DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by Velvet_Highground

Interesting to see a 90% occupied tower that was renovated almost 15 years ago see another renovation I suppose it makes sense with the changes in the Detroit market since then. I would imagine they’re going more modem and more high end. I hope they power wash the full southern face of the tower this time (or is the material just a bit darker there anyway doesn’t look as
clean). Interesting the investors have decided to be faceless so far hopefully it’s not a bad sign for the mural.

Broderick Tower to sell, be renovated under new ownership



https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/broderick-tower-sell-be-renovated-under-new-ownership

I hope it includes a full exterior renovation/restoration. They hardly touched the exterior in the last renovation. It would be nice if they expanded at least the ground floor onto the lot directly south. They tore down the building that was there during the last renovation and built a wall hiding AC units.

[DCReid]

The prominent founder of a female-owned trucking company in metro Detroit is teaming up with her sons to develop a new nine-story residential building in the city's Corktown neighborhood.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/...gnate-sons/ar-AA1NxH0y?ocid=BingNewsVerp

[The North One]

This is good news. Broderick Tower definitely needs a refresh. The units look really cheap and the 2012 renovation only did what was absolutely necessary to have it occupied. Now it can be brought up to higher standards that reflect the prime location it has.

Would be nice if they could restore the ornate details at the top which were lost. Personally I couldn't care less about the mural.

[Velvet_Highground]

We’re seeing three things happening at the moment first and foremost there are a large number of well thought out, planned and executed projects on going and coming online.

Second Detroit has been rocked by bad economic mismanagement in DC the trade war with Canada hits no place harder in the US arguably than Detroit. The amount of trade crossing the border or making port calls in the Detroit - Windsor / Essex, Ann Arbor, Flint, Port Huron - Sarnia & Toledo region is massive. Road based border trade values at around the level of all US - Japanese trade. Port facilities in Detroit, Windsor & Toledo handle more tonnage than the Port of Seattle and nearly the same as Philadelphia. Majority of trade on the lakes has an international component. In terms of rail tonnage the Detroit - Windsor and Port Huron - Sarnia tunnels lead US and Canadian ports of entry in tonnage in every major category.

Not to mention the interconnectivity of the US and Canadian auto industry which with Ford at least has been a Detroit - Windsor affair from the start and continues to be, the Windsor Engine is a classic American and North American engine as well as one of the best performing, longest lasting, a good to decent ease of serviceability. As well as having in one form or another an insanely long production run IE the Windsor Engine Plant is still a core Ford Facility. Trumps tariffs have consistently hurt the area’s automotive industry with the 2017 tariffs slowing the red hot auto boom. COVID killed it causing the deepest recession ever eclipsing the sudden disarmament shock after WW2 abruptly ended with the Japanese surrender.

Massive prestige projects in Detroit are hard to get financing for having federal, state and local leadership on the same page and working in a cooperative manner helped development in the area tremendously. The Administration is hemorrhaging jobs and projects that help cities because he’s spiteful and if Speaker Johnson allowed the representative elect from the Special Election to be seated there will be enough votes from both parties to release the Epstein Files in Congress. It’s pretty clear they don’t make Trump look good but he’s also running interference for someone very rich and powerful.

So we suffer and the country suffers while dictatorships in China, Russia, Iran and North Korea sign an alliance that another terrible president but at least a decent human being dubbed the Axis of Evil. A mix of dictatorships from a theocratic regime with minor democratic institutions able to launch protest votes and occasionally elect real reformers who push against the supreme leader. To totalitarian North Korea and a China and Russia that are moving towards that direction, all avowed to take on the United States while we have been bullying our best friends.

The nation could be on the verge of a constitutional crisis if Speaker Johnson doesn’t seat the representative elect from Arizona. The American system has proven to be much more resilient than observers have thought ie the 1970’s the collapse of western civilization was predicted by many those in position to contribute a hot take. We’ll have to see what kind of damage the breaking of social norms and political protocol has on the country if we face a serious crisis as well as the current attempts to politicize our government and military.

