DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown - Page 291

DetroitSky · #**5801** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 12:24 AM**

Real Estate Insider: It's harder to find space in prime downtown office buildings, report says

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The 21 most in-demand office buildings in and around downtown Detroit are more than 92 percent leased.

That's according to the annual Detroit Skyline report from the Royal Oak office of Chicago-based brokerage firm JLL, which has been compiling this data for a few years.

At 7.7 percent vacant, those buildings have filled up a little bit since last year, when their combined square footage of nearly 10.8 million square feet of the city's primo office space was 8.8 percent empty. The vacancy rate was 7.5 percent in 2017.

Rents have also continued to be driven upward, now at $24.99 per square foot, up a whopping $1.52 per foot from last year, when they were $23.47. Even that was nearly a $1 jump from 2017, when they were $22.55 per square foot.

'Diner Food On Steroids' For Meat Eaters And Vegans Slated For Midtown Detroit

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Darius Statum, owner of Views Bar & Grill on Grand River and Telegraph on Detroit's west side, is venturing into Midtown with a late-night carry-out restaurant he describes as "diner food on steroids."

He hopes to open by December.

Interestingly, he says the restaurant at 4200 Woodward Ave. will have two names: "Any Vegan Way" and "Views To Go." The vegan kitchen will be separate from Views to Go, which will offer items like lamb chops, chicken wings and catfish.

LMich · #**5802** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 4:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

Real Estate Insider: It's harder to find space in prime downtown office buildings, report says

Detroit · #**5803** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 2:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMich

Is Barton Malow/Bedrock stating that they are seeking a permit for a tower structure that will be 450' above grade?

LMich · #**5804** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 5:16 PM**

Said it in the post; tower cranes for the Block.

Detroit · #**5805** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 8:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMich

Said it in the post; tower cranes for the Block.

Ah I get it now. The way “the tower cranes” and “the block” had their own set of links led me to believe “the tower cranes” were crane permits for the tower portion and “the block” were crane permits for the block portion. I understand now

shawring · #**5806** Posted **Oct 4, 2019, 5:07 PM**

Hi, I saw some activity at the Monroe blocks early this week, they were digging holes in the parking lots, you know what's going on ?

seabee1526 · #**5807** Posted **Oct 4, 2019, 5:22 PM**

Teasing us?

I think someone said they were getting soil samples?

DetroitSky · #**5808** Posted **Oct 7, 2019, 9:28 PM**

Developer of ‘Up’ and ‘Lorax’ homes finishes duplex, starts new apartment building next door

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Alex Pereira is best known for renovations of Woodbridge homes inspired by literary and Disney stories like “Up,” “The Lorax,” and “Alice in Wonderland.” He also saved the J.D. Baer house, which was vacant for 50 years.

The theme for his latest home has yet to be revealed, though it’s already just as colorful as his others. The duplex at Willis Street and Rosa Parks Boulevard, built in the late 1800s, now has yellow siding, blue trim, and some red accents. There’s also a hand-tinseled address plate, with two more being made for the third-story windows.

Inside, wood from the adjacent demolished shotgun house was salvaged and used as molding for the windows, doors, and baseboards. The upper unit has a neat lofted space that could be an ancillary space for guests.

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On the adjacent lot, Pereira is developing his first-ever ground-up project. Construction for the foundation has begun on the six-unit apartment building. Each place will have its own private deck and parking spot.

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom units in the three-story structure will be about 700 square feet and go for $1,500 to $1,600 a month. Two units will have lower rent and be reserved for those making 80 percent of the area median income (around $42,000 per year).

^Looks like a nice little infill development

TCF Center to become largest LEED-certified building in Michigan

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Detroit's 59-year-old convention center will become the largest LEED certified building in Michigan when it is awarded the second highest green building certification on Wednesday.

TCF Center, recently renamed from Cobo Center, has earned the gold level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating, also known as LEED, developed by Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council, according to a media advisory.

The certification is given to buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.

Michigan awarded $500K grant to rehab historic Detroit church

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DETROIT - King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, a nationally-prominent historic site in the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, is getting a new breath of life.

The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office has been awarded a $500,000 African American Civil Rights grant from the National Park Service, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced today. The funding will be used to rehabilitate the roof of the historic church.

The grant will fund the roof work with the goal of protecting the building to stop further weather damage while a plan for its reuse is developed. Funded work will also include construction drawings, insulation, shingles, drain slopes and drains, metal edging, copper valleys and saddles, and repair and replacement of fascia trim.

