Proposed Detroit Highrises
 

Detroit is branding itself as the Great American comeback city. New Developments and restoration of many Downtown buildings are in full swing with more to come. Hoping an illustrator out there can add renderings of buildings proposed and under construction.
Buildings of note under construction:
-The Griswold building
-New Little Caesars World HQ
-new micro apartments at corner of Griswold and Grand River Ave.
-Hudson site

Why is Detroit building any new buildings where there is such a massive stock of empty buildings that could use a lot of TLC?

It can be much cheaper to build new than to renovate.

Because almost all of the major vacant buildings have already been or are in the process of being restored. The demand is very strong and new builds are obviously the only way to meet that demand now.
The empty skyscraper era in Detroit is basically over!

That and location. Like any city, the most desirable areas are nearer to more amenities/places of work.

The QLine on Woodward, 3-4 stadiums downtown, hundreds of bars and restaurants, increasing retail, and of course, where 100s of thousands of people work everyday means that demand downtown has gone up quickly and the supply of buildings needing TLC dropped just as fast. Sure there's still lots of vacant buildings several miles out from downtown needing restoration, but what would be the catalyst for restoring a building several miles out if there's still space closer downtown to be built on?

Is it possible for a Detroit poster to give us insight on what buildings/highrises are being restored in Detroit (mainly Downtown and Midtown I'm guessing)?

The Hudson Site proposal is great, but is it serious? If so, that would do a lot of good to Downtown.

Here's the latest list of the most recent rehabs.

https://detroit.curbed.com/2017/5/26...oit-renovation

Oh, that's such a relief.

So many purdy buildings in Det.

Currently being renovated:
1. Book Tower-475ft
2. David Stott Building-437ft
3. Free Press Building-190ft
4. Metropolitan Building-183ft

Reopened since 2010:
1. David Broderick Tower-369ft
2. Book-Cadillac Hotel-349ft
3. David Whitney Building-272ft
4. Crowne Plaza Riverfront-262ft
5. Fort Shelby Hotel-242ft

New construction planned/underway/recently completed:
1. Hudson's site development-800ft
2. One Monroe Avenue-536ft
3. Crowne Plaza Riverfront tower 2-338ft
4. Monroe Blocks residential tower 1-26 floors
5. Monroe Blocks residential tower 2-16 floors
6. The Griswold-15 floors

Still vacant:
1. Executive Plaza-290ft
2. Michigan Central Station-232ft
3. United Artists Building-230ft [there are plans for renovation]

The Ilitches proposed a renovation of the United Artists building.

The Park Avenue building is still in limbo though. They should really just demolish the smaller portion of executive plaza since it's ugly and not pedestrian friendly. Turn the tower into apartments.

Could all of this help revitalize Detroit?

Detroit has been quickly revitalizing for the past 5 years, that’s the whole reason why all of these projects have been going foreword in the first place!

Exactly. I wonder how things would be around here if the Great Recession didn't occur. There was a period of growth before 2010 or so as well but many projects never came to fruition and it wasn't such a rapid revitalization.

No concrete details yet, but there was a soft announcement for a 20+ floor residential building near Comerica Park and it was announced a week ago or so that The Leland would be renovated. The Leland is 22 floors and is underused.

There was some growth just before the recession, but I’m not sure if Detroit would have gone into bankruptcy without the recession, and without the bankruptcy, I don’t think Detroit would be in the favourable position it is in now.
So, I feel that the recession actually helped Detroit get its shit together finally!

I’ve heard about the possible 20 floor highrise, I think it’s directly across Woodward from the Fox Theatre. It’s a great site for such a building.

Very happy to see the Leland getting a renovation also, it’s in such an awful state right now. I used to go clubbing there in the mid 80s when the City Club was big in the punk/new wave scene, so it makes me happy to see it getting some love!

Could this thread maybe be moved to the midwest regional section?

proposed/planned/rumor
 

Planned/rumor not already mentioned
1. The Ashton 12 floors
2. Lafayette East (Former Wayne State Pharmacy School site) 12 floors
3. Mack & Woodward 16 floors
4. Hotel next to LCA 25~ floors
5. Hockeytown Hotel 25~floors
6. Residential tower next to Comarica Park 35~floors
7. Joe Louis Arena Site mixed use 30~floors
8. Grand Blvd & Woodward mixed use tower 30~ floors
Source: Crains Detroit

The Aston condo is delayed.No action yet,even thought it was to have started construction several months ago.

drove by it yesterday and sign is still up but no activity. my understanding is since it was being privately financed, developer wanted to secure at least half of the units (pre lease/sale).

With the HUGE announcement that Ford Motor Co not only bought the old Michigan Central Depot but also plans to restore it, I finally have that feeling that a corner has been turned in Detroit.

