DETROIT | Little Caesars Arena & The District Detroit

[animatedmartian]

Probably due to the M-1 Rail which is being built simultaneously along Woodward. I think there's some utility work being done that won't be completed until Spring? They don't have the construction timeline up on their website anymore so I can't confirm that yet. But I do know that the station and section of track that will be in front of the stadium won't start until after the stadium gets under construction.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by Detroit1995

Any reason why they haven't started actual construction on the arena yet? I know that they said it would begin this spring but why wait? I don't mean to be impatient but if you're going to do a groundbreaking ceremony, then at least follow it up with progress a month later. It's been four months that this project has "officially" been under construction.

various reasons
1. Groundbreakings are sometimes political or marketing stunts. They have absolutely nothing to do with construction. Sometimes groundbreakings happen years before construction

2. Building permits can take awhile. Revisions to design take awhile. Zoning takes awhile.

3. Construction scheduling is tricky. I'm sure there's alot of logistical reasons why they haven't started now.

[animatedmartian]

The groundbreaking ceremony kind of coincided more with the sale of the city-owned land to Olympia. It was more about finally get all the pieces together before getting the project up off the ground. In a sense, it was a groundbreaking for the project but not necessarily for construction of the project. Either way, everything is still on schedule and the zoning issue had been factored into the timeline.

[animatedmartian]

Machines ready to dig into Red Wings arena site
By BILL SHEA. March 15, 2015.





Heavy machinery has been placed at the site of the new Detroit Red Wings arena in anticipation of major construction beginning in the next few weeks.

A specific start date for earth-moving hasn't been disclosed by Olympia Development of Michigan, the real estate arm of team owners Mike and Marian Ilitch's business holdings.

The $535 million multiuse arena and events center is scheduled to open in summer 2017.

"We have moved heavy equipment on-site to prepare for the start of construction on the new (arena) in the next several weeks and to comply with local frost laws," Doug Kuiper, vice president of corporate communications for Ilitch Holdings Inc., said in a statement.

Frost laws restrict weight limits on roads and highways during the spring, when the thaw can weaken the ground underneath the pavement — meaning heavy equipment must be moved while the ground still is frozen.

....

The company still is sorting out the approvals for the arena work, and continues to seek investors for the ancillary development.

Specifically, Olympia needs the city to rezone the site from general business to a developer-friendly designation called planned development. The change was put off in November while Olympia and the city council negotiated details such as the number of parking spaces.

A rezoning vote is expected within the next month.

"We continue to work with City Council on zoning approvals so we can bring 8,300 construction and construction-related jobs online and begin to hire Detroiters and others — as well as local, regional and state companies — to build this transformative project," Kuiper said.

Some work, such as demolition of the Temple Motel, was done last fall, along with ongoing utility relocation and other site prep work.

Rezoning isn't required to begin the major earth-moving, such as excavation and site prep work.

.....

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ngs-arena-site

[animatedmartian]

The Ilitches have made their intentions official. This is pretty similar to how Comerica Park got built, so this outcome isn't really surprising but still pretty disappointing.

Arena builder seeks to raze hotel, create bigger public park
By Joe Guillen, Detroit Free Press. March 26, 2015.



The developer of the new Red Wings arena presented several changes today for the ambitious project, including the demolition of a boarded-up historic hotel to make room for a better loading dock and the renovation of another historic hotel to provide up to 100 residential units.

Consultants for the developer, Olympia Development of Michigan, an Ilitch Holdings company, also said a public park next to the arena will be bigger than originally planned.

The changes are before the Detroit City Council as part of Olympia's request to rezone about 12 acres of land in the Cass Corridor area to make way for the 20,000-seat arena and new parking deck.

...

Today, Olympia consultant Richard Heapes confirmed what city officials told the Free Press in January: The Park Avenue would be torn down but the historic Eddystone Hotel next door would be preserved.

"It is our long-term desire to demolish the Harbor Lights," Heapes said.

A staff member for the council pointed out that the Park Avenue has a special designation and the Detroit Historic District Commission would need to consider plans for demolition. If the commission rejects the demolition request, Olymipa would have to appeal to the courts.

While the plans call for razing one historic building, Olympia wants to renovate the Eddystone with 80-100 residential units. Heapes said 20% of the units would be set aside for affordable housing.

There is a trade-off for the added residential spaces at the Eddystone. Olympia is scrapping plans for residential units at one of the adjacent new buildings to the arena. That will be office space under the revised plans.

Council members raised several concerns during the meeting, but they also expressed optimism toward the new plans.

Councilman Gabe Leland said he has concerns about how many residential units are being offered.

"If we don't maximize the potential for new housing, I don't think we will achieve our goal," he said.

Councilwoman Raquel Castaneda-Lopez questioned how increased traffic along Cass Avenue into the new parking deck would affect plans for Cass to be a major bike thoroughfare.

Castaneda-Lopez also praised additions to the public spaces surrounding the area, but she questioned why about 800 spaces of the 1,100 in the new parking deck would be reserved on game nights for suite holders. About 120 spaces would be for players, their families and team owners.

...

[Rail>Auto]

Terrible decision to raise the Park Avenue high rise. This proposal should be blocked.

[animatedmartian]

City OKs demolition and rezoning while activity in the area picks up.

Approved: New Red Wings Arena Rezones 12 Desolate Acres
April 21, 2015, by Paul Beshouri

It's official: Olympia Development has the zoning approvals needed to build a new $450M arena complex for the Detroit Red Wings. The plan approved by City Council requires the historic, 156-room Eddystone Hotel be restored as apartments. In exchange, Olympia has permission to smash its larger brother, the Park Avenue Hotel. Well, sort of.