We’re dealing with serious challenges and it’s effecting the country and our city as we speak.

Some Frankai Videos posted in the past 10 days of current development progress.

Brush Park
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VbAvpdXA00w

North Corktown
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IJy0CyKTH5A

Grand River and Oakman Merit Park and Joe Louis Greenway
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ck_SYgokcw

Mammoth Building demolition Grand River Greenfield
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wiQgPZg0xDY

Fisher Body 21
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_rLDK_W4UnM&pp=0gcJCfwJAYcqIYzv

Woodward Downtown Oct 3rd
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OE7ofqrELx4

Lee Plaza
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6jJoLRo-lzE

[airforceguy]

Defense tech contractor eyes $60M Detroit HQ, 800 new jobs

Maryland-based defense tech contractor Eccalon LLC is considering a headquarters move to Detroit, where the company could invest around $60 million and create up to 800 jobs, Crain’s has learned.

The company is working with Dan Gilbert-owned Bedrock LLC on a move to the city, which economic developers have been working toward for the past two years, according to four people with knowledge of the plan. Eccalon would establish an innovation hub centered on cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence at The Icon building, the former home of the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources on the east Detroit riverfront, according to two of the people. The multi-phase project would include startup incubator space and a workforce training hub.

Eccalon’s expansion, driven in part by a recently awarded U.S. Department of Defense contract, involves a large build-out of computer servers and cloud infrastructure and would create software developer and other jobs ranging from $25 per hour to six-figure salaries, according to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the project has not been made public. The innovation and cybersecurity hub is envisioned to have a broad reach, beyond just the defense sector.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/economic-d...tor-eccalon-eyes-60m-detroit-hq-800-jobs

[DetroitMan]

More Detroit development news...
Detroit Land Bank experiments with apartment redevelopment amid questions about its future

The DLBA plans to invest $15 million of its own money into the redevelopment of two three-story brick buildings within its inventory on the city’s east side, near Chandler Park. The ensuing project, which could have construction underway in the coming months, would add to the city’s pipeline of affordable housing, and act as a boot camp of sorts for emerging small-scale developers.

Development of its inventory is not a wholly new effort for the DLBA, said CEO Tammy Daniels, who pointed to the organization’s partnership with the Rocket Community Fund for the Rehabbed and Ready program. But this initiative marks an “expansion of the mission,” given that its inventory still consists of many small-to-medium buildings not yet targeted for redevelopment. While increasing affordable housing supply is one goal, DLBA executives say they also plan to bring in newer developers and use this and undetermined future projects as a classroom of sorts.

“Projects of this size are too large for small-scale developers and too small for larger developers,” Daniels said. “This could help build up small-scale developers help them grow scale and capacity.” For this first project, the organization plans to renovate the two vacant buildings, built in the 1920s as labor housing, and create 30 affordable multi-family units.

Affordability levels have yet to be determined, Daniels said. In the coming months, the DLBA will meet with a variety of potential partners who work with those in need of such housing.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/detroit-land-bank-plans-redevelop-apartments


Controversial mobile home park owner trying to buy, rehab downtown Detroit high-rise

Ara Darakjian's Birmingham-based Tir Equities LLC is under contract to buy the 34-story tower on Grand Circus Park. Darakjian spoke about the plans to buy and rehab Broderick Tower for $45.6 million during a Detroit City Council Planning and Economic Development standing subcommittee meeting late Thursday morning. "It's been a building that, I really can't remember a time where I looked at that building and wondered one day if I could ever own it," Darakjian told Crain's. "I think beyond a doubt it's the best location of real estate in the city of Detroit."

As part of the proposed renovations, 20% of the units would be set aside for renters making no more than 60% of the federally designated Area Median Income. There is also a tenant retention plan being developed with the city for low-income residents currently living in the historic tower. New retail uses like a small market, a speakeasy and fitness and wellness facilities in the commercial spaces are also planned.

