profanely oppose MLS and any expansion to Detroit, which is perceived as a threat to their home-grown effort.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180603/news/662536/detroit-and-major-league-soccer-what-went-wrong

[DetroitSky]

Retro West Village apartments get sleek makeover (https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/5/22/17379726/retro-west-village-apartments-sleek-makeover)

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ffhxV9KIg1lXoodPu1AGufqSVMk=/0x0:1500x1071/920x613/filters:focal(630x416:870x656)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59810957/666Parker_136.0.jpg

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uaQ5FDlzNuw5N7bTl7vxLdz-9pg=/0x0:1500x1000/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1500x1000)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11030713/666Parker_124.jpg

The article says they're installing landscaping in the courtyard, which is a nice feature to the building. Remember when a project like this would have been a big deal? Haha.

[mind field]

Southfield’s Accenture to Relocate to Detroit, Add 200 Tech Jobs, Launch Innovation Hub in Livonia
GRACE TURNER
Published: Monday, June 4, 2018 on Dbusiness.com

Accenture today announced it would relocate its office to downtown Detroit from Southfield this fall, and that it launched an innovation hub in Livonia designed to help companies in the automotive, industrial equipment, technology, energy, and utilities industries address the shift to digital products and services, transform their engineering, manufacturing, and field operations, and digitize their enterprises.


http://www.dbusiness.com/daily-news/Annual-2018/Southfields-Accenture-to-Relocate-to-Detroit-Add-200-Tech-Jobs-Launch-Innovation-Hub-in-Livonia/

:cheers::cheers:
It's amazing to watch the tide turn and companies flock back to the city after so many of them left for Oakland County a few decades ago. Although, I'm afraid that too many more moves and traffic into downtown is going to become a huge issue, if it isn't already. We need an extensive light rail system to enable more of these moves and accommodate all the extra workers.

[Docta_Love]

^One way to move forward can be to look back on the past.

Now I'm not holding my breath but I would love to see a plan similar to the Red Line's Dan Ryan section in Chicago run a circuit from say Southfield to downtown on the Lodge then back up 75 to the Troy/Birmingham area & while were at it why not throw in a cross town connection down 696 between the Lodge & I-75.

Back in 1940's there was originally a plan to run heavy rail down the middle of the Lodge FWY & possibly what would become I-75, 94 & 96 this came out of the immediate post war urban planning. We all know what happened next with buses winning out over the extensive street car network.

This is a from a really old thread over at detroityes.

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/43276.jpg

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/43279.jpg

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/43282.jpg

Downtown things would go underground with a large subterranean multi-modal transit center under Cadillac Sq.

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/43364.jpg

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/43365.jpg

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/43362.jpg

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/43361.jpg

http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/43221.html?1160845287


Ideas sought to reactivate empty commercial spaces in Detroit for community use

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 05, 2018

-City launches Design Center in a Box competition
-Winners to install temporary neighborhood gathering spaces in two empty storefronts
-Funded through $205,000 Knight Cities Challenge grant

The Planning and Development Department is requesting submissions for Design Center in a Box, a new competition funded through a $205,000 Knight Cities Challenge grant.

The idea is for entrants to envision a gap in a neighborhood commercial corridor as a small, active space for residents to discuss planning issues, and for local businesses and organizations to showcase their work, according to a city announcement Tuesday.

The city plans to use the contest to work with building owners and help them transition vacant, deteriorated storefronts into tenant-ready spaces, said Michele Flournoy, an urban designer for the city.

Two winning design teams will install their concepts in spaces the city selects. The installations will stick around for about a year, and then ideally a more permanent tenant would move in, Flournoy said.

"It's thought to be temporary activations of the storefront space to bring people in," she said. "That's part of the design brief. How do you design something that can be inserted into a box?"

The city will get help from the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. to find two storefronts to get the treatment, likely using information from the DEGC's recent commercial corridor and retail study.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180605/news/662886/ideas-sought-to-reactivate-empty-commercial-spaces-in-detroit-for

[Detroit]

^One way to move forward can be to look back on the past.

Now I'm not holding my breath but I would love to see a plan similar to the Red Line's Dan Ryan section in Chicago run a circuit from say Southfield to downtown on the Lodge then back up 75 to the Troy/Birmingham area & while were at it why not throw in a cross town connection down 696 between the Lodge & I-75.

Back in 1940's there was originally a plan to run heavy rail down the middle of the Lodge FWY & possibly what would become I-75, 94 & 96 this came out of the immediate post war urban planning. We all know what happened next with buses winning out over the extensive street car network.

This is a from a really old thread over at detroityes.





http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/43221.html?1160845287




http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180605/news/662886/ideas-sought-to-reactivate-empty-commercial-spaces-in-detroit-for


I really like this Detroit subway system mock up by Mike Weiss. Seems very functional and somewhat reminds me of the Underground in London.

http://i.imgur.com/wEqzrkX.jpg (https://imgur.com/wEqzrkX)

[Docta_Love]

That's a really great mock up & if money wasn't an issue or if this was in the past that would be a great plan. The region has many different employment and residential nodes that would have to be somehow worked into a comprehensive plan obviously & the diffuse nature of the region has until the recent resurgence of the city proper tying in high growth areas with the central urban core was a non-starter for the exurbs.

This situation is slowly changing tho, the regional balance of power is shifting to something more equal it's not just the tri-counties anymore the Washtenaw - Wayne axis is possibly the most important for the future of the region. However at the moment the Wayne - Washtenaw axis has some of the slowest growth in the metro area while Oakland & Macomb continue to have among the fastest they therefore hold the trump cards.

I don't mind if we have a unified system under SMART or DDOT or The RTA I just want to see progress on the issue amalgamating the regional transit systems & see the "opt out" communities be brought into the fold. I do see a danger in asking Macomb County voters to renew the SMART millage and at the same time create a new regional transit authority at the same time.

I'm hoping to see some kind of consensus come out of the Mackinac Policy Conference.


James Place Lofts, new Brush Park condos, to open this fall

By Robin Runyan
Curbed Detroit
Jun 5, 2018

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zvxdSIoNBxzslmf4m-IdR8iChGM=/0x0:3400x2196/920x613/filters:focal(1428x826:1972x1370):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59962075/ARE_MackTownhouseDusk.0.jpg
We now have a better idea of what the new condos under construction along Mack Avenue will look like, along with their cost. Now called James Place Lofts, the development will have 11 for-sale, two-bedroom condos and will range from mid-$400K to mid-$500K.

The condos are up for sale this week and should be ready this fall. The newly-formed Alexander Real Estate Detroit is leading the sales. The design is led by Krieger Klatt Architects.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pQ-h1uVPwh2UVKUKKURHets8RBw=/0x0:3400x2196/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3400x2196):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11483527/ARE_MackTownhouse_Unit1_.jpg

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BgE6A4-7fdNpSvwnukFH09334ds=/0x0:3400x2196/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3400x2196):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11483553/ARE_MackTownhouse_Unit2_kitchen.jpg

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AP4GAcMvrE6SgcJh8xXHPvEZUy8=/0x0:3400x2196/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3400x2196):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11483561/ARE_MackTownhouse_Unit2_Master_Bath.jpg

https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/5/17430396/james-place-lofts-new-brush-park-condos-open-this-fall

[subterranean]

Those hypothetical subway lines seem awful short to be very functional and some of the locations don't seem to make much sense to me. No connection going straight out Woodward seems odd, for starters. Also, a few of the lines would make more sense connected instead of emanating from a center along spokes with no cross-town trips without connecting somewhere (except maybe Blue). Anyway, I know nothing like it will happen in my lifetime, if ever, but it just seems way too complicated.

[hammersklavier]

To pile on, while heavy rail may have made sense in the 30s and 40s, the way Detroit is set up today, I think a better long-term vision would be to develop light rail along youse guys' really ridiculously wide main roads, like Woodward, Gratiot, Jefferson, Michigan, etc. I've seen a couple of ideas that might help jump-start that, like your streetcar (although it unnecessarily runs in mixed traffic when Woodward could use a road diet) and an idea for BRT along other major roads in the city.

[Docta_Love]

I agree that we need to focus on the basics ie better use of buses plus expansion of current light rail plus in addition to building new lines. However where the infrastructure is in place looking into the reopening the Pontiac to Detroit commuter heavy rail line or Toledo to Detroit line perhaps.

Jefferson Ave. seemed to be the next "spoke road" under consideration for light rail & or BRT with lanes being slashed for bike lanes, wider sidewalks & more on street parking. However with the ownership of Michigan Station in the hands of a law firm tied to Ford (my pops an internal safety employee confirmed that the firm in question has Ford ties) Michigan Ave. in Corktown & Mexican Town possibly out to Dearborn or to who knows where west of there ... anyways I'd say Mich seems to have the most steam behind it.

You can take it for what it's worth because it came from a Moroun but the son seems to get PR despite whatever his political views may be, he offered for Crown Enterprises to play the "Roger Penske" role to bring major stakeholders to the table for a Michigan light rail line done on the Q Line model.


DMC sports medicine facility to be built in District Detroit

By JAY GREENE and KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit Business
June 06, 2018

-Five-story building will be built between Little Caesars Arena and new Wayne State business school
-Facility will serve Red Wings and Tigers, other athletes, general public
-Retail expected to be included on the building's first floor

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/DMC%20sports%20medicine%20institute-main_i.jpg?itok=Abuuk0ds
A conceptual rendering shows the planned sports medicine facility at 2715 Woodward Ave. in Detroit, between Little Caesars Arena and the under-construction Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business.

Ilitch also said the company's investment would not be possible without DMC's commitment to a long-term lease for approximately 50,000 square feet of the building. He said construction will begin in early 2019. It is expected the facility will open in 2020.

"There is a growing demand for sports medicine in the city," said Ilitch, who hesitated and then added he wasn't sure he should comment on this in front of DMC officials, but "we hope our players never see" the DMC doctors at the sports medicine facility.

Several former Red Wings players and Ken Holland, general manager of the Red Wings, were present for the announcement at Little Caesars Arena.

DMC CEO Tony Tedeschi, M.D., said the DMC Sports Medicine Institute will be staffed with about 20-30 employees, including doctors, nurses, trainers and therapists, some of whom will need to be recruited to DMC.

DMC's 11 sports medicine clinics in Southeast Michigan are experiencing rapid growth, Tedeschi said. DMC may be looking to expand its outpatient center network in sports medicine and rehabilitation, but Tedeschi declined to comment on any active plans.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180606/news/662946/dmc-sports-medicine-facility-to-be-built-in-district-detroit


Mobility startups can tap up to $1 million for road, facility testing in Michigan

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 06, 2018

-PlanetM grants are for facility and public road testing
-Derq installed AI software in downtown Detroit
-Announcement comes a week after state launched $8 million mobility challenge

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/derq%20downtown%20detroit%20mobility-main_i.png?itok=dEUqSI-Z
Derq Inc. used a $80,000 grant from PlanetM to install smart technology in downtown Detroit at the busy intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street.

PlanetM announced the new yearlong funding program Wednesday during the 2018 Intelligent Transportation Society of America annual meeting at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit.

Downtown Detroit is already home to the product of the program's first grant. Through PlanetM, the Michigan Department of Transportation enlisted Dubai- and Detroit-based Derq Inc. to install artificial intelligence-based software at the difficult intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street, said Trevor Pawl, vice president of PlanetM.

As of May, Derq is studying risk factors there to improve light timing for pedestrians, vehicles and those using the tunnel to Windsor.

Derq's $80,000 grant comes ahead of the official application period, which is expected to start within a month, Pawl said.

Two types of grants will be available: Testing grants will give startups discounts of up to 75 percent to access vehicle- and technology-testing facilities, while pilot grants will go to in-state and out-of-state startups that want to try out technology on public roads.

PlanetM wants the pilot grant projects to solve real-world road issues, so it's working with MDOT and municipalities to identify problem spots, Pawl said.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/Mcity-01_i.jpg?itok=kATRmkhl

For testing facility use, PlanetM is working with Mcity, the University of Michigan's autonomous vehicle testing center. It is also in talks to use the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti and plans to enlist others.

With the one-year pilot grant program, which could be renewed in future years, PlanetM aims to address local startups' funding struggles and draw tech companies from out of state, Pawl said. Grant figures will vary based on what businesses and local governments require.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180606/news/662981/mobility-startups-can-tap-up-to-1-million-for-road-facility-testing-in


Wayne County bond rating gets 2-notch boost as jail project nears

By TYLER CLIFFORD
Crain's Detroit Business
June 05, 2018

-Wayne County's bond rating gets a BBB+ rating from S&P Global
-Ratings agency credits the county's structural balance
-Bond rating could be in line for future raises if balance is sustained

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/JailComplex%20rendering_i.jpg?itok=rDol-TJp
A rendering of the planned $533 million criminal justice complex at I-75 and East Warren Avenue in Detroit that would replace Wayne County's existing complex downtown.