LMich · #**5809** Posted **Oct 7, 2019, 9:52 PM**

The Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center was formally opened, today:

https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/s...83893497532421

https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/s...19786762047488

https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/s...86944023760896

Good to have them fully back in Detroit, now.

DetroitSky · #**5810** Posted **Oct 9, 2019, 7:26 PM**

Hotel concept Sonder to open 168 units in 2 downtown Detroit buildings

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Sonder Inc. expects to open 168 of its apartment-like short-term rentals in two buildings in downtown Detroit beginning next month.

Forty-five of the one- and two-bedroom units are expected to be available for rent in the former Lawyers Building at 139 Cadillac Square while the remaining 123 are expected this winter in the former Gabriel Richard Building at 305 Michigan Ave.

Ellen Schulz, the Chicago-based general manager of the properties, said Sonder, which is headquartered in San Francisco, "brings consistency and quality of a hotel stay with a space that feels like an apartment."

Sonder operates in 22 cities across the globe.

Detroit might soon have interactive kiosks amid privacy concerns

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Detroit — Dozens of interactive booths with free Wi-Fi, suggestions for dining and shopping or finding an open shelter bed for the homeless might soon be sprouting up downtown.

The Downtown Detroit Partnership has entered into a 15-year agreement with Ohio-based IKE Smart City that calls for the installation of at least 30 kiosks in the city's core and neighborhood districts, said Eric Larson, the partnership's CEO.

The new technology is planned amid tensions in Detroit over privacy concerns tied to the use of traffic-mounted cameras, real-time feeds to the police department's crime center and facial recognition software.

The kiosk technology — often equipped with high-definition security cameras — has also raised privacy concerns in some cities over unwanted surveillance and other features that may provide a user's personal information to third parties.

Detroit is believed to be the first city deploying IKE kiosks without cameras, Larson said, but the terminals can be retrofitted later on "if everybody is comfortable with it."

Get an early taste of Heidelburgers, a forthcoming restaurant from the Heidelberg Project

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The artists behind the world-famous Heidelberg Project are preparing to open a burger restaurant to feed the hungry visitors to their outdoor art installation.

According to founders Tyree Guyton and Jenenne Whitfield, Heidelburgers will serve an assortment of burgers developed by accomplished chef and caterer Jeffrie Toney. Besides a traditional beef patty, they'll serve turkey burgers with a bit of spice, and meat-free burgers called Veggie Baby and the Vegan Volt.

Heidelburgers will also serve french fries, sweet potato fries and slaw.

Whitfield said the restaurant will be in the Heidelberg neighborhood, which is also home to their new headquarters. They'll host a pop-up event, which is nearly sold old, at the HQ later this month.

"The restaurant will happen in 2020," said Whitfield. "If all goes well with the pop-ups and we get the following that we hope, it will be spring and summer of 2020."

SperamusMeliora · #**5811** Posted **Oct 10, 2019, 7:51 PM**

Residential, commercial project planned for historic Woodbridge neighborhood

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Planning is underway for the redevelopment of two major sites in Detroit’s historic Woodbridge neighborhood.

Co-developers and nonprofits Woodbridge Neighborhood Development and Cinnaire announced this week that they’ve selected Columbus-based MKSK for planning services for the redevelopment of buildings and new residential and commercial projects, and green space in the neighborhood.

The project will include creating a design and development guideline for the vacant Hancock School.

Part of the plan includes seven acres just southwest of the former school along Rosa Parks Boulevard.

Detroit's contemporary art museum to undergo 'top-to-bottom' renovation

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At Friday's 13th annual gala and benefit art auction, MOCAD will officially launch its Future Fund campaign to raise $15 million for capital improvements for a museum that shows the best and latest in the visual arts, but also serves as a hub for music, literary events, community gatherings and more.

There are plans to transform the gravel parking lot in ways that allow it to double as a multipurpose plaza.

There also are plans for a hybrid heating and cooling system that uses natural ventilation to make air-conditioning more efficient and cost-effective at the same time.

One of the most visible changes would be the revamp of MOCAD's outdoor space into a greener, inviting campus that ties together the museum and "Mobile Homestead" and becomes a place for people to meet and hang out.

There are also plans for a restaurant to replace MOCAD's existing cafe.

DetroitSky · #**5812** Posted **Oct 18, 2019, 11:55 PM**

Really glad to see this:

GM Detroit plant would get $3 billion investment to stay open

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General Motors has agreed to invest $3 billion in the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant to build electric pickups, vans and battery modules, according to a copy of the proposed contract obtained by Automotive News. The plant, which was scheduled to close in January, would employ 2,225 people at full capacity, GM told the union.