An updated list:

Currently being renovated/renovations planned:
1. Book Tower-475ft
2. David Stott Building-437ft
3. Free Press Building-190ft
4. Metropolitan Building-183ft
5. Michigan Central Station-232ft
6. United Artists Building-230ft

Reopened since 2010:
1. David Broderick Tower-369ft
2. Book-Cadillac Hotel-349ft
3. David Whitney Building-272ft
4. Crowne Plaza Riverfront-262ft
5. Fort Shelby Hotel-242ft

New construction approved/underway/recently completed:
1. Hudson's site development-800ft
2. One Monroe Avenue-536ft
3. Crowne Plaza Riverfront tower 2-338ft
4. Monroe Blocks residential tower 1-26 floors
5. Monroe Blocks residential tower 2-16 floors
6. The Griswold-15 floors

Planned/rumored new construction:
1. Grand & Woodward tower- ~30 floors
2. Residential tower near Comerica Park
3. Hotel near LCA
4. Hotel on Hockeytown Cafe site

Still vacant without plans:
1. Executive Plaza-290ft

[QUOTE=DetroitSky;8247464]An updated list:

Currently being renovated/renovations planned:
1. Book Tower-475ft
2. David Stott Building-437ft
3. Free Press Building-190ft
4. Metropolitan Building-183ft
5. Michigan Central Station-232ft
6. United Artists Building-230ft

Reopened since 2010:
1. David Broderick Tower-369ft
2. Book-Cadillac Hotel-349ft
3. David Whitney Building-272ft
4. Crowne Plaza Riverfront-262ft
5. Fort Shelby Hotel-242ft

New construction approved/underway/recently completed:
1. Hudson's site development-800ft
2. One Monroe Avenue-536ft
3. Crowne Plaza Riverfront tower 2-338ft
4. Monroe Blocks residential tower 1-26 floors
5. Monroe Blocks residential tower 2-16 floors
6. The Griswold-15 floors

Planned/rumored new construction:
1. Grand & Woodward tower- ~30 floors
2. Residential tower near Comerica Park
3. Hotel near LCA
4. Hotel on Hockeytown Cafe site

Still vacant without plans:
1. Executive Plaza-290ft[/QUO

July 27 2018
Chemical Bank along with city and Wayne county leaders announced plans to locate its HQ in downtown Detroit on the corner of Elizabeth and Woodward in a soon to be built 20 story tower.

[QUOTE=jmcilreavy;8261141]http://www.crainsdetroit.com/sites/d...?itok=zAauwDFk

Not to give any false hope to rumors, but I've been hearing a lot of rumblings about the purchase and redevelopment of Executive Plaza. Apparently, Holy Trinity Church shares a parking lot with Executive Plaza and the details are being worked out to move forward with a sale/redevelopment. Like I said, this could all just be rumored, but I have no reason to not trust my source.

Executive Plaza was listed for sale not too long ago. The sale includes four surface parking lots. I would not be surprised if it sold and an announcement for plans is on the way. Would be cool to reopen it as office space and build some residential mid rise/high rises on some of the parking lots.

Updated list 8/6

Currently being renovated/renovations planned:
1. Book Tower-475ft
2. David Stott Building-437ft
3. Michigan Central Station-232ft
4. United Artists Building-230ft
5. Free Press Building-190ft
6. Metropolitan Building-183ft

Reopened since 2010:
1. David Broderick Tower-369ft
2. Book-Cadillac Hotel-349ft
3. David Whitney Building-272ft
4. Crowne Plaza Riverfront-262ft
5. Fort Shelby Hotel-242ft

New construction approved/underway/recently completed:
1. Hudson's site development-800ft
2. One Monroe Avenue-536ft
3. Crowne Plaza Riverfront tower 2-338ft
4. Chemical Bank headquarters-20 floors
5. Monroe Blocks residential tower 1-26 floors
6. Monroe Blocks residential tower 2-16 floors
7. The Griswold-15 floors

Rumored new construction:
1. Grand & Woodward tower- ~30 floors
2. Residential tower near Comerica Park
3. Hotel near LCA
4. Hotel on Hockeytown Cafe site

Still vacant without plans:
1. Executive Plaza-290ft

I asked a journalist that covers this kind of stuff in Detroit to look into it. Hope it's true. I share the hope for redevelopment with low rise apartments to fill the parking lots. Wouldn't be shocked if Ford was involved.

Excellent! I can't wait to hear what this person finds. Please keep me informed

Kirk Pinho from Detroit Crains is the reporter I reached out to. He definitely has been looking into based on a couple tweets he recently made. It appears that the property is still listed and was in fact updated to reflect the Ford purchase of the train station. No asking price was listed.

For those of you interested, here's the link to the listing.

