[LMich]

Link (http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070621/BIZ/706210416&theme=Metro-Detroit-Riverfront)

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20070621&Category=BIZ&ArtNo=706210416&Ref=V2Q=100&MaxW=500

GM will build luxury condos on riverfront
Construction of high-rise near RenCen to start in '08

June 21, 2007

Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. struck a deal with a prominent development firm to build luxury condos at the epicenter of Detroit's riverfront, a move that comes as efforts to rebuild the city's long-neglected waterfront are coming together.

GM said Wednesday it will give the Houston-based Hines real estate firm six acres just east of the automaker's world headquarters in the Renaissance Center in exchange for a cut of the future profits from the development.

If the plan comes together as envisioned, the developers eventually would build 600 luxury condominiums that would sell for roughly $300,000 to $1 million.

Hines will build the project in phases, starting with a high-rise condo tower on a one-acre plot next to the RenCen. If that's successful, more will follow on three more adjacent parcels.

The developer hopes to break ground in the spring of 2008. The first residents could move in by the following spring. The overall project could take five to 10 years to complete.

While GM has for years promised to bring residential development to the riverfront, Wednesday's announcement is the most concrete sign yet that the vision will become a reality.

"We clearly want to be a part of the fabric of a great downtown and a great urban center," said Matthew Cullen, head of GM's Economic Development and Enterprise Services. "There needs to not only be places to work and shop, people need to be living there. It needs to be a 24-7 environment."

The development will be largely residential, designed to take advantage of the waterfront property and the many amenities offered in the RenCen, which houses retail stores, a movie theater, and restaurants.

Hines will head up the development project, though GM will weigh in on any plans.

The riverfront for years offered little more than a few struggling businesses, dilapidated buildings and acres of land scarred by heavy industry. The area is now designated as a Renaissance Zone, allowing for significant tax breaks.

GM took a lead role in the riverfront's redevelopment with its $500 million acquisition and remodeling of the Renaissance Center, which replaced the GM Building as the corporation's global headquarters in 1996.

Detroit and the state then demolished three cement silos along the river, making way for the Detroit RiverWalk that's now taking shape.

GM timed Wednesday's announcement just before the first Detroit International RiverDays, which starts Friday with the waterfront promenade at the center.

The event will mark the grand opening of the East RiverWalk, a 3.5-mile walkway from Joe Louis Arena to the Belle Isle Bridge.

To be a successful center of city life, the public sections of the walk must be paired with robust retail and residential development, said Caroline Marks, spokeswoman for the RiverFront Conservancy, the nonprofit organization that will oversee the RiverWalk.

"A riverfront can't be just one thing or another -- it has to be a big comprehensive picture," she said.

Even as Detroit loses population, the city's center is attracting a core of young, educated and affluent residents to new housing, according to a market study released earlier this year by Katherine Beebe & Associates.

The downtown core, roughly bordered by the Detroit River, the Lodge and Interstates 75 and 375, grew to 6,259 residents in 2005 from 6,141 residents in 2000.

While relatively small, the gain is seen as vital to a city that has lost more than 50,000 residents since 2000.

"We are convinced even though it's a tough time for our resident real estate market, there's still a lot of pent-up demand for people to live in the city of Detroit," Cullen said. "There is no better real estate in the region."

Hines has experience in Detroit. It was hired by GM to oversee the RenCen makeover and built the Comerica tower downtown. It also manages the City-County Building and Compuware headquarters, both downtown.

It is one of the world's largest real estate firms, with more than 950 properties worldwide and $16 billion in assets.

"We understand that Michigan is having a bit of a lull, but we sense some strength in the downtown residential market," said Dean Stermer, a project manager at Hines' Detroit office. "We're going to aim for the top of the market in terms of what's available in Detroit."

The Hines development joins three other major riverfront projects in various stages.

Ex-Detroit Piston Dave Bing is heading up a $60 million luxury residential development -- called Watermark Detroit -- that calls for 112 apartments, town homes and condos priced from $400,000 to $1.2 million.

Another project known as Chene East, still in its early stages, is envisioned as a residential/retail development on a 40-acre parcel near the Belle Isle bridge.

A third riverfront project -- the @water, pronounced "Atwater," by developer Dwight Belyue -- began selling 225 units, including $1.5 million penthouses, in March. Deposits have been put down for 40 units, including two penthouses.

You can reach Sharon Terlep at (313)223-4686 or sterlep@detnews.com.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hines Page on RiverEast

http://www.hines.com/property/detail.aspx?id=1133

Not a lot of information, but Hines has been committed to this for years, now.

