DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[seabee1526]

Originally Posted by Dale

Anything new on the parking lots Ilitch and Related are supposed to develop ?

https://umaec.umich.edu/projects/major-p...chigan-center-for-innovation/web-camera/

Webcam for UofM Innovation Center

[Dale]

Originally Posted by seabee1526

https://umaec.umich.edu/projects/major-p...chigan-center-for-innovation/web-camera/

Webcam for UofM Innovation Center

Thanks, I suppose it’s a start.

[seabee1526]

Originally Posted by Dale

Thanks, I suppose it’s a start.

Yes let’s hope. Maybe they’ll use that olde English D shaped tower design that was kicking around some time ago. It’d be fun to see that from the ballpark.

[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

After Michael Higgins, who led the current ownership group, died in September 2023, the 34-story David Broderick Tower on Grand Circus Park was put on the market in February 2024.

An entity called The Broderick Tower LLC is slated to purchase the historic tower — perhaps best known for its whale mural visible from Comerica Park during Detroit Tigers games — and renovate its residential units and commercial space, according to a Detroit City Council document.

It’s not known who is behind The Broderick Tower LLC, which is registered to Southfield attorney Alan Stillman. An email was sent to him Tuesday morning.

Nevan Shokar, principal of Detroit-based tax incentive consultancy Shokar Group LLC, which is steering the incoming ownership group through a 10-year property tax abatement request, said The Broderick Tower LLC declined comment.

The proposed purchase price, as well as the amount the new owner expects to spend on renovations, is not known.

The tower opened in 1927 and was designed by Louis and Paul Kamper, according to Historic Detroit, which tracks Detroit buildings and architecture.

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

[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

[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.

[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.

[DetroitMan]

Developer tries again with redesigned Detroit townhome project

A West Bloomfield developer is back with plans to build new townhome condos on a vacant site near Henry Ford Health in Detroit.

An affiliate of Barr Properties LLC is scheduled to go before the city’s Historic District Commission on Oct. 8 for the second time with a request to construct two buildings totaling 14 units along Third Avenue in the New Center area north of downtown. Hoping to satisfy the concerns of neighbors, the developer has added some additional on-site parking and tweaked the design, aiming to make the planned $3 million project less modern-looking, according to Shahin Mustafa, CEO of Barr Properties, who is also in the process of building a nearby six-unit townhome development dubbed Summit at Piety Hill.

An earlier version of the Virginia Park Townes development was rejected by the HDC in February. Residents were also opposed to a prior plan by the developer to construct a 30-unit multi-family building. Hamtramck-based Steven C. Flum Inc. is the architect on the project.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/developer-tries-again-tweaked-detroit-townhome-project

[airforceguy]

Detroit planning commission backs zoning changes to boost housing density

Detroit's Planning Commission recommended a new zoning ordinance that aims to densify many residential parts of the city, particularly vacant land.

During a lengthy Thursday evening hearing, members of the commission heard concerns and support from residents over the host of changes that could be made under the proposed changes. The ordinance now heads to City Council for approval. A majority of commenters Thursday evening expressed support for the proposed changes, saying they believe the zoning reform would help further densify Detroit neighborhoods, adding more neighbors, increasing walkability as well as bringing more viable mass transit. Those opposed largely said there had been a lack of transparency around public engagement and resident education about the ordinance.

The idea behind the push for the zoning reform is to allow more housing in large swaths of the city “by-right” and promote “infill housing development on vacant lots that aligns with existing neighborhood character,” according to a Planning Commission memo. Detroit's current zoning code is around 900 pages and most projects require at least one zoning variance, according to the city's Deputy COO Andrea Taverna.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/detroit-planning-panel-backs-zoning-changes-boost-density

[DetroitMan]

This is such a disappointment...

Another blow for Gilbert's 'fail jail' site redevelopment

Bedrock LLC is asking to reduce the scale of a proposed building by more than half on the former Wayne County Consolidated Jail site, another blow in the long saga surrounding the property widely considered a gateway to the downtown Detroit core.

Instead of five stories and 211,000 square feet, Dan Gilbert’s Detroit-based real estate company is now proposing a two-story, 90,000-square-foot building instead, according to City Planning Commission documents. The commission was scheduled to consider the request Thursday evening, but adjourned the meeting around 10:37 p.m. before getting to it due to time concerns about the pending 11 p.m. closure of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center parking garage. It was the second of the two remaining items on the commission's agenda for the evening.

The Bedrock request came after the so-called Gratiot Life Sciences Building’s anchor tenant backed away in August, citing the loss of its primary unidentified investor. Documents to the commission did not identify the investor or the user, but Crain’s has previously reported that MI-HQ, shorthand for Michigan Innovation Headquarters, was to take 150,000 square feet of the building. Emails were sent to MI-HQ and Bedrock seeking comment Thursday evening.

The building size reduction was first reported by Daily Detroit. MI-HQ was expected to offer wet lab space, providing business support services and equipment for scaling up startups, as well as co-working space, offices and manufacturing facilities. The incubator was supposed to be industry agonistic.