Updating the list due to some Monroe Block heights being revealed:

Currently being renovated/renovations planned:
1. Book Tower-475ft
2. David Stott Building-437ft
3. Michigan Central Station-232ft
4. United Artists Building-230ft
5. Free Press Building-190ft
6. Metropolitan Building-183ft

Reopened since 2010:
1. David Broderick Tower-369ft
2. Book-Cadillac Hotel-349ft
3. David Whitney Building-272ft
4. Crowne Plaza Riverfront-262ft
5. Fort Shelby Hotel-242ft

New construction approved/underway/recently completed:
1. Hudson's site development-800ft
2. One Monroe Avenue-536ft
3. Monroe Blocks b3-341 ft
4. Crowne Plaza Riverfront tower 2-338ft
5. Chemical Bank headquarters-20 floors
6. Monroe Blocks a2-187ft
6. The Griswold-15 floors
7. Monroe Blocks b1-122ft

Rumored new construction:
1. Grand & Woodward tower- ~30 floors
2. Residential tower near Comerica Park
3. Hotel near LCA
4. Hotel on Hockeytown Cafe site

Still vacant without plans:
1. Executive Plaza-290ft

Crown Plaza Hotel is now on hold/canceled due to opposition within the city council.

Hudson tower is now over 900 feet tall. It's a city within a city.

^ That's awesome news!!:tup:

YESSS! Not only is the Hudson tower bigger, 912 ft or 62 stories but so is the building next to it. The Podium or Block as it's known, is now 14 stories at 232 feet. This softens the gut punch that the second Crown Plaza tower being killed off by city council.

The documents recently released for the Hudson's development gave the Hudson block building a height of 240 feet at its highest point, so I'll use that in the list. The second Crowne Plaza tower seems to be more on hold than cancelled, but for now I'll eliminate it from the list.

Currently being renovated/renovations planned:
1. Book Tower-475ft
2. David Stott Building-437ft - should be opening within the next few months
3. Michigan Central Station-232ft
4. United Artists Building-230ft
5. Free Press Building-190ft
6. Metropolitan Building-183ft - December 2018 opening

Reopened since 2010:
1. David Broderick Tower-369ft
2. Book-Cadillac Hotel-349ft
3. David Whitney Building-272ft
4. Crowne Plaza Riverfront-262ft
5. Fort Shelby Hotel-242ft

New construction approved/underway/recently completed:
1. Hudson tower-912ft
2. One Monroe Avenue-536ft
3. Monroe Blocks b3-341 ft
4. Chemical Bank headquarters-20 floors
5 Hudson block: 240ft
6. Monroe Blocks a2-187ft
7. The Griswold-15 floors
8. Monroe Blocks b1-122ft

Rumored new construction:
1. Grand & Woodward tower- ~30 floors
2. Residential tower near Comerica Park
3. Hotel near LCA
4. Hotel on Hockeytown Cafe site

Still vacant without plans:
1. Executive Plaza-290ft

Are there any construction thread dedicated to Detroit? How is Detroit doing recently?

The city compilation thread on this site has a Detroit specific thread that has been a wealth of good information. I can only speak for myself but I'm impressed with the recovery and optimistic for the future. Long road ahead and so many challenges to overcome but night and day difference from 10 years ago.

Out of curiosity I tried to find videos of Detroit from 10 years ago. This one specifically highlighting the ones that were vacant or very visibly vacant.

• Video Link

It turns out a vast majority of the buildings pictured have been restored, some as recently as last year like the Metropolitan Building now reopening as Element Hotel.

The Broderick Tower is now home to apartments.

The David Whitney Building next door is half hotel half apartment building.

Pretty much all the buildings around Capitol Park have been restored, with the Farwell expected to be finished pretty soon.

And there's numerous other smaller buildings that are filled with resturants and retail as well as some buildings that were already occupied 10 years ago, but got updated and are now at max capacity (notably with a lot of the properties Dan Gilbert has bought).

The only building that I think is still untouched is the Park Avenue building. It changed owners less than a year ago and there are plans to put in residential units, but like with other Detroit projects it's been a slow start.

Of course, there's a few buildings in the video that were demolished over the last 10 years, notably the uniquely shaped Lafayette Building. It was leveled in 2010. Had it only lasted a few more years and its fate could have been entirely different.

• Video Link

In addition to the restorations, a number of downtown parks have seen improvements, the QLine was built, and there's been lots of new construction on the periphery of downtown such as in Corktown, Brush Park, and Lafayette Park. Extending out from there, Midtown and New Center are also seeing more new projects.