RiverEast Parcel Map:

http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/environment/images/detroitriverfront_map.jpg

[apbest]

old renderings

http://www.downtowndetroit.org/ddp/images/housing/River_East-2.jpg
http://www.downtowndetroit.org/ddp/images/housing/River_East-1.jpg

[LMich]

More recent conceptualizations are available at Rossetti Associates (http://www.rossetti.com/) website, and even those are just loose conceptualizations.

[BnaBreaker]

:cheers:

[ColDayMan]

Seriously, good for Detroit.

[Trumbull]

:banana: :banana: :banana:

EDIT: Heres the project's website. http://www.renshorecondos.com/

[LMich]

Looks like Crain's has more information. It seems the tower will have 80 units, and will be designed by Chicago's Built Form:

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070621/REG/70621001

GM picks Houston company to build riverfront condos

By Robert Ankeny

10:47 am, June 21, 2007

General Motors Corp. has designated Houston-based Hines Interests L.P. to build luxury residential complexes on six acres of its riverfront property east of GM’s global headquarters at the Renaissance Center.

Hines, an international real estate firm, said in an announcement that it will partner with GM on a mixed-use development on land that the auto manufacturer will give the company.

In exchange, GM will receive a portion of future revenue from residential sales. Hines will handle financing and construction of the condominium development.

Additional development partners likely are to be included in the project, the announcement said.

Chicago-based Built Form, a design architect, and Kraemer Design Group, Detroit-based interior-design consultants, have been contracted for the project.

The first building planned for the development is an 80-unit luxury residential tower to be located on a one-acre site east of the Renaissance Center between Beaubien, St. Antoine and Atwater streets.

[skyfan]

GM continues prove that they are Detroit's best corporate citizen they easily could've left these lots to rot but they actively sought to make the area around them better.

[LMich]

I'm not so sure I'd go that far. GM is capitalizing (as they made very clear) off of the opening of the River Walk. The truth is, they really could have done this much earlier, as they'd actually proposed this high-rise tower years ago and then sat on it. They are a good corporate citizen, but with the key word on corporate. At the end of the day this makes is good press for them, and they are going to ride it all the way to the bank. Considering the size of the corporation, this really isn't really hurting them, at all.

And, on this particular announcement, GM has nothing to lose as they are sinking money into developing these, rather they simply picked a developer that will sink their money into developing the lots, and then GM will collect a chunk of the revenue generated by the properties. While this may have the positive consequence of lifting this depressed area, GM is in this, first and foremost, for the good press and the money.

[subterranean]

Honestly my first thought was, "please be tall enough to block a substantial portion of the RenCen from view when viewed from Belle Isle. HA!

[hudkina]

If the building is only going to have 80 units, supposing that there are about five per floor, I doubt we'll see anything over 200 ft.

[Exodus]

If the building is only going to have 80 units, supposing that there are about five per floor, I doubt we'll see anything over 200 ft.I'm predicting they will have about 6 units per floor which will give you about 13 floors of basic units, and maybe a couple of floors with a couple of larger units on top. Then it might have street level retail. So I'm predicting it will be about 15 -16 stories high. The floors will probably average out to 8 feet, so the building will probably be about 120 - 130 feet high. If it does have a floor designated for a fitness center, then it will be 17 stories and around 140 - 150 feet at the maximum. Then again I could be way off:shrug: None of that really matters as much as the design though.

[LMich]

I'd imagine the floors for a more recent residential building, and on the river, no less, would be more in the field of 9 to 10 feet. For what they are charging I can't imagine them with going for only a 8 feet floor-to-floor height. It also has to have groundfloor retail. Everything along Atwater will have to.

Still, it all depends on how they develop the 1-acre site. They could essentially 'wedding-cake' the thing, or perhaps the footprint will only be on part of the site leaving part open for some other amenity for the building, who knows?

[hudkina]

I'd prefer a slender tower over a graduated tower, but beggers can't be choosers.;)

[LMich]

Who wouldn't? I'd like to see this one nearly 500 feet tall. They are teasing us.

[hudkina]

Two units per floor with twelve feet between floors!;)

[LMich]

Oh, oh, and a crazy-tall crown, and a ridiculous spire with a big American flag on the top! :)

[Michi]

Or a Burj Dutwah! :hmmm:

[hudkina]

We do have the largest concetration of Middle Easterners outside of the Middle East...

[LMich]

But, realize, we would have to build an artificial island in the Detroit River to stick it on in typical Dubai fashion. :)

[ColDayMan]

Well, you had Boblo Island...

[LMich]

We never had it when we had it; it's Canada's.

Another great article that also mentions the redevelopment of the Near-West Riverfront, coming up. It really puts together a timeline of the things that led to the Near-East Riverfront redevelopment.