The analytics firm gave a BBB+ rating, up from BBB- on debt issued for Wayne County. The county benefited from S&P Global's methodology update in April that designated its bond rating as investment grade.

Officials welcomed the news as Wayne County prepares to issue bonds to fund construction of a new $533 million criminal justice complex. The County Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on the jail project Thursday, The Detroit News reported.

"We are borrowing $315 million (in bonds), but the payments we have to make over the next 30 years are built into our annual budget," Wayne County Chief Financial Officer Henry Dachowitz said.

The higher rating may not mean Wayne County will pay less on the jail bonds, however. Dachowitz said the county hopes the jail bonds' rating will be based on the state of Michigan's AA credit rating.

John Sauter, S&P Global Ratings credit analyst, credits the rebound to cost-cutting measures led by Executive Warren Evans, including a consent agreement and recovery plan, and better fiscal and operational management. The recovery plan eliminated health care for future retirees and pulled support from the delinquent tax revolving fund that led to three budget surpluses.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180605/news/662896/wayne-county-bond-rating-gets-2-notch-boost-as-jail-project-nears

[hammersklavier]

:previous: It's also fair to say that most of Detroit's useful commuter ROWs are still in place -- not just to Pontiac and Toledo, but for example Ann Arbor and Port Huron as well. I remember when I mucked around with it, years and years ago, I discovered the only historic railroad ROW with commuter value in the Detroit metro that isn't around anymore is the one that heads towards the Rochester area.

With Ford putting major offices in Michigan Central, it's probably also a good time to look at returning it to active use as a major rail station. The Wolverine already runs into Detroit from Ann Arbor and out to Pontiac so you can pretty much start up two dedicated commuter rail routes for the cost of some push-pull equipment right now.

On a sidenote, I've always liked this idea: http://fwrail.org/

ETA: Detroit is the 3rd largest MSA in the USA and Canada with no commuter rail AFAIK -- the only two that are larger being Houston and Dallas. There's no reason for that, either, when it has more resources for it than places like Phoenix or Las Vegas. All of the major Midwestern cities, in fact, have excellent commuter rail resources ... it's just a question of civic will, and perhaps a sense that a growing city needs better infrastructure.

[DetroitSky]

Alamo Drafthouse movie theater set for key Midtown Detroit site (http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180606/news/662951/alamo-drafthouse-movie-theater-set-for-key-midtown-detroit-site)


New cinema house would open at 90-114 Stimson St.
Construction to start this year, finish first quarter 2020
Theater would have nine screens, seating capacity of about 900


Finley, Jacques: Detroit poised for retail boom (https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2018/05/31/downtown-detroit-poised-retail-boom/659583002/)

In the future, Bedrock wants all of its building projects to open with retail, rather than waiting to add it later. That starts with the new Shinola hotel on Woodward, which is slated for a November debut. The initial focus is on filling in the Woodward storefronts, as well as those in Capitol Park. The Book Building on Washington Boulevard will have a robust shopping presence, Mullin says.

[subterranean]

And once that retail boom happens, the game changes.

[Docta_Love]

Well said.


Wayne County approves new $533 million jail complex in Detroit

By KURT NAGL
Crain's Detroit Business
June 07, 2018

-Work on jail could start this fall; demo of Gratiot site sooner
-Commissioners voted 14-1 to approve plan
-County will fund $380 million, Rock Ventures will cover the rest

The Wayne County Building Authority approved the project Wednesday.

Approval means Dan Gilbert's Rock Ventures has the go-ahead to build the jail complex to replace the long-scrapped "fail jail" site on Gratiot Avenue. The county will invest $380 million and Rock will cover the rest.

Work on the new jail complex is expected to start as soon as the fall. Gilbert intends to redevelop the unfinished county jail site at the foot of downtown Detroit, with demolition expected to begin before fall.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180607/news/663066/wayne-county-approves-new-533-million-jail-complex-in-detroit


Reviving historic building rehab tax credit gains steam in Legislature

By CHAD LIVENGOOD
Crain's Detroit Business
June 06, 2018

-Preservationists trying to restore tax credit for rehab projects
-Coalition pushing Snyder to re-consider his past opposition
-Rehab of Michigan Central Station could benefit from tax subsidies

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/2001%2015th%20Street_0026_i.jpg?itok=StpwqcYP

Preservationists are hoping Ford Motor Co.'s potential rehabilitation of the long-vacant Michigan Central Station will win over Gov. Rick Snyder to bring back the tax credit for restoring historic buildings that he axed in 2011.

Legislation resurrecting Michigan's historic preservation tax credit cleared the House Tax Policy Committee on Wednesday after legislators capped the annual amount of credits that could be awarded at $15 million.

"We knew that Snyder was not in love with this so House leadership suggested we put some caps in place to rein in the scope," said Dan Austin, a Detroit historian and spokesman for a coalition of preservationists backing the legislation.

Senate Bill 469 would restore the tax credit Michigan previously had on the books that subsidized up to 25 percent of the costs of rehabilitating historic buildings and homes.

"The place where that might come in handy is if an automaker wanted to renovate an old train station in Detroit," said Austin, who represents the MI Impact Coalition.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180606/news/663021/reviving-historic-building-rehab-tax-credit-gains-steam-in-legislature



Detroit Soccer District sports facility to open Saturday

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 05, 2018

-Construction started last month at former junkyard
-It will offer memberships, sports leagues, youth programming and event space
-9,000-square-foot facility's indoor space to open in fall

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/soccer-district-detroit_orig-main_i.jpg?itok=MVV-3Tmv
The outdoor section of Detroit Soccer District opens Saturday and starts scheduled programming Monday at 5157 Stanton St. in Detroit, west of Midtown.

Construction started last month at a former junkyard to create Detroit Soccer District, a venue with a 6,000-square-foot outdoor field and 3,000 square feet of indoor space for handball, volleyball and basketball.

Joseph de Verteuil, a nearly lifelong Detroit resident who was born in Brazil, founded Detroit Soccer District and has spent $50,000 renovating the property.

"I love to play soccer," the 26-year-old said. "I didn't want to wait for someone else to start something, so I took it upon myself to start it myself."

Shuttling out to the suburbs to play soccer while he was growing up was expensive for Verteuil's parents. He wanted to create something affordable, so he based his concept on compact sports facilities in Brazil that still get big crowds for tournaments and practice time.

The venue expects to offer a look at its outdoor facilities during its soft opening Saturday, ahead of scheduled programming starting Monday. The indoor section is to open in the fall.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180605/news/662891/detroit-soccer-district-sports-facility-to-open-saturday

[LMich]

More on the planned re-retailing of downtown.

https://expo.advance.net/img/aa2253d747/width960/80a_sized3detconstructionspring2018002.JPG

Upscale fashion, furniture shops expected to open in Detroit this year (http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2018/06/detroit_retail.html)

By Dana Afana, MLive.com

June 6, 2018

Downtown Detroit's retail scene is expected to include more upscale fashion by the fall, with a focus on local and nationally known boutiques.

"You're going to see a lot more high-fashion, a lot more variety in women's fashion, more in travel ... in furniture ... food and beverage (and) electronics," said Dan Mullen, president of Bedrock, Downtown Detroit's dominant real estate firm with more than 90 properties.

"You're going to kind of see a lot of that coupled with service."

On top of that, developers anticipate a November opening for the luxury boutique Shinola Hotel at the corner of Woodward and Grand River avenues.

And a coveted national retail chain that's long avoided Detroit may be get closer to venturing into the city, Bedrock executives said.

Target is the one that they are talking about, and apparently Target says there is enough activity, now, for a downtown store.

[subterranean]

What is the building under construction in that photo?

[SupaK]

What is the building under construction in that photo?

It's the addition to the "rear" of the new Shinola Hotel.

[subterranean]

It's the addition to the "rear" of the new Shinola Hotel.


Thanks. For some strange reason, I had it in my mind that the Shinola Hotel was on the other side of Woodward.

[deja vu]

^ That steam vent is intense. Did anyone ever confirm exactly what that is for, and if it is permanent?

[Docta_Love]

I'm not positive but in the greater downtown area there is steam central heating built into many buildings from the Art Deco era, those vents may be from a "sub-station" or some kind of distribution center.


Here’s what West Village could look like in a few years
Housing, park improvements, and more

By Robin Runyan
Crubed Detroit
Jun 8, 2018

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gQsGOE69mJVRRUWU1tdZuQ_rc9E=/0x0:1326x599/920x613/filters:focal(557x194:769x406):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59997737/Villages.0.png
Kercheval & Van Dyke

Improved streetscapes, affordable housing, landscaping current parks, and hopefully a grocery store are in the works in the Villages. The City has been hosting community meetings to gather feedback from residents, and details were recently revealed.

As part of the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, the improvements center around Islandview, West Village, Indian Village, and East Village. The City says that Butzel Playground would become a “centerpiece of the area,” with more playscapes, repairs, new entrances, and more programming. The City expects to seek a landscape architect for Butzel Playfield next year.

Housing would also be added to the same block at the Marcus Garvey school, with a new building with 54 units of affordable housing.

The busy Kercheval Avenue would see greater emphasis on pedestrians and bikes, with an effort to slow down traffic coming through. This could mean improved sidewalks and clearer bike lanes, plus more street-level retail with housing above.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8B6Ys6EK-_ZWFEv97hbdb0QMFMg=/0x0:1371x761/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1371x761):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11501723/IMG_20180608_103025.jpg

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RvFTQmM-LpdUeaM-PFjxNrtl3nE=/0x0:1366x760/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1366x760):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11501727/IMG_20180608_103030.jpg
The large development seen in the rendering above is still in the early phases, although a nearby house is in the process of being moved for it.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ud__a8tfgM0MSDTsvumC_5y1nhg=/0x0:1361x769/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1361x769):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11501731/Rehab_WV.jpg

https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/8/17440122/west-village-islandview-neighborhood-plan-improvement

[DetroitSky]

World's first IHOP/Applebee's combo about to open in downtown Detroit (https://www.freep.com/story/money/2018/06/08/ihop-applebees-combo-downtown-detroit/686187002/)

The IHOP portion opened in May with the Applebee's portion opening this month. Grand opening set for June 26. I walked by last night and it looks very nice.

Some updates:

May 31

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/41759118604_a4af0c4d67_b.jpg
Keyes Apartments, W. Willis Street.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1758/41579169775_aea9f3a92f_b.jpg
Last update I stated that it appeared Boulevard Hostel had experienced some construction. It appears its going faster than I previously thought.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1736/41759129934_543364d5ae_b.jpg
Temple West in District Detroit. Still no residential being built in the front section along Park.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1736/41579161505_5a14cd6656_b.jpg
Renovations at 640 Temple have begun. Its only apparent from the back of the building, shown here.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1731/42481616851_d8c7b4361c_b.jpg
The Crawford, Elton Park

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/27610835297_dacf441087_b.jpg
The Robertson, Elton Park

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1725/40673530810_227eb0a66d_b.jpg
Checker Building, Elton Park

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/886/41579126585_2fa826e30a_b.jpg
The UFO Factory was damaged pretty badly by construction vehicles for Elton Park. They're still undergoing repairs/renovations and have not reopened yet, but the building looks much nicer than it did a few months ago. On the left and right of the UFO Factory will be the two 3 floor buildings from Elton Park

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1749/27610810157_e12084e062_b.jpg
Abinitio restaurant, Michigan Avenue at 8th Street, Corktown

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1737/27610805547_8595e0ee52_b.jpg
124 Alfred Street, City Modern

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/40673450160_e1efd6e78a_b.jpg
Alfred Street from John R, City Modern

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/893/41579030485_4a14c602d7_b.jpg
Carriage Homes at City Modern. These ones are located on the alley on the block bounded by Alfred, John R, Adelaide and Brush

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/878/28609052138_34676954ea_b.jpg
Historic home rehabs on Alfred, City Modern

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1760/40673337720_f5b9b5659e_b.jpg
Alfred from Brush, City Modern

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1726/42481401001_cb34515818_b.jpg
440 Alfred, City Modern

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/885/42481385661_1a0a8ef615_b.jpg
Looking south into City Modern from Edmund Place

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/897/40673253220_cfea561210_b.jpg
229 Edmund Place

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/882/28608938378_f7441c3254_b.jpg
The Kelemen

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1735/40673217660_4e2766a1b9_b.jpg
Aurora Apartments, Brush at Erskine. Formerly vacant.

June 2

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1749/40717028330_2f5f0c2d72_b.jpg
Gordon Food Service Store going in the former Staples space thats been vacant for years on E. Jefferson

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1741/27654648337_5bc53b92bd_b.jpg
Franklin Lofts. More information here (http://www.franklinlofts.info).

Grand River and Warren development:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1721/27654635317_8a34e77048_b.jpg
Magnet restaurant

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1728/27654630237_6cfbce0279_b.jpg
The white wall is the side of The Sawtooth building. The space at right will be a park.

