DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[davidberko]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

I still think it'll be awhile before Detroit sees a rush of any new skyscrapers. There's still a lot of issues that hold the city back politically and economically that make (true) high rise building plausible in only a few exceptional cases.

Yup, agreed.

The Detroit is dying thread on DetroitYes is a good go-to on the city's issues. Taxes need to be reformed and the stupid no-fault insurance has got to go!

[The North One]

Detroityes is an awful dated relic full of bitter boomers, a total no-go zone. You want good information and discussion go to the Detroit subreddit.

[davidberko]

Lol wow, I'd watch it, you may have triggered some "boomers" who follow this thread. Too funny. I'll definitely check that subreddit out though! Sounds like a good place to go.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by davidberko

Yup, agreed.

The Detroit is dying thread on DetroitYes is a good go-to on the city's issues. Taxes need to be reformed and the stupid no-fault insurance has got to go!

Detroit's been dying for 60 years according to some people.

Taxes and insurance are a bit of a detriment, but not so much as a lack of transit and the on-going brain-drain. Detroit isn't good at retaining college educated workers or attracting the companies that want to hire them.

A lot of job opportunities are still in manufacturing or engineering which isn't bad, but it's mostly tied to the auto-industry which isn't exactly a pro-urban industry.

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by davidberko

Lol wow, I'd watch it, you may have triggered some "boomers" who follow this thread. Too funny. I'll definitely check that subreddit out though! Sounds like a good place to go.

The North One is correct about DetroitYes. Years back it was a much more positive environment on that site. Nowadays it’s mainly grumpy aging suburban baby boomers who have barely left metro Detroit and barely know how things work out of state. Many of them voice their opinions on things they really don’t know anything about.

[LMich]

Originally Posted by The North One

Detroityes is an awful dated relic full of bitter boomers, a total no-go zone. You want good information and discussion go to the Detroit subreddit.

Yeah, I don't want to get too off topic, but that place has become an utter mess. The site creator seems not to bother with it much, anymore, and you can really, really tell as the current editors basically have an "anything goes" attitude. The site always had its curmudgeons with their undertones of racism, but the trolls have been allowed to guide a lot of the discussion over there these days.

[Detroit]

Originally Posted by davidberko

I just gotta say, it's embarrassing to see any kind of wooden construction going on in a downtown core lol. Oof. Oh well

The Himelhoch Building is made completely of lumber. I'd say that is in a prominent downtown location.

[animatedmartian]

The structural steel of WCCCD Health Center is complete and on schedule to open in 2019.









https://www.facebook.com/neumannsmit...57614464392263

[DetroitSky]

Some renderings have been released of Tiger Towns at The Corner, located on Trumbull along The Corner Ballpark.

[LMich]

I'm...confused. The renderings look like something a high schooler would do. And, I like the placement of the units along Trumbull, but what is going on with the interior-facing units? Am I crazy?

[animatedmartian]

It's really plain and basic design, yes, but very typical of contemporary mid-range townhomes. Seems like this developer mostly has properties out in Oakland County and this is their first one in the city.

[LMich]

Well then that explains it. Detroit's urban developers are doing way better stuff than developments like this, now, so it kind of took me aback a bit. The stuff in the immediate neighborhood is better designed.

Wait, where is this? Is this north of The Corner?


Curbed Detroit

[hybrydy]

Originally Posted by LMich

Well then that explains it. Detroit's urban developers are doing way better stuff than developments like this, now, so it kind of took me aback a bit. The stuff in the immediate neighborhood is better designed.

Wait, where is this? Is this north of The Corner?

Photo: Rossetti

The project, announced in 2014 in tandem with the Detroit Police Athletic League’s $20-million youth sports stadium, has changed slightly in two years. About 10 townhouses were added to the plans. The new buildings hook around right field off Trumbull instead of trailing north to Interstate 75.

The design aims to replicate the neighborhood that would have been on Trumbull long before Tiger Stadium. Larson said his project is slightly behind schedule.

The townhouses will be for-sale units. Twenty percent of the apartments will qualify as affordable housing for buyers who earn about 80 percent of the annual median local income.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...sing/88930712/

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by davidberko

I'm just saying. Have you seen much of the country? Lived near a major city with a downtown (other than Detroit)? I live close to Chicago. There ain't no wooden structures going up. That's the kind of construction that has its place in the suburbs or the midtown part of a city, not the core. Just an observation. That being said, I am very glad Detroit is building on long-since vacant land such as this site. High time. Eventually they'll get taller developments but I guess we have to be grateful and learn to settle while Detroit is just beginning to turn things around.

Actually, this isn't accurate. There is a movement now toward building wood high-rises, and Portland has one. Recently there was plans to build the tallest wood structure anywhere, with laminated wood, but costs proved to be too high. But, I think with the way things are going with the price of steel, we are going to see a lot more development, high-rise and otherwise, that uses wood. I guess only time will tell.

[Jasoncw]

The site planning for Tiger Towns isn't very good, but I can see how they arrived at that. They lined Trumble with townhouses, which I suppose makes sense. The left side of the site plan is the freeway service drive, so it makes sense to turn away from that. But combining it all together you end up with a development dominated by garage doors and driveways. The older perspective image has a better site plan which makes the perpendicular townhouses into something similar to a courtyard apartment right off of Trumble, but the change is how they fit in the 10 extra units.

imo if they had taken a woonerf approach for the north section they could have had both the front entrances and parking accommodated in a central courtyard which would have connected to Trumble. And then each of the units could have also had an enclosed backyard.