The investment represents one-third of the $9 billion that potentially would be spent on GM's U.S. plants, including $1.3 billion in indirect investments, if striking UAW members ratify the tentative agreement reached Wednesday. The $7.7 billion in GM investments pledged in the agreement would create or retain about 9,000 jobs through 2023.

Coworking firm Venture X to open with 22,000 square feet downtown next year

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Another coworking office space location is heading to Detroit.

Venture X has signed a lease of 22,000 square feet in the downtown building at 220 W. Congress St. owned by developer and landlord Roger Basmajian. Vik Panchal, the Venture X franchisee for the space, declined to reveal build-out costs, rental rates and franchise agreement specifics, and contractors on the project. He expects availability in the first quarter of next year.

Quicken Loans opening Detroit medical office to serve 17,000 Gilbert employees

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Giant downtown Detroit employer Quicken Loans Inc. is opening its own medical center at the top of the First National Building.

The Rock Health Collective is aimed at the 17,000 workers of the mortgage lender and other Dan Gilbert portfolio companies clustered around downtown, such as real estate firm Bedrock LLC, which owns the 26-story tower. It officially opens Tuesday, though dozens of employees received care last week.

Wayne State celebrates completion of $151 million student apartment complex

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The Anthony Wayne Drive Apartments, a $151 million apartment complex at Wayne State University in Detroit, has been completed.

The 406,800 square-foot 840-bed student housing and retail project is Wayne State's largest student housing structure cost-wise, Tim Michael, associate vice president of student auxiliary services and chief housing officer, said in a statement emailed to Crain's.

The first phase of the project — an 11-story center tower with 400 beds — was completed in August 2018.

The last phase added two wings of six and eight stories on either side of the central tower. Those towers added apartments for 440 residents as well as a 9,000-square-foot Campus Health Center on the ground floor of the north tower and more retail space, the school's website says.

German-centric brewery and pub Lagerhaus No. 5 appears in Eastern Market

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A German-inspired brewery, brewpub and beer store has been quietly in the works in an Eastern Market warehouse, and now it's near opening.

Curt Wimmer, a semi-retired Detroit emergency physician and one of the founding organizers of the now-closed Villages Bier and Weingarten in Detroit's West Village, has been spearheading Lagerhaus No. 5's creation for more than two years.

Its name is now painted on a building at 1529 Adelaide St., and Wimmer expects to open in several weeks. His co-owners are longtime area brewer Scott King and paramedic James Ryder.

Lagerhaus will brew its own traditional-style beer — it has a brewing unit with a 22-barrel capacity — and serve Hungarian- and German-inspired food. Wimmer declined to disclose the chef's name, saying it is still "confidential."

DetroitSky · #**5813** Posted **Oct 20, 2019, 1:08 AM**

The Schvitz to undertake major restoration of upstairs ballroom

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And now, the 4,000-square-foot upstairs ballroom, which has its own entrance, is set to be renovated. The Schvitz was recently awarded a $40,000 Motor City Match grant for the work. Lynch expects the initial phase will cost around $400,000.

Updates to the space will include adding skylights to the 20-foot vaulted ceiling; daylighting many of the 16 large windows; and adding a mezzanine, portable bar, stage, and rooftop access with a deck. The building will also need a new roof and HVAC.

This first phase is largely about making the space functional again, though Lynch says he ultimately wants to restore the ballroom to its “original grandeur.” Principal design is being done by Anthony Morin of Omilian and Morin Architecture and Design.

“The first two years have been labor of love, about bringing an old place back. This is a much bigger project,” Lynch says. “The downstairs operates like a community rec center or nonprofit—there’s just not enough income to fully restore the building. The only way it can brought back to life fully is if we can activate the ballroom.”

Here's what the windows looked like originally:

Source

A look inside the recently redeveloped State Savings Bank

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The 14,640-square-foot main room can be the perfect backdrop for a fashionable event or fundraiser. “Event planners have ultimate flexibility to use this amazing space as a backdrop and do their own thing on top of it,” Yuhasz says.

Weekend rentals cost $7,500 per day and weeknights are $5,000.

It will continue to be used as an event space through 2021, at which point Bedrock will reevaluate. There’s an undeveloped second floor—which overlooks the lobby similar to a mezzanine—and a smaller third floor. Bedrock says it’s open to proposals from the right office or restaurant tenant.

^I always thought this would be the perfect location for the Automotive Hall of Fame, if they ever follow through on their commitment to move to Detroit from Dearborn.