June 4

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/41852362594_9e139d4892_b.jpg
WCCCD City Center Campus expansion

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/27704813207_df5889668b_b.jpg
The south facade of the Book Tower is about half power washed.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1737/42522883262_a956bc4a68_b.jpg
Free Press Building

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1721/42574494301_91c286671c_b.jpg
It appears the Paradise Valley project has begun. This building is going to be the new home of the Michigan Chronicle and appears to be under renovation. Hastings Place will be built in the parking lot to the left.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1726/41672880685_d95a227ac6_b.jpg
The northernmost storefront in the Metropole Building/Bedrock headquarters is being worked on.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1738/40765996060_8851e82c37_b.jpg
Marquette Building/Adient global headquarters

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1741/41852303014_07b7dcbb9d_b.jpg
Third & Grand

June 5

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/41885547224_c52920c83b_b.jpg
Work going on in the retail space at Briggs Houze. Last I heard this was going to be a restaurant called Tirana Grille.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1754/41703892195_1cf1c2455d_b.jpg
Book Tower's south facade

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1738/41703878625_f7a896af1e_b.jpg
Second Best Bar in the former Brush Park Heidelberg Project building

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1724/28731333918_10ca6d377a_b.jpg
64 Watson Street

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1736/28758192508_9715b82b14_b.jpg
Billinghurst Apartments

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1748/41731720895_be77d70e47_b.jpg[/url]
Apartments between Cass Cafe and University Tower

June 8

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1738/28827728068_0dae6cfe09_b.jpg
Cork & Gabel restaurant, Michigan at 16th Street

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1730/42701837421_ca0c499eda_b.jpg
2201 Wabash Street

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1723/42652567722_8066a0281a_b.jpg
2835 23rd Street

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1733/42652562382_559c24e3dc_b.jpg
Bohemian National Home. It doesn't look like it from the photo, but it does appear to be under renovation.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/28827694218_8cd1fb1182_b.jpg
Something being built in Southwest Detroit. The address is, I believe, 2716 Livernois.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1737/28827684388_f183cb861e_b.jpg
Sakthi Automotive plant built on some of the property formerly used by Southwestern High School.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1728/28827674618_20d7bfe28e_b.jpg
Sunbelt Rentals opening soon at 3411 W. Fort

[cityguy]

Great updates.

[deja vu]

Yes, astounding updates, as usual. So many of these projects are just...awe-inspiring.



For a place like 229 Edmund Place to be rehabbed a decade ago would have been almost unimaginable.
I love seeing things like Keyes Apartments and the Boulevard Hostel building getting new life.
Every time I see Elton Park or City Modern progress, I have to remind myself that this is Detroit. Not Chicago. Not Minneapolis. Nowhere else. Detroit, man!


Viewing these eloquent photos actually increased my heart rate for a few minutes (or maybe that's partially the coffee that I'm drinking). I am so incredibly excited that this is what Detroit is looking like these days. I am an absentee observer looking in from afar and it makes me really want to visit soon. Props to the countless individuals and organizations that give a damn about this city enough to transform it in these positive ways. The future looks very bright indeed.

And whatever they're paying you, DetroitSky, to bring us these great updates, it should be doubled. ;)

[LMich]

Once again, DetroitSky, amazing update of all the smaller (and sometimes less sexy) stuff going on around town. Anyway, how did I not know (or forgot) that the Free Press building was actually under renovation? I thought they were simply doing prep work, at best. Those look like brand new windows on the thing.

Glad to see the fire at the Marquette Building only set things back temporarily. And I'm also glad that Harmonie Park redevelopment appears to be happening, finally. Still super confused about what's taking the Ashton Detroit so long to get its sh%t together, though.

Finally, I can't get enough of City Modern and what's happening in Brush Park. It's like everything has just happened all at once.

[detroit_alive]

^ That steam vent is intense. Did anyone ever confirm exactly what that is for, and if it is permanent?

The steam vent is permanent but the current stack is temporary. It is my understanding that it will eventually be relocated into a new stack within the building venting at the roof.

[LMich]

Well, the long-awaited announcement has come.


Moroun confirms Detroit train station sold to Ford: 'Blue Oval will adorn the building' (http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180611/news/663281/moroun-confirms-detroit-train-station-sold-to-ford-blue-oval-will-adorn)

By Chad Livengood, Crain's Detroit Business

June 11, 2018

Detroit's worst-kept secret is official: The Moroun family has sold the historic Michigan Central Station in Detroit to Ford Motor Co. in a landmark real estate deal that could portend a transformation of Corktown and the automaker's re-engagement with the city where it was founded.

Matthew Moroun, son of billionaire transportation mogul Manuel "Matty" Moroun, confirmed the sale Monday morning at an announcement outside of the long-vacant train station. It has long stood as a symbol of Detroit's decline for the past three decades.

"The deal is complete. The future of the depot is assured. The next steward of the building is the right one for its future. The depot will become a shiny symbol of Detroit's progress and its success," Moroun said in prepared remarks released exclusively to Crain's before the 9 a.m. announcement.

"The Ford Motor Company's Blue Oval will adorn the building."

Ford has a meeting planned for the 19th to detail exactly what they want to do in Corktown with this building being the centerpiece.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dfau_Y_XkAAIrKf.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DfaCFb2W0AAjVhF.jpg
Kirk Pinho (https://twitter.com/kirkpinhocdb/status/1006145163142615040?s=21)

**crossing fingers hoping that part of it will be used as...a train station.**

[subterranean]

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/27704813207_df5889668b_b.jpg

Is that new fire escape toward the bottom?

[Chris Stritzel]

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1726/41672880685_d95a227ac6_b.jpg

The northernmost storefront in the Metropole Building/Bedrock headquarters is being worked on.



It appears to be a Apple Store is coming soon here. I am not for sure if it is or isn't but that Black temporary wall is something Apple uses when building a new store in a mall or outside. They did something similar to this in Kansas City but were very lowkey about it till its opening. Plus the idea of a Apple Store doesn't seem so far fetched as I recall reading a story some time ago that Dan Gilbert may have a Apple Store move into the Quicken Loans Building. Then came the Early 2017 renderings of Hudson's with the store included in the plans (both inside and out). But this is only speculation, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is Apple since the building appears to be something they would like to be in (old architecture) and Downtown Detroit has tons of retail moving in so it isn't far fetched.

[DetroitSky]

I’m glad you guys enjoy my updates! Subterranean I believe it’s a new fire escape. I can’t tell if they restored the old one or replaced it. I doubt they could have restored it, though.

I’m standing in Roosevelt Park right now and there’s crew everywhere at MCS. They’re cutting down the fence that surrounded it and I can see people inside and hear machinery at work. This is crazy.

[DetroitSky]

Chris Stritzel, that would be pretty amazing if it was an Apple Store. I’ll be going downtown in a minute and I’ll see if I can find out.

[Chris Stritzel]

I’m standing in Roosevelt Park right now and there’s crew everywhere at MCS. They’re cutting down the fence that surrounded it and I can see people inside and hear machinery at work. This is crazy.

You guys are lucky you have Ford, a company that is dedicated to Detroit. Can't wait to see the work done to MCS. I've been to Detroit a couple of times and that building always stuck out.

[seabee1526]

I understand that the Corktown area has been somewhat left behind in the resurgence of the downtown area. It would be nice to see the entire area developed into a worldwide automotive tech area.

[subterranean]

It will be interesting to see what happens in Corktown. There really isn't much housing to speak of in the area, but there are plenty of opportunities for infill, especially across 75.

[detroit_alive]

Chris Stritzel, that would be pretty amazing if it was an Apple Store. I’ll be going downtown in a minute and I’ll see if I can find out.

This is not going to be Apple. This location is celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson's new restaurant. No details in this old Freep story but it references the plans: https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/dining/mark-kurlyandchik/2016/12/02/chef-marcus-samuelsson-detroit-restaurant/94855178/

[deja vu]

Well, the long-awaited announcement has come.

**crossing fingers hoping that part of it will be used as...a train station.**

Ditto that. :cheers:

[DetroitSky]

I would not be surprised if Michigan Central became the Amtrak and MiTrain commuter rail's Detroit station. The tracks behind MCS go to Ann Arbor and on to Chicago, meaning the MiTrain line between Ann Arbor and Detroit via DTW announced years ago could be put into effect. MDOT bought and tested equipment for the line in 2013? 2014? And its been sitting in a yard somewhere ever since. Another passenger rail-related project that could be done is using the railroad tunnel under the Detroit River, which connects to the tracks behind the station, to get either an Amtrak route between Detroit/Chicago and Toronto or a VIA Rail line between Toronto and Detroit. Who knows, maybe we'll see the Qline expand down Michigan Avenue between MCS and Campus Martius.

Some smaller news thats been overshadowed by the MCS news, but still worth mentioning. More property put back into fully functional use, the better.

Historic Hamtramck Stadium snags major sponsorship (https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/11/17448704/historic-hamtramck-stadium-major-sponsorship)

In the past year and a half, it received a planning grant from the National Park Service African American Civil Rights Program. The City of Hamtramck then released an RFP for pre-devleopment work. Conceptual designs were also released to gather feedback from the community. Plans for the stadium include cricket, soccer, yoga, and of course, baseball. We hear that a study should be released this week for the entire Veterans Park area.

Comerica Bank recently committed $20,000 to the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium for the renovation. Future work includes the grandstand and the baseball diamond; both currently cannot be used.

[LMich]

I would not be surprised if Michigan Central became the Amtrak and MiTrain commuter rail's Detroit station. The tracks behind MCS go to Ann Arbor and on to Chicago, meaning the MiTrain line between Ann Arbor and Detroit via DTW announced years ago could be put into effect. MDOT bought and tested equipment for the line in 2013? 2014? And its been sitting in a yard somewhere ever since. Another passenger rail-related project that could be done is using the railroad tunnel under the Detroit River, which connects to the tracks behind the station, to get either an Amtrak route between Detroit/Chicago and Toronto or a VIA Rail line between Toronto and Detroit. Who knows, maybe we'll see the Qline expand down Michigan Avenue between MCS and Campus Martius.

Yes, it's a no-brainer to re-use it for transportation, too, as the line behind it is still very much active. But in all of this talk about the station in the last few months, there has been no solid talk of that, which has kind of worried me.

BTW, MDOT stopped leasing the cars that had been sitting in Owosso after the legislature through a fit about the lease payments and were essentially threatening to defund MDOT's rail office. The commuter rail is contingent on the RTA getting off the ground, and after the narrow defeat of the millage in 2016, it looks like we won't even get the board to put a millage on the ballot, this year.

It's going to take a change of government in Lansing, this year, before I think advocates voices will be prominently featured in improving all kinds of non-automobile transit projects, again.

[deja vu]

Yes, it's a no-brainer to re-use it for transportation, too, as the line behind it is still very much active. But in all of this talk about the station in the last few months, there has been no solid talk of that, which has kind of worried me.

Well, we won't have to wait too long (hopefully) to find out if Ford is considering helping resurrect station as part of their master plan here. Should know by the end of month what the big picture ideas are. That would be an interesting process / partnership to watch unfold (Ford & Amtrak & MDOT).

The Detroit News has a story with some great photos of the train station when it was in action. Can never get enough of this imagery.

Purchase of train depot adds new chapter to long history (https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2018/06/11/ford-michigan-central-station-history/689465002/)
Breana Noble | The Detroit News
June 11, 2018

Michigan Central Depot was busy, Bill Worden recalled of his visit to the station in the 1940s during its heyday. People walked all around, catching trains and visiting the restaurant and other amenities the station offered. Worden bought a candy bar from a round stand in the middle of the grand waiting room that seemed overwhelming to a young man...

[DetroitSky]

BTW, MDOT stopped leasing the cars that had been sitting in Owosso after the legislature through a fit about the lease payments and were essentially threatening to defund MDOT's rail office. The commuter rail is contingent on the RTA getting off the ground, and after the narrow defeat of the millage in 2016, it looks like we won't even get the board to put a millage on the ballot, this year.

It's going to take a change of government in Lansing, this year, before I think advocates voices will be prominently featured in improving all kinds of non-automobile transit projects, again.

I wasn’t aware this had happened with the MiTrain project. Hopefully commuter rail will be an option again. It would be amazing to have commuter lines out to Ann Arbor, Pontiac and Chesterfield Township or possibly even Port Huron using MCS as the central Detroit station. A bus station could be built adjacent to the station as well serving SMART and DDOT. Could add a Mega Bus stop as well. I’m definitely getting ahead of myself here, but it’d truly be amazing to see MCS as a modern intermodal station.

Something interesting to note, MCS was one of Detroit's very last unused high rises/skyscrapers that had no plans for redevelopment. The only other ones I can think of off the top of my head are the Lee Plaza, which has an RFP out, Executive Plaza on the downtown/Corktown border, and Whittier Towers in Indian Village. Both Executive Plaza and the Whittier would be easy renovations as they've both been kept vacant with electricity and the demand for office space and residential, respectively, is both there at present.