Darakjian is also believed to have two other properties owned by the estate of the late Michael Higgins under control: The Elliott Building at 1403 Woodward Ave. across from the Shinola Hotel and the Leland Hotel at 400 Bagley St.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/mobile-home-park-owner-trying-buy-broderick-tower

Detroit Historic District Commission shoots down townhome development for second time

Despite city support, a proposed townhouse condo project in Detroit’s Virginia Park neighborhood is again stalled following pushback from neighbors.

The city’s Historic District Commission on Wednesday evening for the second time this year denied the design proposal for a 14-unit development on a vacant site immediately north of Henry Ford Health’s main campus on West Grand Boulevard. City officials from the administration of Mayor Mike Duggan contend the development team has made “a genuine, good faith effort” with the proposed project, but residents and HDC commissioners contended it's “incompatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features established by the existing Virginia Park Avenue historic context.”

The purview of HDC commissioners is generally limited to ensuring that a project meets certain federal historic guidelines. Developer Shahin Mustafa, CEO of West Bloomfield-based Barr Properties LLC, called the decision by the HDC “disappointing” but said her team plans to give it another go, although it’s unclear when that may be.

“We’re going to regroup and see if we can get a design that has the same number of units,” Mustafa told Crain’s on Thursday.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/detroit-townhome-development-plan-rejected-second-tim

[DetroitMan]

Detroit looks to rezone parcels along the Joe Louis Greenway

The rezoning project, led by District 3 Council Member Scott Benson, aims to downzone parcels adjacent to the greenway to make them more environmentally friendly. The impetus came several years ago at the urging of Benson, a known advocate for biking and sustainability. Last year, amid ongoing dust complaints about the nearby Kronos concrete plant, Benson told BridgeDetroit he was working on the zoning initiative to be proactive in getting other sites along the greenway rezoned before something like another concrete plant could come in.

To start, city officials are proposing to rezone 18 M4 Heavy Industrial parcels in District 3 at I-75 and Six Mile to B4 General Business, SD2 Special Development Mixed-Use, and M2 Restricted Industrial. Details of the draft proposal were shared Tuesday at a community meeting held at Second Ebenezer Church with Benson and more than 30 community members in attendance. Chris Goluck, deputy director of the City Planning Commission, said at Tuesday’s meeting that the process is just beginning.

“We’re really still doing the research, we’re trying to get community feedback and that’s why we’re here tonight to let you know about the study and get feedback,” he said.

A gas station, a church, a Coney Island, a junkyard, a Detroit Public Works yard and a post office are some of the establishments on the lots in the District 3 neighborhood that the city is looking to rezone. A number of the other lots are vacant. The rezoning wouldn’t impact current use, but would affect future use, like prohibiting a new factory from being built.

“We want jobs in the city…but we also don’t want anything that’s blowing toxic things onto the Greenway,” said Goluck.

https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-looks-to-rezone-parcels-along-the-joe-louis-greenway/

[DetroitMan]

GM cancels next-gen hydrogen program, $55M Detroit plant with Piston

General Motors Co. has canceled its next-generation hydrogen fuel cell development efforts and scrapped a planned $55 million factory in Detroit after determining no path forward for the nascent propulsion technology.

The Detroit-based automaker said in a Friday statement that “it will stop work on next-generation hydrogen fuel cell development through its HYDROTEC brand," though its joint venture with Honda in Brownstown Township will continue with a focus on powering data centers.

Dozens of salaried GM employees in Pontiac are being laid off as a result of the move, the company confirmed. The job losses are not expected to trigger a WARN notice, as is required for mass layoffs and plant closures. Crain’s confirmed with GM that its project with Southfield-based Piston Automotive, which was to create more than 140 jobs at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds site in Detroit, would be scrapped. Crain's first reported in May that the project was paused due to regulatory uncertainty. GM spokesman Stuart Fowle said policy changes and the automaker's reassessment of its portfolio triggered the decision. The lack of hydrogen infrastructure and longer-than-expected transition to electric vehicles are key reasons for the shift.

