DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[DetroitSky]

One less abandoned commercial building:

Entrepreneur Nya Marshall brings Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails to Detroit's east side

A native east sider, Marshall moved back to Detroit and purchased property in the area seven years ago, ahead of its resurgence. The adjoining buildings at 9215 E. Jefferson Ave. in East Village were abandoned and dilapidated. “When I bought the property, there was no front facade,” Marshall says. “The buildings were covered in ivy. When we finally began the renovations, time and time again we would pull the ivy out and it would come right back. The resilience of the plant truly inspired me.”

The ivy plant was one of the earliest crops in this part of Detroit back when the area was marsh and farmland. In the late 19th century, the plant was used for medicinal purposes. “At the library, I read that no new ivy had been planted in this area in over a hundred years. These were essentially the same leaves, that just kept coming back.” The ivy leaves that once adorned the building inspired the name of the restaurant.

Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails' new American diverse menu is curated by Marshall and her executive chef, Devante Burnley. Pasta dishes are prominently featured, as well as seafood and chicken dishes like the Buffalo chicken sandwich — a hearty portion of chicken breast dousedin Buffalo sauce, topped with ribboned carrots and celery and charred Gorgonzola cheese. The menu also features unique dessert items including a decadent chocolate mousse.

Motown Museum nets $1M more in expansion campaign as Dresner Foundation steps up

After a high-profile year of anniversary events and celebrations, the momentum rolls on for the Motown Museum.

The Detroit institution announced on Thursday the latest gift in its ongoing expansion fundraising campaign — a $1 million grant from the Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation in West Bloomfield.

The funds will support programming for Hitsville Next, which will serve as hub to the museum's educational, entrepreneurial and community programming upon completion.

The Motown Museum's $50 million fundraising effort launched in late 2016 and crossed the halfway mark last year.

Hitsville Next, the first of four expansion phases at the West Grand Boulevard site, broke ground in September with a host of dignitaries including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. It will link three of the houses just east of the Hitsville, U.S.A., building that is now the heart of the Motown Museum and its fabled Studio A.

It looks like the first two pieces of steel have been put in place at the Hudson's Site. The first one is at 0:23 in the video in the upper left hand corner. A second is put in place at 2:54 directly behind the first. Video here.