[seabee1526]

It would be nice to have the lower level of the train station open to the public, such a large space...The Return of the Ford Rotunda?

Has Ford put up any signage yet? guard shack?

[LMich]

Ford said yesterday that they are making a goal of keeping the old waiting room accessible to the public. It'd be hard for me to imagine them not doing this; I'm sure they'll want to be showing it off. You'd expect some kind of exhibition space/showroom at the very least to show off the autos they will be developing there.

Looking through some recent city council agenda items:

1. The owners of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Downtown Detroit looks to have started filing for incentives and such for the redo of the property at Washintgon and Michigan. A June 7 communication has them seeking a Commercial Redevelopment District designation, which freezes the taxable value of a property usually for the max of 12 years while improvements are being made to the property.

2. There has been a formal request for the rezoning of 74 Garfield (currently a parking lot) for the development of a building of 35 apartments, a few commercial units and 4,000 square feet of ground floor retail. The building would only contain 27 parking spaces, which is well below what is required, which is why the developer is requesting a rezoning to the more flexible PU district (Planned Unit) instead of a more conventional mixed-use district. The infill building would be 49'-7" to its parapet and of modern design.

3. The city planning commission last night one again recommended for approval the Special District Review for the 28-story second tower for the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the foot of Washington. This had originally been recommended for approval by the planning commission in early March, but someone raised to the city council some code violations and issues with the existing hotel, which caused the city council to send this back to the city planning commission for further review. After extracting a plan to deal with the issues, the planning commission once again recommend the city council approve the special district review. A reminder about this project: It includes a new 28-story tower, which includes 9 store parking base with ground floor retail on top of which will be 29 floors of guestrooms totally 494 rooms. Aside from the retail in the base of the new parking garage will be 18,000 square feet of additional hotel amenities (meeting space, office space, and additional retail space) on the second floor of the expansion. The new hotel will be of a different franchise than the existing Crowne Plaza.

4. A Bedrock subsidiary is requesting the approval of a Commercial Rehabilitation Exemption Certificate for the renovation of the lower floors of the David Stott Building. The developer wants to redevelop the lower six floors into ground floor retail and commercial space on the five floors above that. The developer has already filed seperately for a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone for the residential usage above that in floors 7-35. So the residential renovation and exterior work started first (Spring 2017), and now it looks like Bedrock has nailed down or is close to nailing down tenants for the commercial space, which they expect to be open for occupancy by October. The commercial space is 34,482 square feet while the residential usage takes up 183,113 square feet.

[subterranean]

3. The city planning commission last night one again recommended for approval the Special District Review for the 28-story second tower for the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the foot of Washington. This had originally been recommended for approval by the planning commission in early March, but someone raised to the city council some code violations and issues with the existing hotel, which caused the city council to send this back to the city planning commission for further review. After extracting a plan to deal with the issues, the planning commission once again recommend the city council approve the special district review. A reminder about this project: It includes a new 28-story tower, which includes 9 store parking base with ground floor retail on top of which will be 29 floors of guestrooms totally 494 rooms. Aside from the retail in the base of the new parking garage will be 18,000 square feet of additional hotel amenities (meeting space, office space, and additional retail space) on the second floor of the expansion. The new hotel will be of a different franchise than the existing Crowne Plaza.


That's pretty substantial. Potentially a new ~300' tower viewable from the standard Windsor skyline perspective. Hopefully they change up the design because I personally find the Crowne Plaza to be abhorrent.

[LMich]

It's proposed at a height of 327 feet. Unfortunately, preliminary renderings show it being done in the same design as the existing tower.

[subterranean]

Speaking of the Cobo area, is anyone else incredibly disappointed with the way Cobo turned out? I remember when the renderings came out how excited I was that Detroit would be getting this sleak, new-looking exhibition space. And don't get me wrong, I think the interior turned out fantastic. But I feel like I got duped by the pretty renderings of the exterior but honestly I think it was just super poorly executed.

[The North One]

It turned out pretty much exactly like the renders, I think you're forgetting how bad it was before.

[LMich]

It turned out pretty much exactly like the renders, I think you're forgetting how bad it was before.

Yeah, if anything, it turned out way better than I expected.

In other news, this is crazy and expected.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/f05d83885e19832434b8a0f4462fe9c818ad0316/c=216-0-2344-1600&r=x393&c=520x390/local/-/media/2018/06/13/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636644745757513941-Corktown-Development-061218-10-.JPG
Cameron Pollack, Detroit Free Press

Lot near Detroit train station for sale, listed at $2M (https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2018/06/13/detroit-train-station-property-sale-ford/697246002/)

By Allie Gross and Randy Essex, Detroit Free Press

June 13, 2018

That was fast.

Everyone knew that Ford's purchase of the Michigan Central Station on the western edge of Corktown would dramatically boost property values in the area, the question being how much and how soon.

Just a day after the sale to Ford from the Moroun family was announced, Dominick Procopio with Re/Max listed an 8,712-square-foot vacant lot across the street from the train station for sale for $2 million.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/2018/03/21/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636572456898107450-moroun-map.jpg

[subterranean]

It turned out pretty much exactly like the renders, I think you're forgetting how bad it was before.

Definitely not forgetting since you can still see most of it as it was. From the side view I thought they’d be covering up the front, too, but alas they did not.

[Docta_Love]

I was actually thinking the same think last week the cut-out areas that were replaced by glass & the digital projection screens seemed like they would have a bigger effect on changing Cobo into something new & shiny looking.

It looks much better in & out but it's still Cobo the end result was a bit more underwhelming than I expected but when the Joe gets redeveloped they have a chance to open up the back side and add some interesting new aspects to Cobo Hall if they go with the hotel - convention space option. Unfortunately the only renderings available are from 2016 and the quality is pretty crappy.

[DetroitSky]

It's proposed at a height of 327 feet. Unfortunately, preliminary renderings show it being done in the same design as the existing tower.

Could you post the preliminary renderings? I can't find them though a Google search for some reason.

[LMich]

Could you post the preliminary renderings? I can't find them though a Google search for some reason.

Because for whatever reason on god's green earth the city still badly scans its agenda packets...everything starts on page 25, and the prelim renderings start on page 33:

http://www.detroitmi.gov/Portals/0/docs/City%20Clerk/Council%202018/New%20Business/March%2013%202018/cal%2003-13-18%20PED.pdf?ver=2018-03-12-163423-763

The design may end up looking entirely different, though. In any case, it looks like Stephen Berry Architectural Design (http://architecturaldesigninc.com/) will be the project architects. They did the renovation of the existing hotel a few years back.

EDIT: Actually wrote the planning commission this morning, and to my surprise they got right back to me with the preliminary renderings. I asked them why they can't just look like that in the city council packets. Still awaiting a response. lol

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/900/42747578172_29ca9a5bbc_b.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1741/42747578262_edf9503248_b.jpg

At the very least it fills the corner and adds some density and will have retail on the ground and second floors.

[Docta_Love]

I've had some worries about the project doing a modern version of a planned 60s twinning because I'm still of two minds on whether or not I like the renovation. At the time of its closing The Pontchartrain was looking a bit tired I like that it was freshened up & replacing the black glass with black may not have had the same effect but too much black and green doesn't look good.

I'm pleasantly surprised that the planning commission was so forth coming and so prompt seems like a good sign for the direction the organization is headed.

Anyone remember when Redico bought 150 W Jefferson with the eye to develop something on top of the parking garage? I looked it up and found the article but not much there after. Perhaps they are holding off with all the planned and current high-rise construction downtown right now.


Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority to get $500,000 for brownfield cleanup

By Associated Press
Crain's Detroit Business
June 10, 2018

The EPA said the funding is part of a program that helps communities reuse vacant and abandoned properties by making them available for housing, recreation, open space, health facilities, social services and other opportunities.

About $16 million is planned for 33 successful entities in the revolving loan fund.

The "funds will ensure more cleanups are completed and more land can be returned to beneficial reuse," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a news release.

The port authority is based in Detroit. It works to advance maritime and related industries in Southeast Michigan for economic benefit to residents and business.

It was awarded $720,000 by the EPA in 2016 and received a couple of redevelopment proposals that did not pan out, said Kyle Burleson, executive director of the port authority. He said the agency's plan is to place the money by the end of the year for redevelopment projects.

"One of the issues we are finding is that there are so many giant projects going on downtown — $100 million projects for example — that the long process for $720,000 almost isn't worth it for them," Burleson said, adding that he is confident the money will find its way to the right development project.

A recent national study shows that cleaning up brownfields leads to residential property value increases of 5 percent to 15.2 percent within a 1.24-mile radius of the site. Another study analyzing data near 48 brownfields found that an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue is generated for local governments in a single year after cleanup. This is two to seven times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of those brownfields.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180610/news01/663271/detroitwayne-county-port-authority-to-get-500000-for-brownfield


JPMorgan Chase grants $1.55 million to TechTown, financial assistance groups

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 12, 2018

-Two-year investments to be discussed at Detroit Startup Week
-Funds will support funding assistance, training for small businesses
-New York-based bank has committed $150 million to Detroit development, stabilization

The investments, each two years in term, are part of the $150 million JPMorgan Chase has committed to Detroit economic development and neighborhood stabilization, starting about three years ago.

Technology startup incubator TechTown in Detroit's Midtown will get $780,000 to support growing its Retail Boot Camp development program to twice yearly, according to a JPMorgan news release. TechTown also expects to use the funding to help businesses it serves increase their revenue and prepare to take advantage of monetary resources such as grants and loans.

Detroit-based capital access assistance organization the Accounting Aid Society is to receive $410,000, which it'll use to network and share resources with other nonprofits, create a fee-for-service mode and offer tax preparation services and access to credits for residents of the city's North End, the release said.

With its $360,000, the nonprofit Great Lakes Women's Business Council plans to help 20 additional women-owned small businesses in Detroit with advice and training on sales growth, hiring, meeting goals and financial options, according to the release. JPMorgan Chase has invested $1 million in the nonprofit council over the last 12 years.

"Local entrepreneurs are one of the most important drivers of Detroit's economy. They are creating jobs and economic opportunity and attracting talent and investment," Janis Bowdler, head of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, said in an emailed statement.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180612/news/663436/jpmorgan-chase-grants-155-million-to-techtown-financial-assistance


Avalon to open grab-and-go cafe in new Mike Ilitch School of Business

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 11, 2018

-700-square-foot cafe with small seating area, serving breakfast and lunch
-To open for public and Wayne State students by end of August
-Detroit bakery recently opened cafe and biscuit bar in New Center

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/mike%20ilitch%20school%20of%20business-main_i.jpg?itok=FMoUDoa5


Avalon International Breads is growing its Detroit presence yet again with a cafe and grab-and-go station in the new Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business.

The university plans to move its 200 business school faculty and staff into the newly constructed building on Woodward Avenue next to Little Caesars Arena in Midtown by Friday and start offering classes there this fall.

The Detroit-based bakery expects to open its latest cafe sometime before Aug. 29 — the date the fall semester starts, according to a Monday news release from Wayne State.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180611/news/663286/avalon-to-open-grab-and-go-cafe-in-new-mike-ilitch-school-of-business


Not new news but a better rendering of the broader plan.

City clusters commercial corridor plans around Kercheval in Villages, Islandview

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 12, 2018

-East-side area already has strong housing market, city says
-Framework centers on road and park improvements, adding affordable housing
-Plans include new mixed-use construction, Butzel Playfield revamp

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/map%20villages%20islandview%20projects-02_i.png?itok=d3SX5KpX

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/villages%20van%20dyke%20kercheval-main_i.png?itok=Ui7Y-TRk


The city of Detroit expects $5 million in public projects and more than 230 residential units to take shape over the next several years in a concentrated section of the city's east side.

The city recently expanded its Strategic Neighborhood Fund to improve areas outside downtown, and has drawn up a framework for the Villages and Islandview neighborhoods north of Belle Isle Park. The planning department revealed several projects at a community meeting Thursday.

Like in other neighborhoods, city planners want to create an inviting area to shop and live by making streets more walkable and lining them with businesses. They are pairing commercial plans with nearby housing, calling for developers to join in millions of dollars worth of mixed-use projects and home renovations.

Investments orbit around a section of Kercheval Avenue that runs through Islandview and West Village that's recently drawn more commercial tenants and real estate investment.

"We think that Kercheval will emerge over time as their own neighborhood downtown," Detroit Planning Director Maurice Cox said.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180612/news/663406/city-clusters-commercial-corridor-plans-around-kercheval-in-villages

[subterranean]

I used to split my time between Lansing and a house on Van Dyke in 14/15 when I was working between the two cities. At the time, I knew the area was ripe for infill and redevelopment, but it seemed like quite a ways out besides the small pocket of businesses on Agnes. I knew several people in the neighborhoods who were buying huge houses on land contract from a woman in the neighborhood who owned dozens of houses. I know they all got them for a song, and if they were ever to sell them in this era, would make piles of cash. Anyway, I really loved that area immensely and considered buying a place there myself had an opportunity not come up in Portland. However, I am a bit surprised that it is moving along this quickly. Happy to see it, though.