"Certainly the decisions of the DOE are an element of that overall climate but not the only driver," Fowle said. "We want to prioritize the engineering talent and resources and everything we have to continuing to advance EVs given hydrogen is in a different spot."

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/automotive/gm-cancels-hydrogen-program-55m-detroit-plant

[Velvet_Highground]

Pistons plan 2026 groundbreaking on new Detroit apartments

The Detroit Pistons organization says it still plans to develop hundreds of new apartments in the city's New Center area, even as attention lately has shifted to its proposed $50 million WNBA facility development on the east riverfront.

The Pistons are partners in a $3 billion New Center development that won approval last year for local and state incentives and involves collaboration with Henry Ford Health and Michigan State University.

As part of that development, a Pistons-related entity is to develop three nearby apartment projects over several years totaling 662 units.

Construction of the first project, a new six-story, $79 million building at 725 Amsterdam St. with 154 mixed-income apartments, was originally anticipated to start in the second quarter of this year and finish in 2027, according to the timeline of the development's "Transformational Brownfield" incentive.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/busine...w-center-detroit-apartments/86745718007/

Henry Ford - MSU Research Center
https://www.freep.com/story/money/busine...w-center-detroit-apartments/86745718007/

[airforceguy]

Renaissance Center to lose another big tenant to nearby office space

Urban Science is leaving the Renaissance Center, another blow for the struggling downtown Detroit skyline landmark that is targeted for a $1.6 billion-plus overhaul.

Detroit-based Urban Science is downsizing its office footprint to about 35,000 square feet in the Dan Gilbert-owned One Campus Martius building. Its new offices will be next door to Hudson’s Detroit, where General Motors Co. will be moving its longtime headquarters in January. Construction on Urban Science's 15th-floor space in the One Campus Martius building is expected to begin later this fall and wrap up in the spring.

Urban Science is a data-mapping company focused on the automotive and car dealership industry.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/urban-science-leave-renaissance-center




Major retailer coming to block across from Hudson's in downtown Detroit

Timberland is opening a downtown Detroit store next month.

A spokesperson confirmed the New Hampshire-based maker of boots, shoes and other outerwear is opening Nov. 14 in about 1,400 square feet in the Traver Building at 1217 Woodward Ave. Grand opening activations are planned for the weekend of Nov. 15-16.

It's the company's first standalone store to open this year, the spokesperson said. The store is another notch in the city's retail belt, having lured the likes of Apple, Alo, Tecovas, Gucci, Savage X Fenty, GW Home, Free People and others to the downtown core in the last few years. Signs had been pointing to Timberland opening a downtown Detroit store — literally. There is a sign on the Traver Building's door identifying Timberland as the user.

Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC real estate company owns the Traver Building just north of State Street, across from the Hudson’s Detroit development.

“Timberland’s new prototype store on Woodward Avenue represents more than great design — it reflects a commitment to people, place and purpose,” said Jennifer Skiba, vice president of retail leasing at Bedrock, in a statement. “Their dedication to craftsmanship and community mirrors Detroit’s own sense of pride, creativity and connection.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate-insider/timberland-open-downtown-detroit-store

[DetroitMan]

LuxWall to move ahead with Detroit glass factory despite loss of federal grant

LuxWall Inc. CEO Scott Thomsen said the glass manufacturer will move forward with its Detroit factory despite the federal government cancelling a $31.7 million grant intended to support the project.

