METRO DETROIT | Development & Projects

[DetroitMan]

Diptyque is opening their first Michigan store at Somerset. Earlier this month, Prada and Vuori announced stores coming to Somerset as well.

French fragrance boutique Diptyque opens first Michigan store

A French luxury fragrance and home design brand is opening its first store in Michigan at Somerset Collection in Troy.

Diptyque opened Thursday on the first floor of the north side of the mall, between M.A.C. Cosmetics and Tesla. It sells eaux de parfum, cologne, scented candles and perfume oil diffusers. Diptyque is an ancient Greek word for a painting or sculpture comprising two parts.

The design of the Troy store is inspired by a Paris apartment, according to a news release. The interior features concrete columns designed to showcase a part of Detroit's industrial past. Throughout the store, shoppers will see decor and candleholders featuring the work of several artists.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/retail...set-collection

[DetroitMan]

I'm happy to see more of the surface parking lots in Troy get developed. However, I really wish more mixed-use developments were proposed in Troy.

Developer explores putting large office project next to Troy's tallest building

Kojaian Management Corp., run by C. Michael Kojaian, has submitted plans to construct a seven-story office building with almost 258,000 square feet and four-story parking deck with more than 1,000 spaces on what is now surface parking for the 25-story PNC Center west of I-75 and just south of West Big Beaver Road. A 5,000-square-foot retail building would also be built on the site, which is 20 acres, according to Troy Planning Commission documents from last month.

PNC Center — the city's tallest building — was developed as the Top of Troy. Built in the 1970s by Kojaian, it sits in a federally designated Opportunity Zone, which gives investors in Qualified Opportunity Funds appealing breaks on their capital gains taxes.

Tony Antone, executive vice president for Kojaian, said the company is working to get the site approved for the possible build-to-suit headquarters-style building before going to market seeking a user.

"We're not building this spec," Antone said, industry shorthand for speculative building, which is when a developer constructs a building without any tenants identified.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...ext-pnc-center

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by DetroitMan

I'm happy to see more of the surface parking lots in Troy get developed. However, I really wish more mixed-use developments were proposed in Troy.

Developer explores putting large office project next to Troy's tallest building


https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...ext-pnc-center

They must have a large tenant in place to warrant a new build that size. I'm glad it's not speculative as I'd imagine it wouldn't fill very quick. And I really hope that design is conceptual and not anything near what they'd even consider building. A building like that hasn't been built since at least 1980 lol.

[DetroitSky]

High-profile Downriver office tower set to undergo massive transformation

Work will begin next week on an office-to-housing conversion project in Downriver for the tallest building that exists between Detroit and Toledo.

Built in the early 1970s as a bank headquarters, the 14-story Southgate Tower, 16333 Trenton Road in Southgate, which has been empty for years, will be converted into 215 market-rate apartments.

Construction is set to start Monday, and the redeveloped building — to be called The Bank Tower — is expected to open in early to mid-2025.

Some of the building's original features will be incorporated into the redevelopment. For example, a safety deposit box vault will be turned into a social area, a drive-through teller building will become an electric vehicle charging station and residents will have the option of paying rent via one of the bank's old pneumatic tubes.

[Velvet_Highground]

Downtown Troy could become a fairly interesting community with more mixed use projects some pedestrian friendly streets scape would be nice as well. Awesome to see The Bank Tower being repurposed that’s a big win for Southgate and Downriver in general.

I’ve noticed increased interest in high rise housing in some of the older / inner-ring burbs, The Sapphire in Southfield is a good example and well done. Albeit the Northland area is being redeveloped in general the Kenmore and IBM towers have been undergoing renovations though the Northland hotel and conference center is stalled once again.

There’s been a greater interest in general in the Northwestern HWY frontage over the past few years some of the really cool mid-century modernist offices have been updated while some of the less ascetically pleasing ones have been reclad. The area around Red Pole Park has had a couple new hotels and a new office while there was a new office built next to the American Center as well a couple years back.