[Docta_Love]

I know what you mean I've been doing research in the city land bank what steps are required to purchase certain lots. I'm hoping to make something happen this over the next month or two before the area gets designated as part of the neighborhood improvement plan but I know it's not going to be easy and I don't want to bite off more than I can chew at once.

[DetroitRises]

Because for whatever reason on god's green earth the city still badly scans its agenda packets...everything starts on page 25, and the prelim renderings start on page 33:

http://www.detroitmi.gov/Portals/0/docs/City%20Clerk/Council%202018/New%20Business/March%2013%202018/cal%2003-13-18%20PED.pdf?ver=2018-03-12-163423-763

The design may end up looking entirely different, though. In any case, it looks like Stephen Berry Architectural Design (http://architecturaldesigninc.com/) will be the project architects. They did the renovation of the existing hotel a few years back.

EDIT: Actually wrote the planning commission this morning, and to my surprise they got right back to me with the preliminary renderings. I asked them why they can't just look like that in the city council packets. Still awaiting a response. lol

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/900/42747578172_29ca9a5bbc_b.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1741/42747578262_edf9503248_b.jpg

At the very least it fills the corner and adds some density and will have retail on the ground and second floors.

Love the photos, but my favorite is one from the commission report with the view of both The Crown Plaza And Downtown. Can you post the photos sent to you into the Crown Plaza proposal thread?

[detroit_alive]

Because for whatever reason on god's green earth the city still badly scans its agenda packets...everything starts on page 25, and the prelim renderings start on page 33:

http://www.detroitmi.gov/Portals/0/docs/City%20Clerk/Council%202018/New%20Business/March%2013%202018/cal%2003-13-18%20PED.pdf?ver=2018-03-12-163423-763

The design may end up looking entirely different, though. In any case, it looks like Stephen Berry Architectural Design (http://architecturaldesigninc.com/) will be the project architects. They did the renovation of the existing hotel a few years back.

At the very least it fills the corner and adds some density and will have retail on the ground and second floors.

The troubling thing I found in the planning doc was with the sections of the proposed building. Per the plans half of the new tower (up to floor 9 by my count) will be a parking garage. Yet the renderings show glass curtain wall the whole height of the tower as if it were all hotel rooms. In the final product the parking will not be enclosed in the same curtain wall system as the building. This vision is likely to change and for the worse I'm afraid.

Sorry for the potato quality. I grabbed it from the pdf so blame the city.

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae281/wastedviaticum/cp_section.jpg

[The North One]

kill it with fire

[LMich]

The troubling thing I found in the planning doc was with the sections of the proposed building. Per the plans half of the new tower (up to floor 9 by my count) will be a parking garage. Yet the renderings show glass curtain wall the whole height of the tower as if it were all hotel rooms. In the final product the parking will not be enclosed in the same curtain wall system as the building. This vision is likely to change and for the worse I'm afraid.

Sorry for the potato quality. I grabbed it from the pdf so blame the city.

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae281/wastedviaticum/cp_section.jpg

The clearer versions show that they cut out a few floors with "ditto" marks so they don't have to render the whole thing; you can tell if you count visually that they aren't rendering every floor in the elevation drawings. Again, parking it only on floors three through 9. Another interesting thing is that for the to two or three floors of the garage they'll face it in the same glass as for the hotel floors so as not to make the base look too "thick."

I got a comment back from the planning commission basically saying that the city council still bizarrely doesn't do online packets, that they are still physically scanning the documents they receive, which is just crazy to me. It's so much more work with such terrible visual results.

BTW, just so you guys know, feel free if I don't to repost anything I post here on the existing project pages in the other forums.

[rlw777]

Glad to see another highrise development for Detroit. Im not a big fan of this style of parking cause usually the parking levels have lights on all night and it can really ruin the pedestrian experience on adjacent streets. For example the parking levels in Chicago's Trump tower really take away from the experience of the Chicago river at night.

[202_Cyclist]

Good article with some nice photos. It is good to see Ford doing this and investing in the revitalization of Detroit.


Ford Aims to Revive a Detroit Train Station, and Itself
By renovating a symbol of the city’s decline, the company hopes to create a magnet for the talent needed to prevail in the next automotive era.

By Neal E. Boudette
June 17, 2018
NY Times

"DETROIT — For the past year, Ford Motor has been working on a plan to reinvigorate its operations and jump-start profit growth. Now, as that strategy is just being put into place, the automaker is taking on another big renovation project: the city of Detroit and the hulking remains of its dilapidated train station.

Ford has purchased the Michigan Central Station, the abandoned and graffiti-covered 18-story office tower and train station that looms over the Corktown neighborhood. With its smashed and darkened windows, the station had long stood as the most recognizable symbol of Detroit’s decades of decline..."

[Docta_Love]

Thanks for the post, I was just thinking that there should be an update here on the development page with all the recent updates on the dedicated thread in the general development. Is there a link to the article btw?

[deja vu]

Thanks for the post, I was just thinking that there should be an update here on the development page with all the recent updates on the dedicated thread in the general development. Is there a link to the article btw?

Thanks for pointing out that there is now a seperate, dedicated thread (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=234154) for MCS. I must have blinked and missed it.

Here is the link to the article that 202_Cyclist posted, BTW -

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/17/business/ford-detroit-station.html

[Docta_Love]

Thanks for posting a link I always enjoy reading an outside take.

Here's a pic from the article of some work on some formally trashed limestone columns I thought was worth posting.


https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/06/17/business/17FORD-9/merlin_139530171_2fda834d-10a9-4fe7-ad90-ffb89f4a9f96-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
Nick Hagen, New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/17/business/ford-detroit-station.html)

[202_Cyclist]

Thanks for pointing out that there is now a seperate, dedicated thread (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=234154) for MCS. I must have blinked and missed it.

Here is the link to the article that 202_Cyclist posted, BTW -

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/17/business/ford-detroit-station.html

Mea culpa-- I posted in great haste and forgot to post the link.

[subterranean]

What an undertaking this is going to be. Hopefully we can see some of the interior detail work while it's being completed.

[DetroitSky]

Did anyone attend the MCS event earlier? If so, anything notable to report? I got there too late, sadly.

[LMich]

Article on this:

Ford says it plans to put housing in Detroit train station (https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/06/19/housing-detroit-train-station/715922002/)

By JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press

June 19, 2018

Michigan Central Station could soon be Detroit's hottest residential address.

The automaker said Tuesday that it plans to open several floors of housing in the old depot as part of building's coming top-to-bottom redevelopment, set for completion in 2022.

These residential floors will be in addition to office floors and retail space. The total number of residences, as well as their target demographics and location in the building, has yet to be determined, said Ford spokesman Karl Henkel.

Campus:

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/3bfc64701d42cf04af56ac75254da62fda53a4e5/c=405-0-2780-1786&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2018/06/19/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636650292835213020-Corktown.jpg

Not as many details as I'd imagined, but we did find out the office tower is going to be 2/3 offices space, 1/3 residential. Oh, and here is an piece by Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley advocating for a partial usage as, you know...a train station.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/522976a650fa60755e7031ff2233b2d166cce81e/c=269-0-2397-1600&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2018/06/19/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636650233472023904-061918-ford-rain-tsation-p.jpg
Ryan Garza | Detroit Free Press

Fords step up to transform Detroit again. Now just one more thing: I want a train (https://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/rochelle-riley/2018/06/19/michigan-central-station-can-innovative-and-train-station/716129002/)

By Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press

June 19, 2018

But you know what happens when you give someone something: They always want more. So dear Mr. Ford … as you and your team who have given so much hope to the city’s oldest neighborhood, to the state’s largest city and to urban meccas everywhere trying to get it right, we need one more thing:

A train.

Yes, the building will be a majestic hub that will bring employees and panache to Corktown. Yes, it will change not just the skyline, but the narrative about ruin porn in Detroit.

But the station, first and foremost, is a station. And as the Ford team works on developing brilliance and innovation, I hope that, in addition to retail and office space, it will have a short walk to a long track that will bring people to the New Detroit the old way.

I'm going to be a broken record on this one just like Riley until it's confirmed either way. lol

[hammersklavier]

It occurs to me that even if the main waiting hall doesn't get turned into a train station, there should still be a large baggage room under the platforms which can get turned into a train station in its own right. But the complex is clearly designed for the waiting hall to be the main entrance, and it'd be a neat trick trying to create an entirely new train station entrance from scratch.

[LMich]

Since it was a waiting hall with various travel-related retail outlets to begin with, so long as it's publicly accessible, there would really be no need or reason to not have it be the entrance to a station there. Access to the platforms was controlled at the back of the concourse which was located at the back of the building opposite the larger Waiting room.

http://www.architakes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Michigan-Central-Station-Plan-450.jpg

It's really not about it being physically or logistically difficult to reuse it for its original purpose - D.C.'s Union Stations functions fine as both basically an indoor mall and trains active, busy trains station - but more about whether there is the political will to fund transit at an acceptable level, something that's eluded the region for decades, now.

[hammersklavier]

True, but keep in mind that station needs can drive facilities. Michigan Central would have both commuter and intercity functions, and you'll have to design a station where the two users don't get in each other's way; in addition, if you want VIA to be extended across the Detroit River, you'll need a dedicated international area with passport control.

Come to think of it, asking Ford to provide modern station facilities for commuter, Amtrak, and Via services to terminate there, shouldn't be too much of an ask, since it would mostly be space assignation in areas that Ford is intending to keep public anyway. The Via facilities would be the most difficult, though.

Edit: Something else that needs to happen? Agitation for better intercity service to Detroit. I'm thinking of a Midwest HSR (https://www.midwesthsr.org/)-type organization, except Detroit-centric and not necessarily high-speed. A citizen's group willing to do the outreach and legwork that neither the city, nor state, nor Amtrak are willing to do. Basically, you'd be wanting them to advocate for Wolverine-style service from Detroit to Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Lansing and Grand Rapids, and somewhere near the top of the mitten, as well as extending VIA service through Windsor to Detroit.

[DetroitSky]

True, but keep in mind that station needs can drive facilities. Michigan Central would have both commuter and intercity functions, and you'll have to design a station where the two users don't get in each other's way; in addition, if you want VIA to be extended across the Detroit River, you'll need a dedicated international area with passport control.

Come to think of it, asking Ford to provide modern station facilities for commuter, Amtrak, and Via services to terminate there, shouldn't be too much of an ask, since it would mostly be space assignation in areas that Ford is intending to keep public anyway. The Via facilities would be the most difficult, though.

The international crossing could be done by Amtrak or VIA. I know Amtrak has a few routes that go into Canada currently, but I don’t think VIA has any that come into the US. The idea of having a route to Toronto/Montreal from MCS probably won’t happen, but it would be cool if it did. I haven’t heard anyone discuss it besides us here.

There are also 6-8 tracks behind the station with underground rooms beneath them and a large area to add more tracks if the need arose. The rooms below the tracks could potentially be used for customs between the waiting room and platforms.

I feel like the amount of tracks there currently is more than enough to manage the Amtrak Wolverine, a potential Amtrak/VIA route to Toronto/Montreal and potential commuter rail to Ann Arbor and Pontiac.

[hammersklavier]

The international crossing could be done by Amtrak or VIA. I know Amtrak has a few routes that go into Canada currently, but I don’t think VIA has any that come into the US. The idea of having a route to Toronto/Montreal from MCS probably won’t happen, but it would be cool if it did. I haven’t heard anyone discuss it besides us here.

There are also 6-8 tracks behind the station with underground rooms beneath them and a large area to add more tracks if the need arose. The rooms below the tracks could potentially be used for customs between the waiting room and platforms.

I feel like the amount of tracks there currently is more than enough to manage the Amtrak Wolverine, a potential Amtrak/VIA route to Toronto/Montreal and potential commuter rail to Ann Arbor and Pontiac.
Extending Amtrak to Windsor would be stupid awkward here, especially considering that in the first phase as a passenger station, Wolverine trains would reverse at MCS -- at least, until commuter or regional or both services can pick up the route between the city and Pontiac. By contrast, VIA to MCS is a very natural extension: you just come out of the tunnel and terminate here. It's actually the opposite situation than you get at Seattle or Toronto, where the natural corridors favor Amtrak service into Canada rather than vice versa.

PS. This would also be an integral part for a Canadian dream -- VIA service to Chicago.