But there's still a lot more to do, namely, actually connecting downtown with the rest of the city. The QLine is hopefully a start, but the city needs a real plan for mass transit to continue this momentum. For the neighborhoods, crime and education is still an issue and will forever be a detriment to retaining a stable population until it's dealt with. Jobs aren't so much an issue now as they were in years past (the city unemployment rate has been going down), but going back to education, in the long-term, there's nothing really pointing Detroit away from manufacturing. The car industry is still king and that still makes the city vulnerable to fluctuations with car sales or any sweeping changes to the auto industry. My hope is that other industries can grow and be cultivated in Detroit before any dire situation like that happens.

For what it's worth, I believe these are the only empty buildings downtown that have no announced plans. We'll say downtown is the area surrounded by the river, I-375, I-75 and M10. All of these are 100% unused. I may be missing a few, but these are, at least, the larger ones.

1. Fowler Building, 8 floors
2. Film Exchange Building, 7 floors
3. 27-31 State St., 6 floors
4. 1133 Griswold St, 6 floors
5. Blenheim Building, 4 floors
6. Moose Lodge, 3 floors

There's a few empty buildings awaiting renovation, awaiting demolition for new construction, and a few with no announced plans but are in the hands of dependable developers. There's also the vacant Executive Plaza on the border of downtown and Corktown, but it's just outside of the 75/375/M10/river area.

Regardless, its a very small number compared to the amount of empty stuff we had 5-10 years ago.

The state street building is such a beauty, kinda shocking nothing has been done with it, who owns it? Fowler just went up for sale, it's owned by New York slumlords who did nothing with it (trash people).

I wonder if there's a historical facade hiding behind 1133 Griswold or if it was ripped off.

This is how 1133 Griswold looked as built, when it was home to the United Savings Bank:
https://www.detroityes.com/mb/attach...1&d=1492393670
Source

If you look between the vertical grills on each side of the Griswold facade you can barely see the original facade behind it. I have no idea how much of it is behind there, and obviously the ground floor has been entirely stripped.

that gives me hope that it could be restored, anybody know who owns it?

From my research, it looks like some random dude up in Pontiac who owns Auburn Collision and Service Center. The shell company is 1133 Griswold LLC.

Two other small unused downtown buildings I left out of my first list:

1. 317 Michigan, 3 floors - its the beige building on the right
2. 118 W. Columbia, 2 floors - currently for sale for $1.7M

I just noticed that Executive Plaza is listed as no longer available on Loopnet. Hopefully we'll be hearing about plans soon.

Also, scaffolding has been erected on the sidewalk outside 1133 Griswold. I have no idea if this is a sign of renovations or if they're trying to protect passersby from falling debris.

That page was last updated in 2012. Other Loopnet pages updated this year show it still very much for sale. I imagine with a property this large that there would be some rumors coming out if it were to be involved in a major sell.

Yeah, I realized that after posting and didn’t get around to updating it. My apologies.

Updated list:

Currently being renovated/renovations planned:
1. Book Tower-475ft
2. David Stott Building-437ft - should be opening within the next few months
3. Michigan Central Station-232ft
4. United Artists Building-230ft
5. Free Press Building-190ft

Reopened since 2010:
1. David Broderick Tower-369ft
2. Book-Cadillac Hotel-349ft
3. David Whitney Building-272ft
4. Crowne Plaza Riverfront-262ft
5. Fort Shelby Hotel-242ft
6. Metropolitan Building-183ft

New construction approved/underway/recently completed:
1. Hudson tower-912ft
2. One Monroe Avenue-536ft
3. The Mid Apartment Tower-30 floors
4. Monroe Blocks b3-341 ft
5. The Mid Hotel Tower-25 floors
6. Chemical Bank headquarters-20 floors
7. Hudson block: 240ft
8. Monroe Blocks a2-187ft
9. The Griswold-15 floors
10. Monroe Blocks b1-122ft

Rumored new construction:
1. Grand & Woodward tower- ~30 floors
2. Residential tower near Comerica Park
3. Hotel near LCA
4. Hotel on Hockeytown Cafe site
5. Grand & Jefferson tower

Still vacant without plans:
1. Executive Plaza-290ft

I know it may not be skyscraper worthy but I'm also excited by:
1. West Lafayette 12 floors
2. West Elm Hotel 12 floors
3. The Mid (3rd Bldg) 12 floors
4. Fisher Building expansion 10 floors (set to begin spring 2020)

What Fisher Building expansion? I haven’t heard anything about this.

I used to drive around downtown and midtown in 2004 and I am amazed how much has changed. I knew it would happen eventually, but I never expected it to explode with developments like it has. I can't even keep up with all the construction, renovations, new buildings, etc.

Crains on August 24th 2018 in an article stated, that development would be by the Platform group and would fill the whole block that's west of Fisher building. There is a rendering. 10 story building would be next to Fisher then 9 story building (that look much like 3rd and Grand structure) will fill the rest of the block. With delay of Baltimore station 2 and cancellation of one of the tech town projects I'm guessing this will be on hold for a few years.