It’d be nice to see a broader plan enacted for the Town Center with mixed use developments along Central Park Blvd & a couple of cap parks built over the Northwestern connecting in Lawrence Tech, that’s a lot easier said than done though.

Not a huge announcement but a new North American R&D center is a welcome addition to the momentum the region and state have built in tech and mobility fields. No word yet on a final location in the county.

Expleo To Locate Its First North American R&D Facility In Michigan

Businessfacilities.com
June 22, 2023

This week, European engineering services provider Expleo USA Inc. has announced it will establish its first North American research and development (R&D) facility in Oakland County, Michigan. At its new location in the state, Expleo will offer technology and engineering services to the automotive industry. The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of more than $2 million and create 196 high-wage jobs, and will build on Michigan’s leadership role in future mobility in vehicle electrification. Expleo is currently evaluating locations in Oakland County for its new operations.

….

Governor Gretchen Whitmer was at Expleo’s headquarters in Paris for the announcement, as part of her European investment mission to Paris and Germany taking place through June 22.

“We’re thrilled to bring home nearly 200 good-paying jobs from Expleo, building on our leadership in advanced automotive manufacturing and strengthening our position as the global leader of mobility and electrification,” said Governor Whitmer. “Expleo chose to invest in Michigan because of our strong mobility business environment, inclusive laws, skilled workforce, and ongoing economic momentum to ensure anyone can ‘make it in Michigan.’ Together, we have created powerful economic development tools to bring supply chains of cars, chips, and batteries home, and secured 35,000 auto jobs since I took office.”

….

Expleo is experiencing increased demand for its electronic, mechanical, and digital engineering services, and in North America the company offers a range of services, including engineering, quality assurance, digital transformation, and consulting to clients in the aerospace, automotive, financial services, and healthcare industries.

The company cited Michigan’s significant automotive presence, the state’s engineering talent, proximity to established relationships with its current suppliers and customers, and Michigan as a welcoming state for its employees to live, work, and play as deciding factors in it choosing the state.

https://businessfacilities.com/exple...y-in-michigan/

[DetroitMan]

Great economic wins for Michigan

Bill Gates-backed glass maker LuxWall plans $166M expansion, 453 jobs in Michigan

Ypsilanti-based LuxWall Inc. is considering sites in Detroit and Litchfield Township, near Hillsdale, for what is being called the "world's first high volume vacuum insulated glass production facilities," according to a briefing memo from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The project in Litchfield calls for renovating two buildings totaling 216,000 square feet for a plant that would produce 200,000 windows annually and create 111 jobs. In Detroit, the company is evaluating sites for a 280,000-square-foot plant that would churn out 600,000 units per year and add 342 jobs. The jobs would pay an average wage of $1,653 per week plus benefits.

LuxWall was also considering sites in Indiana and Ohio for the project, according to the MEDC, which recommended a $6 million performance-based grant that was approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund board Tuesday. Officials said the grant was necessary to offset incentives proposals and lower industrial electricity rates of the other states.

“We are thrilled to be earning this significant investment by LuxWall as we continue to position Michigan as a leader in clean technology and highly advanced manufacturing,” said Quentin Messer Jr., CEO of the MEDC and president and chair of the Michigan Strategic Fund.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufa...166m-expansion

Bollinger Motors plans $44M metro Detroit investment, 237 new jobs

Bollinger Motors Inc. aims to invest $44 million at its Livonia manufacturing plant and Oak Park headquarters in an expansion that would create 237 jobs.
The homegrown electric truck startup, bought by Mullen Automotive Inc. last year, is preparing to launch production of its first vehicle, a Class 4 EV, in the first half of next year, according to a briefing memo from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The board of the MEDC's funding arm, the Michigan Strategic Fund, on Tuesday approved a $3 million performance-based grant for the project, which the MEDC said would offset the additional cost of expanding in Michigan versus a competing site in Indiana.
The jobs are expected to pay an average of $55.37 per hour plus benefits. The company presently employs 55 in Michigan. Bollinger will also team with Michigan Works to recruit local talent in disadvantaged areas, the memo said.