[LMich]

This is really better fit for the Detroit transit thread in that subforum, but I think you're maybe overstating the difficulty of truncating the line at MCS. The Wolverine didn't even cover Oakland County until 1994. This part of the route was added essentially because Oakland County had lost their commuter service, and they were throwing them a bone. The problem, however, is that the change slowed down the trip; that part of the route never made sense. To put this in perspective, fewer than 75,000 people used the three station north of Detroit last year, barely more than the John Dingell Transit Center - the first stop west of Detroit - did that year. The geography just doesn't make since for it as a leg on the line if you ask me.

That said, I'd imagine any plan that could recenter service at MCS would also be done concurrently with replacing service along the current line that serves Oakland County. It'd actually be better if they moved service back to MCS given how much the turns in the city slow down the trip, even with track improvements in recent years. Get some Amtrak buses to replace that part of the route, and then the RTA and region can decided if they want commuter rail along that line, again. It's not like the route through the county was being used as part of an intercity route (at least I don't believe it was) connecting to MCS before, or that people weren't getting to the station from everywhere in the region regardless of a direct connection. That particular part of the line (now owned CN and Conrail) was used for commuter and intercity terminating at Brush Street Station where the RenCen is, today. Anyone coming down that line from Oakland County who needed to get to MCS had to transfer, anyway.

1. In other news, I was looking through the upcoming Planning and Economic Development Committee agenda, and noticed that the Planning & Development Department requested that the Planning Commission amend off-street parking requirements and allowances for certain areas of the city. Specifically, they are looking to add areas where the requirements are reduced. Currently, the necessary parking has to be located within 100 feet of the sited land use where the land use is within a half-mile of a high-frequency transit corridor. The amended ordinance would stretch that requirement out from the land-use near the transit line to a quarter-mile, so from 100 feet to 1,320 feet. So whereas outside of downtown (no requirement) and Midtown (1.0 spaces per dwelling) a multi-family building requires 1.25 spaces per dwelling unit, this would lower it to 0.75 spaces per dwelling unit.

2. And speaking of reduced parking, Planning & Development also wants to extended parking exemptions to New Center, which would consists of 22 city blocks. Currently only the B-5 and PC districts in downtown are exempted from parking requirements. The department argues that this reflects the master plan which identifies both downtown and New Center as CM-Major Commerical, the only two such designations in the city. So it looks like the plan for New Center is to basically finish what was started when it was first developed, and that's to promote it as a major commercial node as opposed to the more mixed-use Midtown. The City Planning Commission recommended these changes at their last meeting, so it goes to city council.

3. Lastly, the Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority is wanting to do some upgrades to the City-County Building, of which one will add an enclosed security pavilion on the Larned side to control access before people enter the building proper. Apparently, it's something they've been wanting to do since 9/11 for security reasons, but the added benefit is that it'd open up the ground floor of the building a bit for other programming since that's currently where screening takes place.

[Docta_Love]

There has been on and off talk about upgrading the rain tunnel that runs under the Straits of Detroit it’s not high or wide enough to fit the largest container cars CSX uses so the main U.S. - Canadaian rail connection in the metro area is at Port Huron. There was a plan to convert it into a truck traffic specific tunnel while the Ambassador Bridge would have been passenger vehicles only, this plan was dropped along with a plan to upgrade the tunnel for the largest CSX containers.

Now that there is a hsr plannled between Toronto and Windsor perhaps the rail
Tunnel will get a second look.

[LMich]

Guys, I'm officially relieved:

Known for frozen body, building near train station to get Ford revamp (https://www.freep.com/story/money/2018/06/21/ford-train-station-building-corktown-penthouses/721406002/)

By Detroit Free Press

June 21, 2018

Ford Motor Co. is looking to construct at least one new building for its future Detroit campus in Corktown and could put penthouse condominiums in a renovated Michigan Central Station.

And Ford's plans for the vacant Detroit Public Schools Book Depository, adjacent to the long-empty train station at 2231 Dalzelle, could include new offices, retail and even housing.

Mas:

Other new details shared Thursday included:

- Ford plans to preserve some of the train tracks behind the station, in case passenger trains come back in vogue.
- Structural experts spent six months examining the 1913 train station and found it structurally sound.
- Ford has received about two dozen calls from people considering returning lost or stolen objects from the train station.
- There is no plan to build any large Ford employees-only fitness center in Corktown. "We want to force them to go out into the community."

Y mas:

Ford's entire Corktown campus would encompass 1.2 million square feet, spread across four buildings.

The four buildings are:

- Michigan Central Station (600,000 square feet).
- The Factory at 1907 Michigan Ave., which houses about 200 advanced car technology workers.
- The vacant Detroit Public Schools Book Depository, adjacent to the depot at 2231 Dalzelle, known as the Roosevelt Warehouse.
- The former brass factory at 2051 Rosa Parks.

Kind of weird wording "in vogue" given how many stations have been rebuilt in the state and the millions of dollars in improvements the state has made along the Wolverine's route; it's not like Michiganders aren't riding trains, already. Really, it should be worded "Whenever the region is about to support the RTA." But, just happy to hear they aren't closing off the possibility.

[deja vu]

Yes, "in-vogue" implies to me a non-committal, wait-and-see approach. Strange choice of words indeed. But at least the door to the possibility of bringing a station back here is still very much open.

[Busy Bee]

^Agree. Very weird way of talking about the most efficient way of moving large amounts of people. Also just a bizarre way to describe such a thing in general. It's like saying sex is "in vogue" because you are starting to have some.

[Docta_Love]

Indeed strange wording it may have been a direct quotation so they just left it open to interpretation. One reason for my thinking is because of the video interview I watched by Crain's where Bill Ford interviewed, he said "he was leaving the door open to the idea of trains but that's not what we (Ford) do". It may be that they are watching how riders respond to the newly improved HSR between Detroit & Chicago as well as other newly offered options such as watching ridership numbers before perhaps partnering up with some entity who "does do trains".


Ford plans to build about 600,000-square-foot building on Alchemy site in Corktown

By KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit Business
June 21, 2018

-Ford Land to tear down old brass factory with environmental issues
-It will redevelop vacant site as it builds out its Corktown campus
-Automaker "done with our (property) assemblage for now"

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/Alchemy_i.jpg?itok=YNCVl_G4

The Alchemy building, once a brass factory, sits on nearly 3 acres of land on Rosa Parks Boulevard in Detroit.


Ford Land Development Co. plans to tear down an old brass factory in Corktown and redevelop the vacant site with a large new building, the head of Ford's real estate division said this week.

CEO and Chairman Dave Dubensky told Crain's that The Alchemy building at 2051 Rosa Parks Blvd. has significant environmental issues that need to be addressed, so instead of repurposing the property it will be leveled.

"From our perspective there's no way to remediate the issues there," he said. "Our teams tell me they gotta take out about 6 feet of soil. You've got to scrape out 6 feet of soil. It's not historic, really no architectural value, so we'd probably scrape that one, take out the soil and build something knew there."

The new building would rival the Michigan Central Station in terms of square footage, with about 500,000-600,000 square feet of mixed-use space.


On Tuesday, Ford Motor Co. formally announced its plans for a 1.2 million-square-foot campus in the Corktown neighborhood west of downtown Detroit, anchored by the vacant train station on 15th Street that hasn't been used in 30 years.

It's part of a push for tech and engineering talent as the Dearborn-based automaker looks to develop autonomous and electric vehicles. The first step in Ford's campus was acquiring The Factory at Corktown, a 45,000-square-foot building on Michigan Avenue east of the train station, which had been owned by the Moroun family for more than two decades.

The deal for The Alchemy building has not yet closed. It sits on nearly 3 acres of land and is being marketed by Farmington Hills-based Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions LLC.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180621/news/664231/ford-plans-to-build-about-600000-square-foot-building-on-alchemy-site

[deja vu]

^ I guess I agree that the Alchemy Building doesn't exhibit much architectural greatness. And holy wahh - if there's 6 feet of contaminated soil in the picture, leveling it doesn't really absolve Ford of having to spend a ton of money on environmental abatement. But I suppose it does reduces the cost somewhat. My two questions are (1) do they plan on building something with any height to it for the property, and (2) what does the future look like for the several residential blocks sandwiched in-between this property and MCS?

I suppose we should shift this discussion back towards the MCS thread.

[LMich]

I guess it really depends on how much of the site they use. If it's 100% ground coverage on 3 acres, what is that? Like 4-5 stories? If you take into account a surface lot or lawn or something taking up part of the footprint, this could have a bit of height. But I'd doubt that they are going the high-rise, route; I'd bet this is more of a low-slung, campus-like setting. Given that it's right across the street from a single-family home residential neighborhood, it'd probably be best they go that route for that particular part of the campus.

What I really hope from this particular piece of the development is that is spurs local retail on Rosa Parks, something that serves the residential population of Corktown, because they really need that.

[DetroitSky]

Looking at an aerial map, it appears 2051 Rosa Parks takes up the entire block bounded by Rosa Parks, Marantette Street, Vermont Street and Dalzelle Street. I'd imagine whatever ends up being built there would be in the 4-6 floor range with a skybridge or some kind of direct connect to The Factory on the next block north.

As for the blocks between 2051 Rosa Parks/The Factory and MCS/book depository building, I'm sure we are soon going to see an influx of residential development. There are still a lot of vacant lots in that part of Corktown. Hopefully we will also see the redevelopment of the CPA Building, Roosevelt Hotel and the large unused cold storage warehouse on Bagley and Vermont in the next few years.

Something interesting to note, Detroit's tallest vacant building without redevelopment plans (http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1200-6th-St-Detroit-MI/3796772/) is on the market using Ford's return to Detroit as a selling point. The sale also includes four adjacent surface lots. It would be great to get Executive Plaza back online, but imagine how amazing it would be to get a few low rise/mid rise mixed use buildings on those lots!
http://images3.loopnet.com/i2/Dc9dG5enwwngyR-RfChVouiotXD_osgJ3YqFBed4HDc/112/image.jpg

[animatedmartian]

^ I guess I agree that the Alchemy Building doesn't exhibit much architectural greatness. And holy wahh - if there's 6 feet of contaminated soil in the picture, leveling it doesn't really absolve Ford of having to spend a ton of money on environmental abatement. But I suppose it does reduces the cost somewhat. My two questions are (1) do they plan on building something with any height to it for the property, and (2) what does the future look like for the several residential blocks sandwiched in-between this property and MCS?

I suppose we should shift this discussion back towards the MCS thread.

I guess it really depends on how much of the site they use. If it's 100% ground coverage on 3 acres, what is that? Like 4-5 stories? If you take into account a surface lot or lawn or something taking up part of the footprint, this could have a bit of height. But I'd doubt that they are going the high-rise, route; I'd bet this is more of a low-slung, campus-like setting. Given that it's right across the street from a single-family home residential neighborhood, it'd probably be best they go that route for that particular part of the campus.

What I really hope from this particular piece of the development is that is spurs local retail on Rosa Parks, something that serves the residential population of Corktown, because they really need that.

In relation to this:

Architect behind Corktown revival gives first glimpse of its future

Allie Gross, Detroit Free Press
June 22, 2018

...

Public swimming pools, wildlife, new restaurants and a commitment to historical integrity are just a few of the things on the mind of Dykers, a founding partner of Snøhetta — the architecture firm that has been tapped to spearhead Ford's colossal redevelopment of Corktown and its Dearborn campus.

"Our job is to ensure that what's new and what's put into the older buildings — including the station — is relevant and useful both for Ford and for Detroit and the communities of Corktown and, by the way, Mexicantown," Dykers said in a phone interview Thursday. The firm, which has offices in Oslo, Norway, and New York City, will be overseeing everything from landscaping, to deciding what new buildings should be built (expect more than one), and what should go within the buildings that are being refurbished.


Because it is still unclear what can and cannot be refurbished — the old Lincoln Brass Works factory, for example, is one building that is still up in the air — final tallies and a map of what is to come remain unknown. Dykers anticipates first rounds of designs being ready for the public in August. He says no designs have been created yet.

“Our goal is to create investment that doesn’t overwhelm the tiny little houses and the small families that live there currently,” he said, explaining that this logic means they are being mindful about scale as well as the fact that Corktown has a historical designation.

“We don’t want to build suddenly a tall thing in the middle of a small neighborhood; we don’t want to build everything new and flashy,” he said.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/06/22/craig-dykers-snohetta-ford-corktown/717906002/

So yea, most likely any new building will be probably no more than 5 or 6 stories. Anything with significant height, I imagine, would be built near I-75 or directly on Michigan Avenue.

With a European architecture firm no less, whose specialty is midrise and landscaping, the chances of a new highrise is low, but not impossible if it fits Ford's needs.

[Docta_Love]

Executive Plaza is a bit isolated which is one of the reasons why it's the last major building downtown with no plans as of now but it'll make sense soon for someone to make a move on that property.