Link to Article (http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070618/SUB/706150318/-1/toc)

Failed casino strategy leads to riverfront rebirth

By Robert Ankeny

June 18, 2007

The impressive renaissance of Detroit's riverfront that's being underscored by major festivities starting next weekend had its genesis in the city of Detroit's failed casino district strategy.

Riverfront improvements began to move ahead after 2002. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's administration negotiated development agreements for permanent casinos to be built away from the river and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy was created after a study of the east riverfront's potential, conservancy President and CEO Faye Alexander Nelson said.

Some $300 million in direct improvements are now nearing completion on the east riverfront, from Cobo Center to beyond the Belle Isle Bridge.

Cement silos have been demolished, replaced by 3.5 miles of RiverWalk replete with plazas, fountains, benches and even a carousel.

This in turn is attracting hundreds of millions of dollars more for residential and commercial development on what previously was vacant property with many abandoned buildings.

Notable restaurants and bars, such as the Soup Kitchen, Woodbridge Tavern and Rhinoceros, that had operated in the area, were forced out by the city's attempt to assemble land for a casino district.

“After the decision was made not to locate casinos on the riverfront, Mayor Kilpatrick supported recommendations in the feasibility study of key civic and community leaders based on the charge he'd given them, to use the east riverfront to provide public access and create green space,” Nelson said.

Once that was set, Nelson said, the Kresge Foundation offered its $50 million challenge grant that was the basis of the $140 million the conservancy budgeted for improvements.

“And General Motors was at the table and because of the mayor's vision and Kresge's support, they put an additional $25 million for their riverfront plaza. This all took place because of the redirection of development plans for the riverfront,” Nelson said.

John Marshall III, former Kresge Foundation president, said at the time that in trying to acquire and condemn land on the east riverfront for permanent casinos, “the city caused the Detroit version of the Chicago fire,” clearing the riverfront for future development.

John Corbett, who owns Your Personal Vault, a self-storage company at 1423 Franklin St. in the east riverfront, said the failure of the city's attempted casino project was like watching dominos tumble.

“Business got slow, the help started moving on, the Soup Kitchen had no cooks, then pretty soon, they closed up,” Corbett said.

Walt Watkins, Kilpatrick's first chief development officer, said it was a “crucial decision ... momentous to not have the casinos on the riverfront” when the development agreement for permanent casinos was negotiated.

“Our economic development team (another key member was George Jackson, whom Kilpatrick had recruited from DTE to head the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.) thought we could do a lot with the riverfront without casinos being built there.”

Watkins, now president of WCW Enterprises L.L.C., says “the cooperative thing” was of critical importance to move the riverfront plans ahead and included input from the private sector and all key city departments pulling together.

The DEGC spent $600,000 to hire New York City-based Cooper Robertson Partners as planning and development consultant for a master plan for the riverfront project

Buildings and cement silos that marred the east riverfront were acquired and demolished, Watkins said, and development is underway.

One of those sites, formerly occupied by LaFarge Co.'s cement silos, is to be developed for 480 condo units called @Water (Atwater), a $150 million project to be built in phases by Belmar Development L.L.C.

The former Cemex Corp. cement silo site will be developed with 112 luxury condominium units and a fitness center, the $60 million Watermark project, by Spingarn Development L.L.C., headed by industrialist Dave Bing.

The “partnering,” Nelson said, included donation of waterfront property, in perpetuity, to the conservancy by land owners Stroh Riverplace, Harbortown, the UAW-GM National Training Center, Talon L.L.C., the Omni Hotel, the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority and GM.

The state pitched in to create a 31-acre Tri-Centennial State Park and Marina, Michigan's first urban state park, an investment of more than $40 million, she said.

Nelson said the conservancy still has work to do, especially raising the $47 million needed to reach its $140 million goal. And the conservancy already is working with the DEGC on planning for the west riverfront.

“We are doing due diligence on our purchase agreement with the Detroit newspapers to buy the 26-acre Free Press printing plant site, and hope to close later this year,” she said.

The conservancy also will maintain and operate the Dequindre Cut, a nonmotorized biking and hiking trail along below-grade rail lines running east of Eastern Market and across Jefferson to the riverfront. The trail is expected to open next spring.

Work is scheduled to start this fall on the $3.4 million project, funded by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan's GreenWays Initiative, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources trust fund and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Now the conservancy and its allies are gearing for the six-day festival on Detroit's riverfront, be highlighted on its final night by the 49th annual Target Fireworks June 27.

Detroit International River Days, organized by the conservancy, The Parade Co. and General Motors, starts June 22 to help inaugurate the new RiverWalk.

Free entertainment, including live music, exhibitions, games and carnival events will be featured from the Gabriel Richard Plaza & Pavilion near the RiverWalk's east end to the GM Plaza & Promenade and beyond.