Bollinger contracted Roush Industries as its third-party assembly manufacturer in Livonia to manage production of its vehicles, but the name of the company was not disclosed.


Brea, Calif.-based Mullen bought a 60% stake in Bollinger for $148.2 million in September. Shortly after the announcement, Novi-based Our Next Energy Inc. was tapped to supply Bollinger with electric batteries on Class 4-6 chassis cabs, marking the end of in-house battery development for Bollinger.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufa...t-237-new-jobs

[Velvet_Highground]

It looks like the race for one of the most powerful local offices in the state of Michigan is starting off with a fight over the future of Pontiac and wether the county government should have to pay the income taxes of its county seat, which it currently doesn’t.

She’s clearly a bright individual she’s picked the only consistent legacy of her father to evoke for her own campaign which is acting like a rich county like Oakland can’t afford to operate like a normal government otherwise it will end up on the back of taxpayers in the exurbs. Then there’s going after the traditional whipping boy of Oakland County Republican politics, Pontiac. MAGA politics haven’t played well at all in Oakland County or state wide and the party is a mess. As a matter of fact there was a drunken brawl amongst the MAGA led the top leadership at a hotel in Claire a few weeks ago.

Daughter of L. Brooks Patterson fights Pontiac plan in run for Oakland County executive

Oakland County’s newest politician named Patterson — Mary Margaret — pledged she’d “bring back the Oakland County my father fought for every day of his life.”

Oakland County will hold a primary election next year, and others may enter the race for county executive. Still, in the 2024 general election, Mary Margaret Patterson, having received the full endorsement of the Oakland County Republican Party, presumably will face the incumbent Democrat, former Ferndale mayor David Coulter, who has been Oakland County executive since shortly after Patterson’s father died.

Last week, the day after Patterson officially announced her campaign, the 19-member Oakland County Board of Commissioners voted along party lines to support Coulter’s momentous urban proposal for Pontiac. He wants to move hundreds of county employees into largely vacant office buildings in downtown Pontiac. Helping Pontiac is "the moral thing to do," but it also helps the county, according to Coulter’s calculus. That conclusion springs from a lengthy analysis by professional consultants of the firm Plante Moran, which showed that the move, financially, might be a wash, because rehabbing Oakland County’s aging stock of government buildings would cost nearly $1 billion.

In that light, buying and renovating two office buildings in Pontiac — former GM sites — would allow the county to close its most antiquated office space, argues Coulter and his Democratic allies on the county commission. The county’s offer, almost sure to be approved by the Pontiac City Council, includes assuming the lease for the city-owned Phoenix Center Parking Structure, which Patterson points out is in serious disrepair, is hardly used anymore and seems destined for demolition, the path suggested a dozen years ago by former Pontiac Emergency Manager Lou Schimmel. But Patterson firmly opposes moving county workers into Pontiac, where they will be forced to pay the city’s income tax.

“The Democrats say they’re leaving building that are decrepit. I say there’s no building on the Oakland County campus that needs millions and millions of dollars to fix up. I’ve been in those buildings and they look OK to me”. “They’re buying these buildings that will need tremendous amounts of repairs. I think $120 million was the number I was given. My father worked very hard to get all employees on the same campus”.

Pontiac schedules public hearing on Phoenix Center sale




Transformation of Downtown Pontiac Moving Forward as Oakland County Finalizes Purchase of Downtown Buildings

- The Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved the county’s purchase of the Ottawa Towers, former General Motors Building, and four adjacent parcels in downtown Pontiac.

- Oakland County intends to move between 500 and 600 employees to create a significant county presence in downtown Pontiac.