Group looks to bring live music back to Belle Isle

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Musicians like Ober could once again take the stage at Remick if a new effort to revive the structure is successful. The nonprofit Music On Belle Isle Group (MOBIG) is in the process of organizing, raising funds, and raising awareness for the project.

The Remick Band Shell, just west of the Belle Isle Aquarium off Loiter Way, is one of the last major undeveloped features of the island.

While ideally it would like to renovate the band shell, MOBIG president Craig Strain says the group’s top priority is to establish a music venue on the island, and for a return to the days prior to the 1980s when concert bands, symphonies, and similar acts made music in the park. If a Remick renovation proves too costly or impractical, the group may try to build a new shell elsewhere on the island.

Johnny Ryall · #**5814** Posted **Oct 20, 2019, 1:39 AM**

The historic renovations in this thread are out of this world. Absolutely beautiful.

SperamusMeliora · #**5815** Posted **Oct 21, 2019, 4:26 AM**

I took some photos of the projects around town today.

HFHS Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavillion:

DMC sports medicine facility by LCA:

Columbia Street:

(I really like this mechanism for sliding the bollards out of the way)

Abandoned railway demolition along Jefferson between Rosa Parks and Ambassador Bridge:

Joe Louis Arena demolition:

DetroitSky · #**5816** Posted **Oct 21, 2019, 11:22 PM**

^Nice update! I finally got around to shooting some photos around downtown this morning. Demolition is in its early phases at Michigan Mutual Liability Annex, which will be replaced by TCF Tower. Here's one of the final renderings for the tower that was posted on SSC:

Source

Definitely an improvement over the original two designs.

Sterling Group seeking to redevelop Joe Louis Arena site

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A Detroit-based real estate company is nearing a deal to redevelop the site of Joe Louis Arena, which is being demolished, Crain's has learned.

Sterling Group, which was founded by TCF Bank Executive Chairman Gary Torgow in 1988 and is now run by his adult children, is the previously unknown developer working to get the site to which New York City-based Financial Guaranty Insurance Corp. has development rights, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

If it finalizes — Detroit City Council is expected to begin consideration of it this week — it would be another high-profile deal for the Torgow family, and the latest chapter in the effort to reuse the site of the former Detroit Red Wings home along the Detroit River.

A City Council agenda released Monday lists First & Congress Management LLC as the proposed buyer of Joe Louis Arena and its parking garage for $14.1 million. That entity is registered to Eli Halpern, general counsel for Sterling Group, according to state business records.

^No details yet, but this could be huge. Hopefully the infrastructure in that area is drastically improved, though. I feel like anything built there besides a Cobo/TCF Center expansion or another arena/soccer venue? would be an instant failure if things stay how they are.

Curbed Detroit released a list today of Dan Gilbert's biggest projects. Nothing new here, but its a nice roundup.

DetroitSportsFan · #**5817** Posted **Oct 22, 2019, 1:25 AM**

From the article:

City council documents also released Monday say that the Sterling Group affiliate "proposes to design and construct a high density mixed-use development" on the site, although specifics are not yet known. They also say that the deal saves the city about $7 million, with $3 million of that being for Joe Louis Arena parking garage repairs and another $4 million for environmental remediation of the arena site.

Assuming this means it won’t just be a tcf expansion then. Wouldn’t be surprised to see a hotel connected to the convention center as per of it.

DetroitSky · #**5818** Posted **Oct 23, 2019, 4:54 AM**

The first tower crane sections were delivered to the Hudson's Site today, as seen in this video.

SperamusMeliora · #**5819** Posted **Oct 24, 2019, 7:32 PM**

This makes me mad.

United Artists Building developer seeks tax abatements, plans to tear down theater

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Developer seeks $2.43 million in property tax abatements for $56 million redevelopment of United Artists Building

United Artists Theatre attached to the 18-story tower targeted for demolition

Long-delayed project now expected to start in the first quarter next year, be complete by mid-2021

It's the first forward momentum in the effort to turn the 18-story building at 150 Bagley St. into 148 apartments since it was announced about 2 1/2 years ago as part of the Ilitch family's District Detroit area's residential plans.

I do partially agree with the one comment currently on the article; I don't know if they proposed it, but I do think it will end up as another surface lot.

DetroitSky · #**5820** Posted **Oct 24, 2019, 8:41 PM**

Unbelievable that Edward Moten is partially behind the demolition proposal right after the Detroit Saturday Night Building fiasco. Honestly, though, I’m not surprised they want to demo the theater. I’d be much more surprised if they planned on restoring it. This is an ignorant, short sighted and infuriating decision, but given the Ilitch’s track record, not really a shock.