However, the Department of Energy’s decision to nix the funding — part of a sweeping plan to slash Biden-era awards — could delay the ramp-up and job creation at the Southwest Detroit factory, Thomsen told reporters Tuesday.“Right now, we’re in the process of appealing just like everybody else,” the CEO said following a tour of the under-construction site. “You have to always be careful because we built our business plan on it, so it’s important and has a big impact. It could delay expansion or how fast you ramp…”

Thomsen said that the project, which would create 276 jobs if all goes according to plan, will continue despite the pullback of the grant, which was announced in November 2023. He said that the funding was a catalyst for expansion, but the project is too important to stop.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufacturing/luxwall-move-ahead-detroit-plant-despite-doe-grant-cut

[airforceguy]

Detroit's Cody High School breaks ground on new building

Students at Detroit's Cody High School celebrated the coming of a new era, along with school district leaders and Cody Comets alumni, where generations of students have proudly walked the halls since 1947. Dakota Johnson, the Class of 2028's president, told 7 News Detroit the current building is "very outdated. They got old windows. The ceilings are falling apart."The district said there's also no air conditioning, but that's one of many new features going into the new building currently under construction next door.

https://www.wxyz.com/news/detroits-cody-high-school-breaks-ground-on-new-building

[DetroitMan]

A few updates on restaurants opening around the city next month...

Toastique coming to Detroit
Washington, D.C.-based Toastique all-day brunch restaurant chain will open a location Nov. 8 in downtown Detroit, according to a news release.

Siblings Nour Kanaan, Sarah Kanaan, Hanadi Kanaan, Aya Kanaan, Abbas Kanaan and Zeinab Ballout are the franchisees and will run the business in a Bedrock property at 89 Monroe St.

It’s the second Toastique location in Michigan, following an Ann Arbor location that opened in August 2024.


Toastique's menu features toast with avocado, salmon, crab, peanut butter and more as well as all-natural smoothies, cold-pressed juices and smoothie bowls.

The fast-casual chain has 56 locations across the country and lists 13 more locations as “coming soon,” including the Detroit store.

Cheesecake maker lands first brick-and-mortar home
An Oakland County-based, woman-owned dessert business has found a home in Detroit.

For the Love of Cheesecake owner Cortney Hamilton will open a retail store at 18685 Livernois Ave. in Detroit’s University District, according to an Oct. 18 social media post. The business will take over a space previously occupied by Waffle Cafe Detroit, which closed in July.

Hamilton calls her daughter the motivation for the business. “My true drive, inspiration, and motivation is my baby girl AKA little Mz. Cheesecake,” Hamilton said in the post. “Ever since she was born, I’ve taken For the Love of Cheesecake to levels I never imagined.”

Hamilton did not respond to Crain’s request for more information.

The self-taught baker launched her business in 2016, operating pop-ups at places including Eastern Market and Bucharest Grill. Hamilton also has a spot inside Ford Field that’s open during Detroit Lions home games and was chosen as a food vendor during the 2024 NFL Draft.

For the Love of Cheesecake sells a variety of whole and personal-size cheesecakes, party trays and cupcakes.


Chick Fil A opening on east side
Detroit's first standalone Chick Fil A restaurant is slated to open this fall on the east side of Detroit.

The fast-food outlet is set to open Nov. 13 at 17761 Mack Ave., according to a Google search. The Atlanta-based company also has a location inside the Detroit Medical Center near Midtown.

The Mack Avenue location has been met with some tension. City of Detroit officials in May ordered a work stoppage on the demolition of the site that previously housed a Buick service center. City officials said a contractor did not give advanced notice of the work to neighboring property owners. The demolition continued later that month.

Chick Fil A announced in February 2024 plans for a downtown Detroit location at 660 Woodward Ave. in the First National Building, but has not disclosed an opening date.

The chicken sandwich giant has 31 locations in Michigan, the first of which opened in 2015 in Lansing.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/restaurants/toastique-open-first-detroit-location

[airforceguy]

Transformation of former Arthur Murray dance studio on Detroit's east side begins

Developers, politicians and other dignitaries gathered Wednesday for the latest project to move forward in the area, the more than $15 million redevelopment and expansion of the Arthur Murray Building in the East English Village neighborhood.