But I will complement the development for having the front doors on the street, with each unit having a defined front garden area. Individually maintained front gardens (the different plantings in the site plan seems to indicate this is the intention) is a way in which residents take ownership and express ownership of their home, and the variety of those expressions is something that helps make a place feel like a "place".

[davidberko]

Originally Posted by subterranean

Actually, this isn't accurate. There is a movement now toward building wood high-rises, and Portland has one. Recently there was plans to build the tallest wood structure anywhere, with laminated wood, but costs proved to be too high. But, I think with the way things are going with the price of steel, we are going to see a lot more development, high-rise and otherwise, that uses wood. I guess only time will tell.

I would not feel safe in a timber tower lol. Fireproofing, soundproofing? Concerete and steel will always be better for height. But your point stands, nevertheless.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by davidberko

I would not feel safe in a timber tower lol. Fireproofing, soundproofing? Concerete and steel will always be better for height. But your point stands, nevertheless.

Engineered wood maintains greater strength in a fire than SFRM on steel. It has to do with the sustained rigidity of wood. You can still top the floor decks in concrete for sound resistance and a nice level floor.

[DetroitSky]

James Scott Fountain to get $400K in updates

Updates will include repairing marble on the stairs, replacing damaged lighting, fixing leaky pipes, and resealing some marble joints.

Crain’s reports that this is one of many updates to come on the island. The Aquarium and Conservatory would be next for updating, including assessing the heating and cooling system, signage, and bathroom fixes in the aquarium. Additional funding could lead to “new restrooms for the conservatory, a gift shop and a catering kitchen,” which would help out the conservatory as an event space.

First rental units now leasing at the Selden Corridor Initiative

Midtown Detroit Inc. tells us that they don’t have exact pricing at 644 Selden worked out yet—although they’ll be rented around market-rate—since much of the site is still under construction. The units are one-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath apartments ranging from 1,210 to 1,388 square feet with an open concept layout, balconies, heated bathroom floors, in-unit washer and dryers, and access to a shared rooftop deck.

The 14 4th Street Ecohomes coming in the development will be delivered in groups. Midtown Detroit Inc. tells us that the first group will come later this year or in the first quarter of next year, while the rest will come in summer 2019. These are selling for over $300 per square foot.

Developer to get more time to save historic Palmer Park building

The city of Detroit plans to give the owner of an apartment building in a historic district of Detroit's Palmer Park neighborhood more time to save the structure.

A demolition notice was posted on the red-bricked, 93-year-old Delmar building at 17111 Second Ave. in late August, prompting concerns about its survival. It looks intact from the front, but the collapsed roof remains a concern.

Owner Kathy Makino, founder of Detroit-based Shelborne Development Corp., said she has struggled to finance a mixed-use redevelopment there. She said she wants to move forward, but would hand off the project to another developer if they felt they would have more success.

"It would be preferable to see this owner preserve and rehab the building," Garcia said in the statement. "To that end, the Housing & Revitalization Department will speak with the owner to explore options for saving the structure."

Makino intends to redevelop the Delmar and nearby Merton Manor in a combined $8 million, 48-unit senior housing project with retail called Unity Square.

She purchased the Delmar from the Wayne County treasurer in 2009 for $1,200, according to city records. Makino's Shelborne Development has spent $300,000 removing graffiti, cleaning up the site, boarding it up, on carrying costs, performing due diligence and completing financing applications for funding, she said.

Former Purple Gang hub near Detroit riverfront sells to NYC investor

Work such as roof improvements and window replacement will begin soon and take place over the next six months, said Wasterlain, who is a former president and CEO of ORIX Capital Markets LLC in Dallas and chief investment officer of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. He declined to disclose the capital expenditure budget.

The Lewarchiks purchased the building in 2007 for $298,000, or about $10.64 per square foot, according to city property records. It was listed for $2.6 million, or $92.86 per square foot, the Friedman listing says. It sold Monday for $2.125 million, or $75.89 per square foot.

University of Michigan mulling larger footprint in Detroit

The university's purchase earlier this year of the rest of the Horace H. Rackham Education Memorial Building in Midtown could give rise to a "more substantial" physical presence in Detroit for the maize-and-blue, UM President Mark Schlissel told Crain's.

Schlissel sees an opportunity to expand from UM's tiny outpost at the Detroit Center on Woodward Avenue and make the 77-year-old Rackham building the university's "home base" in Detroit with a yet-be-defined larger mission in Michigan's largest city.

"We're trying to look for partners who are willing to work with us on this," Schlissel said in an interview last week after speaking at a Detroit Economic Club luncheon.

[LMich]

Originally Posted by hybrydy

Photo: Rossetti

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...sing/88930712/

Okay, thanks. This makes me feel much better about this. I was having a difficult time orienting myself from the site plan posted.

[hybrydy]

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

[B]
Developer to get more time to save historic Palmer Park building

i wish udm would get involved to reboot palmer park. the buildings that have been rehabbed look amazing. students used to dominate that rental area, but alas that building looks the same since i came to town in '03.