- The State of Michigan is investing $50 million in the project to help with building renovations, blight removal, redeveloping commercial and green spaces and streetscaping, reconnecting city streets, and developing safe parking options.

- Use the Michigan Department of Transportation’s reconfiguration of the Woodward loop in 2025 to reimagine the downtown’s south end, including transforming current buildings into public spaces which would strengthen connections between Pontiac residents and the downtown corridor.

- Reconnect Saginaw Street with the rest of downtown through road construction.
Enhance green space and provide walkability for employees and residents.
Provide new safe parking opportunities for daytime workers and evening activities.

- Make county, city, and state government services more accessible to residents of Pontiac and Oakland County by connecting these buildings to public transit.

[DetroitMan]

Apartment buildings rise as Northland Center mall redevelopment continues

The project consists of what could one day end up becoming one of the largest multifamily complexes in the state, with more than a dozen apartment buildings planned plus other units carved out of the mall.

Two of the buildings are currently under construction, with completion on the first expected later this year or early next year, said David Dedvukaj, who heads up Bloomfield Hills-based developer Contour Companies LLC, which is redeveloping the 100-plus-acre site. Plans for the property were first revealed in November 2020, with Contour also proposing to turn the former J.L. Hudson's department store into more than 300,000 square feet of food, home furnishing and entertainment space akin to Ponce City Market in a former Sears Corp. catalogue facility in Atlanta.For right now, the inline and former first-floor retail spaces have been gutted, awaiting construction in a plan that would turn them into live-work residential units and perhaps other spaces. Northland Center was the largest shopping mall in the world when it opened in 1954 at what the Detroit Historical Society says was a cost of about $30 million. It was enclosed two decades later. Its mix of other amenities — including things like auditoriums, art, fountains and landscaping — were models for malls across the country, the historical society says.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...ts-redeveloped

[Velvet_Highground]

Glad to see northland redevelopment chugging along its a good fit to further reinvestment in the area.

Michigan has been steadily capturing a number of small & medium sized investments in the semiconductor sector, I’m looking forward to see what results the newly announced STAR - U of M facility can help bring to building on the momentum.

California-based indie Semiconductor establishing design and testing facility in Auburn Hills, creating 180 high-wage jobs

indie Semiconductor, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., designs next-generation automotive semiconductors and software platforms. The company focuses on developing innovative, high-performance and energy-efficient technology for driver safety and automation (ADAS), user experience and electrification applications. indie has design centers and regional support offices across the U.S. and worldwide, including Auburn Hills, where it employs 26 Michiganders.

This project represents the first semiconductor firm to create or expand a design team in the state and contributes to MEDC’s ongoing efforts to strengthen Michigan’s leadership in mobility and vehicle electrification. The project is also expected to be a catalyst for the semiconductor industry’s continued growth in the state, building on existing assets and companies such as KLA, Hemlock Semiconductor, Calumet Electronics, SK Siltron and more.

indie is experiencing significant growth and plans to expand its Auburn Hills office to include a best-in-class semiconductor design and testing facility, focusing on the development of highly innovative and integrated circuits and system solutions for the automotive market. The company also has ambitions to establish an additional facility in Southeast Michigan, as hiring increases over the next several years. indie is already building strong relationships with Michigan’s universities to support advanced research and development while creating a workforce pipeline for the highly skilled positions required for this industry.

The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $12.5 million and create up to 180 high-wage jobs with the support of a $10 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Michigan was chosen for the project over competing sites from a number of other states. indie selected Michigan for its next U.S.-based design location because of its rich automotive history and proximity to the North American operations of most automotive manufacturers and their electronic module suppliers.

BorgWarner expanding in SE Michigan, creating 186 jobs

BorgWarner, established in 1928 and headquartered in Auburn Hills, is a global provider of sustainable mobility solutions for the automotive market. The company has approximately 1,700 employees in Michigan.