Robert Ankeny: (313) 446-0404, bankeny@crain.com

[ColDayMan]

We never had it when we had it; it's Canada's.

I meant your region. Detroit doesn't stop at the border, ya know...

[Exodus]

I still don't understand why casinos couldn't have been built in Rivertown and have a developed waterfront at the same time.

[Hayward]

I still don't understand why casinos couldn't have been built in Rivertown and have a developed waterfront at the same time.

What, did you want them to build in Rivertown? ooooooookay. :yuck:

[LMich]

We never had it when we had it; it's Canada's.

I meant your region. Detroit doesn't stop at the border, ya know...

Ha! You tell Windsor that. ;) Detroit can't even get Oakland County to agree that anything south of 8 Miles exists (Detroit, Downriver, Western Wayne...)

I still don't understand why casinos couldn't have been built in Rivertown and have a developed waterfront at the same time.

It was a terrible idea, which is probably why it failed. Kilpatrick was right to kill Archer's plan to put them on the riverfront.

Imagine the parking garages for MGM, Greektown, and MotorCity on the riverfront plus the additional space needed for new roads and such. There would have been nothing of the Near-East Riverfront left to develop. It would have been one monolithic superblock after another where the street-grid is perfect for urban redevelopment (as opposed to suburban-styled redevelopment).

[Exodus]

They didn't have to build them right on the riverfront where the river walk is now, and I don't think they were even planning to do that.


This shows one of the proposed sites. As you can see, it would have developed an area that was vacent and had no plans of any other developments at the time. It wouldn't have disrupted any street grids either. They even suggested in using the old r/r moat(blueline) as some kind of rail transit that would have connected into the casinos. Also, it still would have had enough room to allow the riverwalk through.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1031/634772688_fb5d98307a_o.jpg

[Exodus]

double post, please remove.

[LMich]

It has nothing to do about whether they'd have been build right on the riverfront or not, it's how they'd destroy the urban streetgrid regardless of their location in East Riverfront district. It was bad planning, at best, and despite Kilpatrick having made far too many sins of planning, he won big with saving the riverfront to be developed as district as opposed to a bunch of monolithic casino superblocks where a tight streetgrid already exists.

[Exodus]

No street grid at the uniroyal site. I'm not saying I was for building in rivertown, but I wasn't against it either. It could have been done without disrupting the riverwalk or streetgrid.

[mind field]

I still don't understand why casinos couldn't have been built in Rivertown and have a developed waterfront at the same time.


Hmm, not a good idea to put the casinos on the riverfront. The city only has so much riverfront property, and the best, most productive use of that property is to turn it into residential. The waterfront will draw in far more investment from the suburbs, than any other area of the city, outside of greater downtown.

I doubt gamblers would shun the Detroit casinos for Windsor, just because Windsor has a waterfront casino. I'm sure location means very little to a gambler. And the casinos are superblock stuctures that contain most of their customers within themselves, creating little spinoff development, save for Greektown.

[detroit_alive]

not to mention there is better infrastructure downtown. could you imagine the traffic that would accumulate to get to three casinos located at the uniroyal site? jefferson would be a parking lot.

[DecoJim]

And the casinos are superblock stuctures that contain most of their customers within themselves, creating little spinoff development, save for Greektown.
I agree. In fact, I recall Greektown being in pretty good shape before there ever was a casino there.

The casinos prefer that their customers not be aware of anything outside the gambling area (no windows and no clocks to distract them).

[LMich]

Exactly. There are just so many reasons why casinos would be bad for the riverfront. Many would argue that they are much better suited for suburban areas, anyway. Much like downtown stadiums, downtown casinos are, at best, a necessary evil from an urban planning standpoint. Like a downtown stadium, they need plenty of parking, direct freeway access, lots of land, ect...at least at the edges of downtown they can get that. Putting them ANYWHERE along the riverfront would have been terrible for traffic, terrible from an urban planning perspective, terrible for a plethora of other reasons.

Thank goodness Kilpatrick had the sense enough to kill this poor contrived Archer-era plan.

[Hayward]

I'm just glad the new casinos are built on hard-to-develop land.

[LMich]

The only casino that anyone could argue is being built on hard to develop land would be MGM. The site of Greektown and MotorCity could have been developed a number of other things. MotorCity sits at the edge of a largely residential neighborhood, and Greektown sits at the edge of a relatively vibrant tourist district.

When you see Woodbridge Village being developed literally across Grand River for MotorCity, and the limited-life Winter-Foster ramp where Greektown is going up, it's not hard to see these having been developed as something else.

All of these sites are infinitely better than taking up valuable riverfront land, though.