Grand Rapids-based BAMF Health is still taking 45,000 square feet of the building and a second story is being constructed “to capture future growth” for “speculative life science space,” according to Planning Commission documents.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/gilberts-fail-jail-building-size-cut-anchor-tenant-lost

[Blocky858]

Originally Posted by DetroitMan

This is such a disappointment...

Another blow for Gilbert's 'fail jail' site redevelopment


https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/gilberts-fail-jail-building-size-cut-anchor-tenant-lost

Seems Bedrock has done a 180 lately and keeps getting worse.

[DetroitMan]

Detroit WNBA practice facility on Uniroyal site seeks tax incentives

A group of investors behind Detroit’s new WNBA team is seeking $34.5 million in brownfield tax-increment financing reimbursements to build out a practice facility at the former Uniroyal Tire Co. site on the Detroit River.

The overall brownfield package is $40.7 million, which includes some $4.5 million in administrative costs and $1.7 million or so from the state’s brownfield redevelopment fund. The group, operating as W-Detroit Property LLC, is also expected to seek a 10-year Public Act 210 Commercial Rehabilitation Act property tax abatement with an anticipated value of about $9.1 million, according to a copy of the brownfield plan. The Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Board’s Community Advisory Committee will consider the request on Wednesday during a 5 p.m. meeting, according to a copy of the agenda.

Brownfield TIFs essentially allow a developer to capture increases in taxable value attributed to the redevelopment of a property in order to get reimbursed for things like land cleanup, demolition and other specific activities. The 42-acre Uniroyal site, owing to its heavy-manufacturing history, has contamination from volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, polynuclear aromatics, metals and potential asbestos, according to the plan.

The site is publicly owned. It had been tied up in a nearly 20-year-old agreement for a mixed-use development with Jerome Bettis, the Detroit native and former star NFL running back, but the DBRA severed the deal last fall.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estat...ce-facility-project-seeks-tax-incentives

[DetroitMan]

DEGC selects developers for retail hub and restaurants in Southwest Detroit

The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) announced today the approval of a proposal from Queen Lillian Development and Tekton Development and retail development firm Lormax Stern to redevelop 6370 West Vernor Highway into a retail destination serving Southwest Detroit. The team plans to develop 35,000 to 40,000 square feet of retail space on the 6.1-acre site, including a traditional retail strip center and three outparcel locations that could accommodate local and national tenants, restaurants and a grocery store.



“Here you have two Detroit-based developers who know this community inside and out, paired with a retail firm that has the national connections to bring in the tenants residents want,” said David Laurence Howell, vice president of Real Estate Services at DEGC. “Southwest Detroit has serious momentum right now. This project keeps that going.”

https://www.degc.org/post/degc-selects-d...ub-and-restaurants-for-southwest-detroit

[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

[airforceguy]

I'm very disappointed that this was approved...
Detroit planners OK downsizing Bedrock's 'fail jail' site building

Dan Gilbert’s real estate company can now build a two-story, 90,000-square-foot building instead of a five-story, 211,000-square-foot building that had been proposed on the former Wayne County Consolidated Jail site at Gratiot Avenue and Interstate 375, as a result of the Thursday, Oct. 9 decision.Bedrock requested permission from the Planning Commission to shrink the building’s size after its anchor tenant backed away in August, citing the loss of its primary investor.

Commission documents did not identify the investor of the user, but Crain’s has previously reported that MI-HQ, shorthand for Michigan Innovation Headquarters, was to take 150,000 square feet of the building. Grand Rapids-based BAMF Health is still taking the first floor of the two-story building, while the second story is being constructed "to capture future growth" for "speculative life science space," according to Planning Commission documents.

“What was once the site of a failed jail will soon be home to one of the most advanced health care companies in the world," Jared Fleisher, president of Bedrock, said in a statement Tuesday morning. "BAMF is revolutionizing precision medicine, and the long-term economic impact of their presence in Detroit cannot be overstated. While much more is to come, I am incredibly proud of Bedrock’s work to transform this site from a prison to the frontier of precision medicine — and equally grateful for BAMF’s commitment and partnership."

In an email last week to Crain’s, Mark Smith, CEO of MI-HQ, said the group “made the strategic decision to delay plans for our portion” of the building.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estat...nsizing-bedrocks-fail-jail-site-building

[seabee1526]

Originally Posted by airforceguy

I'm very disappointed that this was approved...
Detroit planners OK downsizing Bedrock's 'fail jail' site building


https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estat...nsizing-bedrocks-fail-jail-site-building

Wouldn’t this prestigious medical company be more comfortable in a gleaming RenCen tower overlooking the river or a fantastic 1920 something Art Deco masterpiece? Hell they should build the original Monroe Blocks tower with the excess floors being used to capture future growth. A Life sciences tower would be fabulous marketing to prospective clients, much more than the “fail jail” site will be.