BorgWarner is planning an expansion project that will accelerate its electric vehicle product development and testing, including battery modules, battery packs, and DC fast chargers; as well as scale up its DC fast charging manufacturing operations. The project includes expansions at its Auburn Hills, Dearborn, and Hazel Park operations as well as a fourth, yet-to-be-determined location across Oakland and Wayne counties.

The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $20.6 million and create 186 jobs, supported by a $1.86 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Michigan was chosen for the project over competing sites throughout the United States. Michigan’s talent base and skilled workforce were key factors in selecting Michigan for this project, as well as the opportunity to easily collaborate across the facilities located in Oakland and Wayne counties.

[DetroitMan]

Former Kmart headquarters in Troy to be demolished

The long-discussed demolition of the sprawling former Kmart Corp. headquarters in Troy is about to go forward.
Crews started adding fencing around the long-vacant site at 3100 W. Big Beaver Road in the last few weeks and the city says wreckers will start tearing down parts of the behemoth starting in September, marking the end of nearly two decades of vacancy and obsolescence. The owner has submitted a demolition permit application, but not any redevelopment proposals, the city said in a statement. Demolition would start first on the parking structure and then the main building.
"Demolition of this tired asset is the first step towards redevelopment of this prominent location," said Brent Savidant, community development director, said in a statement.

The property, which clocks in at about 1.1 million square feet across 40 or so acres at West Big Beaver and Coolidge, is owned by Forbes Frankel Troy Ventures LLC, which paid a reported $17.5 million for it in December 2009 in a defensive real estate move.


The JV, run by Nathan Forbes and his Southfield-based Forbes Co. and the Frankel family, also owns the adjacent luxury shopping mall, Somerset Collection. Forbes said in an interview four years ago that tearing down the Kmart property was a possibility, although some plans had called for repurposing it. In 2016, Forbes said during a conference that a master-planning process was underway, although nothing was publicly revealed on it after. Documents filed with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs list Detroit-based demolition company Adamo Group as a contractor on the project.

Troy officials did not return repeated messages. Mayor Ethan Baker referred to a statement issued by the city on Thursday afternoon. Likewise, Adamo representatives did not return messages seeking comment.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...-be-demolished

[DetroitMan]

27-unit apartment building proposed near downtown Royal Oak

A metro Detroit developer seeks to build a four-story 27-unit multi-family rental building near downtown Royal Oak.

Documents filed with the Oakland County city's planning department seek a conditional rezoning for the property at 600 E. 11 Mile Road, with the developer being Troy-based Stonegate Property Group. On the site now is an aging structure. It is located across the street from the SkyLofts Marketsquare condo development and just east of the Royal Oak Farmers Market.

"The new proposed development will provide all updated construction materials, new code compliant structure as the existing structure was built in 1970," John Abro, managing partner of Stonegate, wrote in a letter to the Royal Oak Planning Commission. "We are seeking a conditional rezoning approval by the Planning Commission as needed for our development."

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...town-royal-oak

[TimothyOfDetroit]

Mount Clemens

Mount Clemens approves plan to build 100-unit, $20 million-plus apartments at the entrance way of North River Road and North Gratiot Avenue. Construction is set to be complete 2027. This comes following the 8 million dollar Edison Crossing supportive residences development off of Clinton river downtown Mount Clemens. https://www.candgnews.com/amp/news/d...t-clemens-2970

[Velvet_Highground]

That’s a great project for Mt Clemens turning an eyesore into residential space downtown. Low key downtown Mt Clemens has been doing pretty well, it’s been a couple years since I’ve been but I was pleasantly surprised. There needs to be a reconfiguration of the Gratiot loop I accidentally went the wrong way pulling out of a gas station trying to get back on North River once.

[DetroitMan]

While Stellantis is claiming they won't leave their Auburn Hills campus, I wouldn't put it pass them to move out of the state in the future.