The development will include 32 new apartments — including affordable units for Detroit residents — along with 8,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space to be occupied by Activate Detroit, a community development and entrepreneurship support organization. Led by W. Emery Matthews, CEO of Detroit-based Real Estate Interests LLC, the project will take a more than 70-year-old building — home of the world’s first Arthur Murray Dance Studio franchise location — and bring new housing at a variety of income levels, between 60% and 80% of the region’s area median income, which would be between $42,420 and $70,700 for a single person in Wayne County.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/former-arthur-murray-dance-studio-redevelopment-begins

[airforceguy]

Downtown Detroit Chick-fil-A update

The Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant planned for downtown Detroit is getting closer to opening.

The location planned for a ground-floor space inside the Bedrock-owned First National Building at 660 Woodward Ave. across from Campus Martius Park will open by the end of this year or early next year, a spokesperson for the Atlanta-based chicken sandwich giant said in an email to Crain’s.

The restaurant was announced in February 2024, with an initial opening date of spring 2024.


Chick-fil-A has 42 locations in Michigan, the first of which opened in 2015 in Lansing. It has one Detroit location, inside the Detroit Medical Center, and a standalone restaurant is slated to open later this month at 17761 Mack Ave. on the border with Grosse Pointe.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/restaurants/chick-fil-nears-downtown-detroit-opening

[airforceguy]

RenCen redevelopment gets first public money — and is now on the clock

The Downtown Development Authority board unanimously signed off on a total of up to $75 million in reimbursements to Bedrock LLC and General Motors Co. for several pieces of the $1.6 billion or so project first floated a year ago this month. It’s a small piece of what’s expected to be a much broader public financing package; the project’s backers have said it would not happen without lawmakers raising the cap on the Transformational Brownfield Program, a reimbursement incentive that largely comes from the state.

Lawmakers are still in conversations about how and whether to accomplish that. The program's $1.6 billion cap on post-construction tax captures is almost entirely spoken for, with $30 million or so remaining, Crain's reported last month. The $75 million consists of two tranches: $20 million that the DDA would reimburse for demolition of the RenCen’s 1.5 million-square-foot retail podium; and another $55 million the DDA would reimburse for the creation of public plazas on Jefferson Avenue and Atwater Street, creating new roads running through the site, as well as pedestrian paths and promenades.

The reimbursements would come every six months after demolition and construction costs, according to staff for the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., which staffs the DDA, during Wednesday’s meeting.

Jared Fleisher, president of Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock, said demolition of the podium is expected to cost a little more than $20 million, and the $55 million would reimburse only a portion of the roughly $137 million needed for the civic spaces project.

The RenCen proposal includes the demolition of the 300 and 400 office towers that sit closest to the Detroit River, freeing up some five acres of land for new park space along the water.

In addition, the 727-foot Marriott hotel tower — the state’s tallest building — would have its approximately 1,300 hotel rooms reduced to 858 rooms, with approximately 200 rental units on the top 20 floors replacing the lost rooms. There would also be an observation deck.

The 100 Tower would be turned into 384 units of housing, while the 200 Tower would be renovated as modern office space.

The DDA funding is contingent upon approval of a transformational brownfield plan by March 31, 2027, by the Detroit City Council and the Michigan Strategic Fund. In addition, the funding would not be awarded if there are more than 18 months of delays from the anticipated June 30, 2027, start of the podium demolition and the anticipated June 30, 2028, start of the public space improvements, according to a DDA board memo. The reimbursements would take place between 2027 and 2033.

None of the $20 million in demolition funding would go toward tearing down the 300 and 400 towers, executives said. Each tower could cost north of $50 million to raze.