Ford's depot positions Michigan Avenue for transit corridor
CHAD LIVENGOOD
Crain's Detroit Business
June 24, 2018

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/RebuildingMichiganAvenue-main_i.jpg?itok=HLt1xcnP

Rebuilding Michigan Avenue from Detroit's Corktown neighborhood to Dearborn to accomodate Ford Motor Co.'s autonomous vehicles "will take longer than anyone sitting around the table will expect it to take," says Kirk Steudle, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Bill Ford Jr.'s grand vision of developing a "transportation invention corridor" along Michigan Avenue and I-94 that stretches from the Michigan Central Station in Corktown to Dearborn, Willow Run and Ann Arbor is going to require some grand thinking and probably a pile of public and private money.

Mobility is about to go from being a buzzword to a real situational challenge that confronts Ford Motor Co.'s bid to deploy autonomous vehicle technology from a train depot built when some Detroiters were still getting around town by horse and buggy.

Ford has already deployed its Chariot rideshare vans along Michigan Avenue to shuttle employees between its Dearborn headquarters and its first Corktown building — The Factory — in what could be the precursor of having self-driving vehicles running along the avenue in the coming years.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/FordChariotonMichiganAve-02_i.jpg?itok=b5Chtf7Q

Ford Motor Co. has brought its Chariot rideshare service to Detroit to shuttle Ford employees between its headquarters in Dearborn and its first building in Corktown, The Factory at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard.

"They may not start off immediately as autonomous shuttles, but they eventually will be AV shuttles," Bill Ford Jr. said in an interview with Crain's Detroit Business and Automotive News. "Don't know if those will be Chariots or not. Haven't put too fine a point on it. We're talking four years out now."

But, barring a major economic calamity, four years will come faster than most might expect as the auto industry undergoes rapid change.

Rebuilding Michigan Avenue between Corktown and Dearborn and beyond to include two lanes dedicated to autonomous vehicles would be a tremendous undertaking involving local, state and federal government, as well as businesses along the corridor.

"The challenge is going to be that this will take longer than anyone sitting around the table will expect it to take," said Kirk Steudle, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation and one of the thought leaders on planning for the advent of self-driving vehicles.

If done right, Michigan Avenue from Detroit to Ann Arbor could become the country's first truly connected corridor for the start of an era — possibly a long one — where robotic vehicles driven by artificial intelligence will share the roads with humans behind the wheel. It's not unlike the early 20th century when Henry Ford's Model Ts were sharing the cobblestone with horse-drawn carriages.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180624/blog026/664506/fords-depot-positions-michigan-avenue-for-transit-corridor

[Docta_Love]

Autonomous shuttles launch service for Bedrock in downtown Detroit
May Mobility will shuttle Bedrock employees in driverless vehicles

By Robin Runyan
Curbed Detroit
Jun 26, 2018

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VkUdnS21lvj8Qiyk1Fmhe1bQWSE=/0x0:6562x4375/920x613/filters:focal(2757x1664:3805x2712):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60185689/2018_May_Mobility_Magna_3__1_.0.jpg

The future is now for Bedrock and Quicken Loan employees. Ann Arbor-based May Mobility announced “the first commercial deployment of independent autonomous vehicles on public streets in any urban core in America.” Five shuttles will transport employees of Dan Gilbert-owned companies starting on June 27.

Employees of Quicken and its affiliates will use the shuttles between offices, parking garages, and downtown destinations from 5 a.m. to midnight. The shuttles will start with a one-mile loop between the Bricktown Parking Garage and One Campus Martius. Initially, an attendant will be in the car to orient first-time riders. There’s no time frame right now for how long that will last.


The company gathers data from vehicles, riders, business, and community partners and also maps, tests, and adds environmental sensors to routes block-by-block, in hopes of helping solve transportation and parking issues facing urban commuters.

“Our partnership with Bedrock shows that our self-driving vehicles can help address today’s most difficult transportation problems,” said Edwin Olson, CEO and co-founder of May Mobility. “Our technology allows us to provide fully-managed transportation services that outperform traditional services on wait time, rider satisfaction, and other metrics. By improving the lives of Bedrock’s employees and tenants, we move closer to our vision that everyone uses May Mobility every day.”

May Mobility has also opened a new office at 601 Franklin, near the Ren Center. This location will provide full-time operational support for the route, store and charge the shuttles, and coordinate future route expansion.

https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/26/17505844/autonomous-shuttles-road-downtown-detroit-bedrock


Northwest Detroit residents, Sinai-Grace develop neighborhood framework
How can residents and institutions create equitable revitalization?

By Robin Runyan
Curbed Detroit
Jun 21, 2018

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Rmgv4p945l4ODh7J-RJ7wGq86sA=/0x0:1442x915/920x613/filters:focal(616x237:846x467):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60135685/Screen_Shot_2018_06_21_at_9.25.39_AM.0.png
Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Revitalization Vision and Strategic Framework

Recently, we’ve seen the City of Detroit work with certain neighborhoods to develop frameworks and guidelines for development, health, and safety. Specifically, plans have been released Southwest Detroit and West Village to guide development and revitalization. But in some Detroit neighborhoods, this work is more community-led.

Sinai-Grace Hospital Northwest recently underwent an extensive $77 million expansion and construction project. With that, the hospital looked to see how they could protect and invest in their assets and the surrounding community. They partnered with Enterprise Community Partners to engage the neighborhood and develop the Northwest Neighborhood Revitalization Strategic Framework.


Sinai-Grace has started working with neighborhoods just north of Grandmont-Rosedale, specifically Crary St. Marys, College Park, Winship, Hubbell-Puritan, Belmont, Bethune, and Shulze. The group effort, along with businesses and institutions in the neighborhood, is under the Sinai Grace Guild Community Development Corporation (SGGCDC).

The group started holding community meetings last fall to develop the framework. Instead of telling the neighborhood what they wanted to do, the framework was developed based on what the neighborhood said they needed.

Melinda Clemons of Enterprise Community Partners talked to Curbed about the community engagement process. They started with the strong assets in the neighborhood: large anchor institutions like the Northwest Activities Center, Mumford High School, and Marygrove College, combined with the stable population across the neighborhoods. Clemons said they wanted to develop ways to create economic mobility for its residents.

The framework centers around seven main areas for equitable community revitalization: commercial and economic development, economic security and wealth-building, residential stabilization and growth, open space and parks, mobility and sustainability, community-building and enhanced quality of life, and leadership and neighborhood capacity development.

The first project in the group is to weatherize 30 homes for senior residents in the neighborhood, to cut down costs on heating and cooling and to make homes more efficient. At the same time, the group will connect residents with resources they might find helpful as they age in the neighborhood.

https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/21/17478544/northwest-detroit-residents-sinai-grace-develop-neighborhood-framework-revitalization


Developers buy 119 parcels for Fitzgerald neighborhood revitalization

By KURT NAGL
Crain's Detroit Business
June 27, 2018

-First homes expected to be on the market this summer
-Developers hope to acquire the rest of the 361 lots within a year
-Urban farming, green agriculture to be a priority of the project


Detroit-based developers Century Partners and The Platform LLC finalized the deal Friday as part of their Fitz Forward project that includes rehabbing 361 vacant or blighted lots in the north end neighborhood, including 102 renovated homes, said David Alade, co-founder and managing partner of Century Partners. It had previously purchased nine lots from the land bank.

Redevelopment of the properties — in the area bounded by McNichols Road, Puritan Avenue, Greenlawn Avenue and Livernois Avenue — is estimated to cost between $12 million and $14 million. It is expected to be complete in two to three years, Alade said.

"Detroit is writing a very different story, but primarily in the downtown area," said Michelle Bolofer, executive director of Century Forward, the development arm of the nonprofit company. "This is one of the first properties focusing on purely residential."

Announced last April, the project is the main driver of a sweeping initiative from the City of Detroit to restore the historic neighborhood, which has been plagued for years by disinvestment and abandonment. Work at the 2-acre Ella Fitzgerald Park is expected to wrap up this summer, and the city is also partnering with nearby University of Detroit Mercy to attempt a revitalization of the neighborhood's troubled commercial corridor.

Contractors were working Wednesday to fix up the initial nine lots of the project. Of the nine, seven have houses that are being rehabbed for affordable housing, Alade said.

Of the 361 parcels, there are 233 vacant lots to be revitalized, 92 homes to be sold at market value, 10 homes to be sold as affordable and 26 homes to be demolished.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180627/news/664811/developers-buy-119-parcels-for-fitzgerald-neighborhood-revitalization

[DetroitSky]

The Wildemere activates a vacant storefront in Martin Park (https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/21/17488412/wildemere-activate-vacant-storefront-martin-park)

Williams and his partner bought the 8,000-square-foot building for $175,000, and started renovating the two upstairs apartments. The apartments each have three bedrooms and span 1,200 and 1,100 square feet, plus a patio space. They updated with granite counters, stainless steel appliances, and washer and dryers. The building got an entire gut renovation, with new plumbing, electrical, and HVAC.

They easily leased the units for $1,200 and $1,100. One tenant has lived in an apartment for 18 months, and the other has had a few tenants, but continuously leased. The basement also has storage/work spaces that are fully leased out.
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4DS_VkW50Kr4lE6kUJ0hT3U2UYs=/0x0:4128x3096/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4128x3096)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11576689/20180620_183333.jpg


Freshly renovated West Village fourplex now ready for new tenants (https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/26/17505804/renovated-west-village-fourplex-for-rent)

New to the rental offerings in West Village is a freshly rehabbed fourplex along busy East Lafayette Street. The multifamily house was gutted down to the studs for this renovation. One of the units has already been leased, and three more are now open. Prices in this area are creeping up on Midtown, downtown, or Corktown rent prices. Two units, both at 1,050 square feet and two bedrooms, are renting for $1,750 per month while a three-bedroom, 1,150-square-foot unit is going for $1,900 per month.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bgxB0kNEUUeONk2-WOt5KgMlxuQ=/0x0:5472x3648/920x613/filters:focal(2299x1387:3173x2261)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60190891/7918_East_Lafayette_Street00001.0.jpg

[LMich]

The Wildemere activates a vacant storefront in Martin Park (https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/21/17488412/wildemere-activate-vacant-storefront-martin-park)


https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4DS_VkW50Kr4lE6kUJ0hT3U2UYs=/0x0:4128x3096/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4128x3096)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11576689/20180620_183333.jpg

I realize they are three bedrooms, but to be getting $1,200 rents on Six Mile is pretty amazing. Yes, the University District is right across the street, but it's just that: across the street and not in it.

Between this and the Fitzgerald infill, it looks like the neighborhoods that held for so long in the city around UofD and Marygrove are doing from playing defense to offense.

[Docta_Love]

I think this is the right move for the NIAS space has always been an issue but with warm weather exterior space can be utilized perhaps including Hart Plaza. Either way opening up the show to the waterfront and downtown is a good idea.

Auto show to move to warmer months in 2020

By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
June 28, 2018

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/auto%20show%20video%20screen%20grab_i.png?itok=QrI1afT3

The Detroit Auto Dealers Association will announce plans for the Cobo Center event's future, including new dates, on July 24, auto show spokesman Max Muncey confirmed to Crain's on Thursday.

Auto show leadership released a teaser Thursday for a longer, two-minute video trailer that will be part of the July announcement.

The teaser says "Welcome to Detroit ... completely reimagined" and includes animations of walkable areas and tracks outdoors. From the trailer, it appears the event would still be taking place on Cobo Center's campus in the city's downtown.

NAIAS and Cobo signed an $11.8 million contract last July to keep the auto show at the Detroit riverfront event space through 2025.

Southfield-based Denso International America Inc., which has been on the show floor for 14 years, had said it favored moving the Cobo Center show to October because it would "provide a lot of new and exciting opportunities."

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180628/news/664891/auto-show-to-move-to-warmer-months-in-2020


3 finalists selected to design connected cultural campus in Midtown

By TYLER CLIFFORD
Crain's Detroit Business
June 28, 2018

-Teams to offer proposals to create a walkable cultural campus in Midtown
-Public to get a look at the ideas in presentation, exhibit early next year
-Winning concept and team will be announced in March

The Detroit Institute of Arts and Midtown Detroit Inc. have whittled down their international design competition to three finalists that will conceive and offer landscape proposals for a connected cultural campus in Midtown.

The finalists are:

-Agence Ter of Paris, with team partners Detroit-based Akoaki LLC, University of Michigan Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning Harley Etienne, Ann Arbor-based Rootoftwo LLC and German-based Transsolar KlimaEngineering

-Mikyoung Kim Design of Boston, with team partners New York City-based James Carpenter Design Associates Inc., Community Development Advocates of Detroit, Ann Arbor-based Quinn Evans Architects Inc., Detroit-based Giffels-Webster Engineers Inc., New York City-based Tillett Lighting Design Associates, Boston-based Cuseum Inc., Transsolar KlimaEngineering and Schlaich Bergermann & Partners of New York City

-Ten x Ten of Minneapolis, with team partners MASS Design Group, Detroit-based D MET Studio, London-based Atelier Ten Ltd., Boston-based Local Projects, New York City-based HR&A Advisors and UM architecture lecturer Craig Wilkins.