Stellantis evaluating future use of Auburn Hills headquarters

Stellantis NV is reassessing its footprint in Michigan, including its mammoth North American base in Auburn Hills, amid contract talks with the United Auto Workers and a dayslong strike that threatens to intensify.
"As part of our company's evolution to a more flexible work environment, called the New Era of Agility, we are currently evaluating how we work to enable our teams to be their most innovative, creative and efficient," company spokeswoman Jodi Tinson told Crain's in an email. "That analysis includes potential adjustments to our real estate portfolio. However, the Chrysler Technology Center will continue to be our North American headquarters and North America technical center." The 5.4 million-square-foot Chrysler Technology Center east of I-75 and north of M-59 is among 18 facilities the automaker included in a proposal last Thursday to the UAW, according to a report from CNBC, which said the company is required to notify the UAW of any possible sales or closures of facilities where a union member works. Other Michigan plants potentially on the chopping block include the Trenton Engine Complex and Mount Elliott Tool & Die in Detroit, the report said.
Like many office buildings around town — including General Motors' Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit — the hulking complex in Auburn Hills has sat underutilized since the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in the work-from-home era for many companies. Stellantis has maintained a flexible hybrid work approach even as some other companies have asked employees to return to the office full or part time.

Stellantis COO Mark Stewart, who is overseeing talks with the UAW, told WWJ-AM on Tuesday that the company has a "series of facilities that we were looking to downsize or reconfigure."


"Here in Auburn Hills, this is our North American headquarters. It will be our North American headquarters," Stewart told the radio station. "But like everyone in a hybrid working environment and looking at our overall environment across the region and specifically in the U.S., we have a lot of the building here in Auburn hills that we are not utilizing today. We're looking at other use cases for that."

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/automo...s-headquarters

[DetroitMan]

Owners of Kmart headquarters site in Troy seek millions in brownfield funding

The city of Troy may be asked to sign off on more than $11 million in brownfield reimbursements on the former Kmart Corp. headquarters.

The brownfield plan, which was obtained through a public records request, was submitted to Troy officials in June seeking a reimbursement of $11.55 million over the course of seven years until 2030, or two years after the estimated completion of an as-of-yet unknown development project on the 40-acre site at West Big Beaver Road and Coolidge Highway.

"There is a wide variety of potential redevelopment opportunities being considered for the property," the brownfield plan says.

Mark Adams, economic development manager for Troy, said $11.55 million would also be deposited into the city's local brownfield revolving fund. The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority has not considered the plan yet, nor has the Troy City Council, both of which would need to approve it. Asbestos assessment and abatement is expected this year and demolition would begin after, according to the plan. Future uses are also expected to be identified this year, as is a construction timeline. The plan also says the site, when construction is finished, is expected to have a value of at least $312.5 million.

The property's owner, a joint venture between the Forbes and Frankel families, is also eligible to apply for Michigan Strategic Fund brownfield funding totaling some $10.8 million. That would need to be signed off on by the MSF board.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...nfield-funding

[deja vu]

I knew that demolition of the old Kmart HQ was inevitable. I'm still bummed this is going away though. It was a unique example of corporate architecture from its time, and I somehow hoped it could be saved.

I made a historic post about it, here.

I hope whatever takes its place is interesting and helps build community.

[DetroitMan]

New downtown Birmingham 5-story building to take the place of Chinese restaurant, bank

Birmingham-based Markus Management Group is developing the new building at the site of where the former Mountain King Chinese restaurant and a former Talmer Bank branch once stood. Those two properties have been leveled and workers are in the process of installing footings for a new two-level underground parking garage.Construction on the project is set to wrap up in the first quarter of 2025, said Doraid Markus, head of Markus Management Group and the owner of the site, which is about 0.4 acres.