Legally, Olympia can't dislodge a single brick from Park Avenue before the Historic District Commission grants permission. Sounds like we're due for a dramatic HDC hearing in the near future. In the meantime, have a look around the barren landscape that will eventually hold 20,000 fans.






Photography by Chris and Michelle Gerard








http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in.../post_146.html

[animatedmartian]

Mass excavation started this Friday.








http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi...s_for_det.html

[itom 987]

Any updates?

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by itom 987

Any updates?

There was supposed to be a meeting two weeks ago between Olympia and the Detroit Historic District Commission on approval to demolish the Park Avenue Hotel, but Olympia surprisingly cancelled the meeting and there hasn't be any word about it since.

[Rail>Auto]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

There was supposed to be a meeting two weeks ago between Olympia and the Detroit Historic District Commission on approval to demolish the Park Avenue Hotel, but Olympia surprisingly cancelled the meeting and there hasn't be any word about it since.

Any chance they reconsider demolition?

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by Rail>Auto

Any chance they reconsider demolition?

Olympia doesn't exactly have a good track record for historic preservation but it's possible.

My only theory for them calling off the meeting is that they either want to tear down the building without approval from DHDC, find some other possibly stronger excuse for tearing it down, or are attempting to find a third party that they can hand the building(s) off to. But at this point, it's anybody's guess.

There's also been no word on whether this would delay construction at all. So far they're still doing excavation.

[animatedmartian]

Photo from May 27th:


https://twitter.com/MCmuckraker/stat...48919000764416

This photo is from a week earlier:


https://twitter.com/MCmuckraker/stat...74417564975104

[animatedmartian]

The meeting between Olympia and the DHDC is rescheduled for later today at 5:30 pm.

Olympia is leading in with this argument in favor of demolition of the historic hotel:

Olympia's construction plans show it is possible to build a 20,000-seat arena and a loading dock without disturbing the Park Avenue. But that option is not optimal, according to Olympia, because the loading dock would be smaller than desired, forcing some truck traffic onto nearby side streets. A larger loading dock will allow more trucks to be parked underground, according to plans Olympia submitted to the historic commission. The smaller loading dock also would make the arena less competitive with other venues, Olympia argues.

....

To gain the commission's approval, Olympia has indicated it will argue that demolition of the Park Avenue meets the criteria for a historic preservation exception allowed by the city. The exception is for historic structures that are "a deterrent to a major improvement program that will be of substantial benefit to the community."

"When the design team laid out an underground loading facility that accommodated the footprint of the former hotel, the result was undersized and inadequate for a state-of-the-art events center," Emily Palacios, of Miller Canfield, wrote on behalf of Olympia to the historic commission. "The facility was also not big enough to accommodate the anticipated demand for broadcast truck and tour bus parking."

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...tion/28751039/

So it seems that they'll basically argue that trucks would have to park on adjacent side streets, most of which are planned to be lined with residential buildings. Though, other news articles do point out that there is no concrete time table for when these other developments are going to be built.

This whole issue is pretty much about Olympia trying to out-compete the Palace of Auburn Hills which is a very common venue for concerts and other events outside of basketball.

[animatedmartian]

Park Avenue approved for demolition. DHDC was kind of swayed by the loading dock argument being a public good but some members also somewhat placed blamed on the City Council who ultimately were the ones capable of changing the zoning ordinances that could have better preserved the hotel. Lot of mixed emotions from both sides of the outcome.

No set date for demolition, though it should be likely within the next couple of weeks.

Construction progress as of June 10th:


http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in...s_arena_d.html

[Busy Bee]

What a shame

[Rail>Auto]

This project is already failing to live up to expectations. I get this feeling those other 4-5 neighborhoods that are supposed to be revamped by Illitch as a part of this deal will be scaled down as well.

[Rizzo]

I was actually convinced at the time I saw initial renderings Detroit was getting an exceptional product. A total change of pace from the half-ass scaled down proposals that are so common. But that is what this has become. A demolition of a historic building. (predictable) and deferred construction of the complementing structures that would make this an actual "district". If I would have known I would have advocated renovating JLA and throwing up townhomes on the new arena site. Even in the most diluted possible design option, the arena itself didn't require substantial demolition of adjacent structures.

[animatedmartian]

New renderings and a model. Quite a few subtle and not so subtle changes.











http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...ings/29455293/

All from the Preview Center at Comerica Park.

• Video Link

Also of note, foundation work is starting this week.

Building of the foundation deep piers of the new arena will begin this week as impressive progress is made on the site of the new Red Wings arena at Woodward and Sproat in Detroit. A total of 312 drilled piers will be placed 34 feet apart across the entire arena area. The drilled piers are a type of deep foundation that is created by pouring concrete into round, 4- to 8-feet-wide drilled holes. In this case, the holes will be nearly approximately 140 feet below grade. This depth ensures that the foundations are set well into a dense lower layer of soil referred to as hardpan and will support the load created by the arena. The concrete piers are re-enforced with (steel reinforcing bars. This element of construction will carry on for approximately 3 months. Excavation will continue through the end of July. The work will be done by Rohrscheib & Sons Caissons under the direction of general contractor Barton Malow Hunt White.

http://www.districtdetroit.com/news/...-detroit-arena

• Video Link

[animatedmartian]

Park Avenue implosion date set for 7-11.

Photos by Steve Neavling.