In addition to the redevelopment of the RenCen itself, the broader vision includes converting the 20-some acres of largely surface parking lots east of the complex into a new waterfront athletic and entertainment district likened to New York City’s Chelsea Pier and Chicago’s Navy Pier.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/rencen-bedrock-general-motors-public-funding-approval

[airforceguy]

City, state reach deal to lease Belle Isle Boathouse to developer

The city of Detroit and the state of Michigan have come to an agreement on a deal with developer Stuart-Pitman Inc. for a lease will allow work to begin on the $30 million-plus Belle Isle Boathouse plan.

The lease agreement is expected to go before the Detroit City Council for final approval late this month, leaders said.

Pending additional sign-offs from the developer and the state, the lease would give the developer and its affiliates management control of the historic Belle Isle Boathouse site for the next 50 years, said David Carleton, principal of Stuart-Pitman.

The lease agreement will give Stuart-Pitman the right to redevelop, operate and program the Boathouse site, Carleton said. The developer is looking to begin work on the structure’s roof next year.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estat...eal-lease-belle-isle-boathouse-developer

[airforceguy]

New affordable housing development breaks ground at historic Brewster-Douglass site

An $80 million affordable housing development broke ground Friday, bringing 211 affordable units to the Brush Park area on a site that was once home to the first federally funded housing project in the country.

The Brewster-Douglass housing project was built in 1930 and demolished in 2013 and 2014. The vacant site has been the subject of a variety of development plans since.

The Brewster Wheeler Recreation Center near Mack Avenue and I-75 that remains on the site was the gym where legendary boxer Joe Louis trained and Motown singer Diana Ross played as a child. The new Brewster Wheeler Apartments project builds on the city’s affordable housing goals while also developing a long-vacant site close to downtown Detroit and the three professional sports facilities.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/developers-break-ground-historic-brewster-douglass-site

[airforceguy]

Detroit-based theater company A Host of People acquires former church

Since 2014, Detroit-based A Host of People has produced ensemble theater in venues across the Motor City and beyond. And soon, the theater company hopes to have a home of its own.

On Saturday, AHOP announced it has acquired a 14,000-square-foot vacant church located at 6000 30th St. on the city’s west side. The company held a reveal party in a heated tent where they hosted performances and offered attendees flashlight-led tours of the building, which it hopes to rehab by late 2026 or early 2027.

The plan is to transform the building into not just a performance space for its own productions but a community resource with a rehearsal studio, shared workspace, and a shop. The project is anticipated to cost more than $1 million.

https://www.metrotimes.com/arts/arts-sto...a-host-of-people-acquires-former-church/

[DetroitMan]

Stanton Yards development merges art, nature on Detroit River, envisions ‘thriving new community destination’

The Stanton Yards project aims to transform a storage- and service-based marina site into a 13-acre cultural gathering place for the community, featuring over 80,000 square feet of commercial and creative space, 85 boat slips, and public waterfront parkland.

The Stanton Yards site, formerly known as Gregory Marina, includes former marina showrooms, marina storage buildings, service shops, and an old theater. The site has a substantial hardscape and no public access. The Curises purchased the property in 2023, according to the project developers.

The first portion of Stanton Yards is projected to open by fall 2026, said Simon David, the project’s lead designer, and the principal and creative director at OSD, a New York design firm specializing in sustainability.

Little Village, in Detroit’s East Village neighborhood, aims to foster an inclusive community centered around the arts. It’s named this year as one of Time magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places.”

A former 100-year-old Roman Catholic church transformed into an arts and community hub, The Shepherd, anchors Little Village, along with an art education and exhibition facility, the LANTERN.

“Stanton Yards is a natural extension of the work we’re doing in Little Village and will connect to other Detroit arts-driven projects like the Shepherd and LANTERN,” Anthony Curis told Planet Detroit.

“We are transforming a cluster of vacant storage buildings into a mix of cultural, commercial, and hospitality-driven spaces, while reimagining the grounds into a network of pedestrian-accessible spaces and parks for the Detroit community to enjoy.”

Curis declined to comment on the estimated cost of the Stanton Yards development.

https://planetdetroit.org/2025/11/detroit-riverfront-cultural-hub/