Ultimately, the new building at South Old Woodward Avenue and Hazel Street is expected to include 22 residential units on the fourth and fifth floors at upper-level market rates, on top of ground-floor restaurant space, and second- and third-floor office space totaling about 32,400 square feet. Markus said a law firm he declined to identify with a presence in Oakland County is taking both floors of office space.

It's one of several mixed-use buildings in varying stages of construction and development in downtown Birmingham as well as the city's Triangle District.

Others include the new RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) store on Old Woodward at Brown; a multi-building project by Ryan Cos.; a 157-unit residential building at South Adams and Haynes; a five-story building on the old post office parking lot; and another mixed-use building next to the RH building. On the former Mountain King site, the new building will be clocking in at 80-some feet in height. That's substantially shorter than Markus would have liked to build. "In the D5 zone, you can go higher than five stories and you can go as high as the abutting property, which would be Birmingham Place," said Markus, who is also a co-owner of that building along with the Bacall brothers. "We tried for that. You know, the residents in the city didn't have the appetite for it, so we just said, 'All right, well, we'll just build what we're entitled to, which is five stories,' and that's what it is."

Under that D5 zoning, the abutting property owner must agree to the construction of a building that equals its height. However, because Markus eventually didn't seek to match the Birmingham Place height, such approval was not needed. Ultimately that decision came in mid- to late 2021, Markus said.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...ngham-building

[DetroitMan]

Comerica has sold off 2 of its office buildings. Here are the plans for them.

Comerica is leasing 340,000 square feet in Farmington Hills that it is building out, downsizing some of its large suburban footprint into one location across two connected buildings owned by Bloomfield Hills-based Kojaian Management Corp. on Corporate Drive near 12 Mile and Halsted roads.

As a result, it put three buildings up for sale with the Southfield office of fellow Dallas-based company, CBRE Inc., marketing them to new ownership.

In the last several months, Comerica has unloaded two of those three buildings to new ownership.

• 39200 Six Mile Rd. in Livonia: a 382,000-square-foot building at Haggerty Road. The building sold to Birmingham-based Markus Management Group for $21.1 million last month, according to CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service.

Markus Management wants to tear down the building and bring a host of new uses to the 22.3-acre site, including a new Whole Foods Inc. grocery store, a five-story, 170-unit apartment building and a four-story, 101-room extended-stay hotel, according to marketing materials for the proposed development, referred to as The Shoppes at College Park. Mid-America Real Estate Inc. has the listing on the development.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...rban-buildings

[DetroitMan]

YMCA site with multi-story housing could be headed to downtown Royal Oak

A new YMCA center with multi-story housing on the floors above it could be headed to downtown Royal Oak.

The mixed-use YMCA center — something that already exists in places like Toronto and Calgary — would be among the first in the U.S., said Helene Weir, president and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit.

The nonprofit is considering a city-owned parking lot at 600 S. Main Street, the main stage area for the annual Arts, Beats & Eats festival, adjacent to the location of the new Oakland Community College culinary school, as the site for its new branch.

The project is still in the early planning phase, but the YMCA envisions the construction of a three-story community center with onsite parking, an aquatic hall, a gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms, a fitness center and a licensed childcare facility, per city documents. Floors four and above would contain housing, including affordable units.

The Royal Oak City Commission is set to vote on Monday night on a one-year exclusivity agreement with the YMCA to give it time to create a development and purchase agreement and outline financing for the project.

The commission will also weigh in on the YMCA's request for a $25,000 matching grant to help fund planning for the project, something that would come from the $1.5 million in ARPA funding the city committed in February to the project, should it move forward, the city said.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/nonpro...-story-housing

[Velvet_Highground]

That patch of woodland between Corporate & Mercedes-Benz Financial is arguably the most controversial piece of real estate in the city. Most people who live here enjoy access to the cozy little urban center of downtown Farmington just as much as they do their local undeveloped patch of woods in walking distance from their home.

Really cool to see a mixed use YMCA in the cards for Royal Oak.