The public can get a first look at the proposals at a Jan. 23 presentation at the DIA. Each proposal will be on display at the museum through April 2.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180628/news/664861/3-finalists-selected-to-design-connected-cultural-campus-in-midtown


Mixed-use developer sought for city-owned property near Michigan Central Station, Honey Bee Market

By KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit Business
June 28, 2018

-Property is 0.675 acres at Bagley Avenue and 16th Street
-Responses to request for proposals due by Aug. 14
-Construction could start next year with completion in 2021

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MZIJZkPVkzQFo5qhV5mg1NRKNG4=/0x0:590x291/920x613/filters:focal(248x99:342x193):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60207889/unnamed.0.png
Rendering courtesy of the City of Detroit


The site at Bagley Avenue and 16th Street in southwest Detroit is 0.675 acres. The city is looking for a developer to build at least 20 multifamily units with first-floor retail space on Bagley.

Mixed-use developers looking to capitalize on the news that Ford Motor Co. is redeveloping the Michigan Central Station and other parts of Corktown have a chance with some city-owned property put out for bids Thursday.

Mayor Mike Duggan's administration released a request for proposals to redevelop a site at Bagley Avenue and 16th Street with at least 20 residential units, 20 percent of which would have to be affordable to those making 80 percent or lower ($38,000) of the area median income. At least half of the 20-plus units would have to be made available for rent. There would also be retail space on Bagley.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180628/news/664846/mixed-use-developer-sought-for-city-owned-property-near-michigan

[The North One]

They really need to plant more trees around cobo, it's unacceptable how barren it is.

[subterranean]

They really need to plant more trees around cobo, it's unacceptable how barren it is.


True dat.

[Docta_Love]

No doubt, I'd also say that a "refreshment & integration" of Hart Plaza into a "cobo campus" along with whatever kind of development will replace the joe has the possibility to really create the ability for a new kind of experience.

[Docta_Love]

$1 million renovation of Viola Building in Eastern Market begins

By KURT NAGL
Crain's Detroit Business
June 28, 2018

-Candle shop likely to be replaced by new restaurant or retail tenant
-Renovations scheduled to be complete by Sept. 1
-Goal is to have entire building leased out in next three to four months

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/default/files/styles/core_colorbox/public/viola%20building%20eastern%20market_i.jpg?itok=SkN2KOGB

The 27,000-square-foot building, located on the busy southeast corner of Gratiot Avenue and Russell Street sold for $1.99 million last December to 1404 Gratiot LLC, a business entity tied to real estate investor Manoj Manwani.

The top four floors of the five-story building are being marketed as office space, and the 4,000-square-foot first level and 3,000-square-foot basement is targeted for new retail, said Steven Silverman of Friedman Real Estate, which is handling leasing of the space.

Longtime retailer Discount Candles operates on the ground floor of the building, but has been on a month-to-month lease since the end of March, Silverman said. It is likely that the candle shop will lose its place in the building to make way for a new restaurant or retail shop.

"If there's an A-class tenant interested, we're going to move them out of the building," Silverman said.

The new lease rate of $28 to $30 per square foot will likely price out the candle shop, said Mike Koenigbauer, of Friedman Real Estate.

"When you buy a building for $2 million and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on renovations, the price goes up," Koenigbauer said.

Discount Candles has operated in the building for more than 20 years and has been a pillar of the community, said Star Lamar, co-owner of the store. It was set to close after its lease expired in March, but Lamar partnered with original owner Donna Adams and worked out a deal with the building's new owner to "carry on the legacy," Lamar said.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180629/news/664896/1-million-renovation-of-viola-building-in-eastern-market-begins

[subterranean]

This is near Trinosophes? That's a stupid fast timeline. Can't imagine they'd be doing a very good job of rehab in 2 months' time.

[Docta_Love]

Yea, the Viola it's on the south end of the block.

I'd like to see this happen, tho I'm not feeling great about the chances.

Cass-Henry Historic District up for public comment

By Robin Runyan
Curbed Detroit
Jun 27, 2018

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/aP0NEtUEsPryz0D2ZObqDrYDXjY=/0x0:2048x1365/920x613/filters:focal(788x452:1114x778):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60197519/CassApartments_102.0.jpg

A protest outside the Atlanta Apartments and Hotel Ansonia last summer. Photo by Michelle & Chris Gerard

Last summer, preservationists rallied to save a section of buildings in Cass Corridor owned by Olympia Development (the Ilitches) and threatened with demo. Since then, citizens have voiced their support in creating a historic district in this area. Now, City Council will listen to public comment on the matter.

Public comment is expected to take place Thursday, June 28 starting at 10 a.m. on the 13th floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building.

The Ilitches have owned these buildings since 2009 and have not kept them up. For some reason, the city rarely gives them blight tickets, but the Free Press questioned this and the city finally ticketed them. Olympia has recently been given an extension on the tickets.

The buildings do not have windows and are not secure. They now have until July 9 to fix this.

According to the Free Press, “The notice posted May 21 asked that the properties be registered as vacant buildings, that owners secure a required Certificate of Compliance and that they correct failures to maintain the vacant buildings.”

This block in question still has its buildings in tact, unlike most blocks in the surrounding area. Preservationists argue that since many buildings in the city have been brought back from the brink of demo, these could as well.

https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/6/27/17509754/cass-henry-historic-district-public-comment-meeting

[LMich]

Looks like these started construction, already.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/bd2ea7211c02b5572912ef833a2957bd6aa9b5fa/c=99-0-2438-1759/local/-/media/2018/06/28/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636657934309879621-Eco-Homes-18.JPG?width=534&height=401&fit=crop

Eco Homes adds single-family homes in Detroit's Midtown (https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/john-gallagher/2018/06/29/detroit-homes-midtown-single-family/741441002/)

By John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press

June 29, 2018

These days, big projects like Ford’s Michigan Central Station and the Hudson's skyscraper hog most of the publicity. But sometimes the more modest projects in Detroit offer compelling stories, too.

Today let's look at what are informally known as Eco Homes, a development of single-family houses now under construction at 4th and Alexandrine on the western edge of Detroit's Midtown district.

The modest project — about 20 houses will be built — is notable for several reasons.

The site is the only one in Midtown zoned for single-family houses. Each house is designed for maximum energy efficiency, with solar panels on the roof, deep insulation on the walls and ceiling, and the most tech-savvy appliances.

The architecture is less cookie-cutter than one might expect, thanks to the pro-bono involvement of the SmithGroup, Detroit’s oldest architecture firm better known for large projects like the new Mike Ilitch School of Business near Little Caesars Arena.

Prices for the Eco Homes will range from a low of $436,000 to a bit over $500,000 — pricey, yes, but in line with the rapidly developing Midtown district.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/dc1bd37f88b47a7a2f0bcb723acf356ba0829115/c=0-0-3741-2813/local/-/media/2018/06/28/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636657934330315752-Eco-Homes-22.JPG?width=540&height=405&fit=crop

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/5b27cf32de210384fc88bdcf5597979f3a7a55cf/c=64-0-1937-1408/local/-/media/2018/06/29/DetroitFreeP/DetroitFreePress/636658777359428618-homes-062918-kd-3.jpg?width=540&height=405&fit=crop

[The North One]

Yea, the Viola it's on the south end of the block.

I'd like to see this happen, tho I'm not feeling great about the chances.


Council members and others seem poised to pass the historical designation:

Castaneda-Lopez is confident that the proposed historic district will ultimately pass.

“I don’t think there will be any opposition,” she said, noting that were there any concerns or objections they would have already come up. “I think the only viable option for us is to preserve it. I can’t think of anything that would discourage us from doing so.”

The optimism was reiterated by others.

“The Neighborhood Advisory Committee is very pleased that the committee moved the Cass Henry Block to full council for consideration. We look forward to this important part of Detroit history playing an important role in Detroit’s future,” said Francis Grunow chair of the NAC in the Arena District.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/06/29/detroit-city-council-may-save-blighted-ilitch-buildings/741781002/

[DetroitSky]

I’m glad to see that Discount Candles is trying to work with the current owner and if that doesn’t work out they’ll be finding a new nearby location. Just because an area gentrifies doesn’t mean long standing businesses need to disappear. And, of course, it’ll be a win-win if they do or don’t stay in the Viola. A fully leased building and another leased nearby storefront is more than okay with me.

Just something I want to point out that I’ve been noticing, there has been less and less graffiti showing up along highways and unused buildings lately. Many areas have stayed consistently graffiti-free for the past few months.

[DetroitSky]

Some updates from the past few weeks:

June 10

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1739/41824734635_f6fabb2683_b.jpg
The house being moved for the Kercheval & Van Dyke project. I'm not sure where its being moved to, but it will be restored.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1732/42675452952_378a3e109d_b.jpg
A duplex at 2413 Van Dyke

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1721/28850873268_d57b50568a_b.jpg
Detroit Pistons Performance Center

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/42724234961_8115e63474_b.jpg
Baltimore Station

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1743/28851358218_47f5be72aa_b.jpg
1306 Holden Street

June 11

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/887/42027263074_6fca23167e_b.jpg
Detroit Life Building

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1747/42695235832_708cee22ff_b.jpg
That storefront in the Metropole Building I mentioned awhile ago. Still no hints at what its going to be.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1742/27875468917_77a05f61a8_b.jpg
IHOPlebee's

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1740/27875460907_437b25d257_b.jpg
Lawyers Building

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1739/27875448167_6cf17650ef_b.jpg
Shinola Hotel's Farmer Street building

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/42695203412_a3427edf81_b.jpg
2818 16th Street, North Corktown

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1729/28871099938_3611809a55_b.jpg
2317 Vermont Street


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1760/42027201674_9b5aea3322_b.jpg
Foundation work at The Corner

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1743/27875396997_a1ee580c30_b.jpg
Checker Building, Elton Park

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1736/41844874035_c09cf5736a_b.jpg
Foundation work at 2120 Trumbull, one of the two 3 floor buildings in Elton Park along Trumbull

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1737/42027290684_5f145f00ec_b.jpg
Checker Alley, Elton Park

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1724/42744585041_0f465b2915_b.jpg
1566 Bagley Street

June 19

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1827/42864011582_7b22277d4a_b.jpg
In 2016 it was announced that an 11 floor residential building was going to rise at this site at 1201 Griswold, as well as a similar building adjacent to the Farwell. I spoke to the people seen here about this project, as 1201 Griswold is included in renderings around Capitol Park of the park's redesign. They told me construction of the new building is planned "down the road". The other one, next to the Farwell, sounds like its cancelled. They refused to give me any details, though, and didn't seemed too thrilled to be talking to a random pedestrian.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1810/42912401051_2137a01b38_b.jpg
2737 W. Vernor. Formerly an abandoned tire store, it looks like its going to become a Mexican grocery.


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1801/42912387331_eec0a73beb_b.jpg
3344 W. Vernor. Formerly an abandoned garage, it has been cleaned up and workers were inside when I shot this.

June 24

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1826/42942346542_71093ea1ec_b.jpg
The Palmer Park Log Cabin has been undergoing a slow restoration project. It is no where near completed, but I got to check out some of the improvements made on Log Cabin Day on June 24.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1822/41181845100_4a635a4518_b.jpg
The main draw this year was the restored stained glass windows. I had no idea there had been stained glass hidden behind those boards for decades.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1773/28123859337_3f655799b5_b.jpg
This building on the SE corner of Warren and Cass has had its aluminum siding stripped off and you can see the original facade. Not sure what the plans are.

June 28

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/844/43119164281_2ba277e03b_b.jpg
The Pochelon Building is being prepared for demolition. I spoke to a man outside who was meeting up with someone to discuss saving facade detail. He specifically mentioned he wanted the four gargoyles.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/834/42400571094_acc76352ab_b.jpg
Shinola Hotel

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1764/28249724697_5ab8563f7c_b.jpg
Element Detroit at the Metropolitan Building

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1764/42400560134_84ef9d675d_b.jpg
Grinnell Building

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1807/42400554004_fc85554b0d_b.jpg
Fisher Arcade Building

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1787/29247086838_dfc8dd9e03_b.jpg
316 Philip Street, Jefferson-Chalmers

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1783/42400914844_bb5c30464e_b.jpg
I want to include more of the grassroots efforts that people are doing for their communities. There's a lot of community gardens around that are putting vacant lots to productive use and beautifying their neighborhoods. Feedom Freedom Growers is located in Jefferson-Chalmers.

[The North One]

1201 Griswold and its sibling have been in limbo for like five years now, I'm not holding my breath. The design they proposed was ugly anyway so I'm kinda glad it's not happening.

Grinnell and the Metropolitan are looking amazing, thanks for the pics.

[subterranean]

Metropolitan lookin’ sharp as hell. Thanks for the update!