[animatedmartian]

Herman Kiefer hospital area in Detroit to get redo
Christine Ferretti, The Detroit News. September 25, 2015.



The Detroit City Council on Tuesday is expected to green-light a land deal paving the way for a plan to redevelop the shuttered Herman Kiefer Hospital complex and largely vacant surrounding neighborhood.

Visible from the Lodge Freeway, the 18-acre site comprises 10 buildings, including three former schools and the 424,000-square-foot hospital. The complex, with an Albert Kahn-designed expansion, has been empty since October 2013.

New York-based developer and architect Ron Castellano bid on the project last spring and has spent nearly 19 months hammering out an agreement with Detroit’s administration for the project that could exceed $75 million.

The undertaking will be Castellano’s first in Detroit. It’s a venture he says he’s eager to take on with the goal of transforming the depressed neighborhood into a destination.

Specifics aren’t yet determined, but Castellano says there’s potential for a mix of housing, retail and office space with a core emphasis on preserving the historic character of the area and incorporating the needs of its residents.

"A lot of people there are holding on to the neighborhood. They see a vision and see potential,” said Castellano, who purchased a home in the neighborhood and is relocating to the city. “That’s where we want to come in and boost that and show that we do care about it and take an interest, as they do.”

To achieve that goal, Castellano’s Herman Kiefer Development LLC has partnered with the city on the years-long agreement to save, rehabilitate and creatively reuse the seven medical complex buildings; the former Hutchins and Crosman school buildings; JTPA Nursing school; and about 100 vacant land bank homes in the Virginia Park neighborhood.

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http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...redo/72779666/

Over the next several years, the developers are required to spend at least $1 million per year towards rehabilitation with at least $20 million spent within five years or have the site 35% in use.