The Redevelopment of Detroit - Page 7

hudkina · #**121** Posted **Jul 18, 2011, 4:46 PM**

It's a reverse of the 70's.

LMich · #**122** Posted **Jul 19, 2011, 4:26 AM**

You know, I just did some research because I expected as much. While downtown vacancy is higher than Southfield's (29.9% vs.26.9%) for the second quarter of the year, downtown as of late has actually been posting net absorbtion of office space (~76,000 for the quarter), and Southfield net negative absorbtion (~73,000 sq. ft.), and they expect that trend to continue through the year as the companies moving to Detroit from Southfield haven't even completed all of their moves, yet.

In fact, the only place in the metro posting higher net absorbtion than Downtown Detroit is Dearborn, surprisingly. These two are basically the only two bright spots in the region at the moment as vacancy for the entire region is still ticking up because the suburbs are preforming so poorly. Even places like Troy and Livonia and Novi and downtown Ann Arbor are flooding the market with vacancy, and the single biggest increase was in Auburn Hills adding nearly 100,000 square feet of empty space to the market.

mind field · #**123** Posted **Jul 19, 2011, 10:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMich

You know, I just did some research because I expected as much. While downtown vacancy is higher than Southfield's (29.9% vs.26.9%) for the second quarter of the year, downtown as of late has actually been posting net absorbtion of office space (~76,000 for the quarter), and Southfield net negative absorbtion (~73,000 sq. ft.), and they expect that trend to continue through the year as the companies moving to Detroit from Southfield haven't even completed all of their moves, yet.

In fact, the only place in the metro posting higher net absorbtion than Downtown Detroit is Dearborn, surprisingly. These two are basically the only two bright spots in the region at the moment as vacancy for the entire region is still ticking up because the suburbs are preforming so poorly. Even places like Troy and Livonia and Novi and downtown Ann Arbor are flooding the market with vacancy, and the single biggest increase was in Auburn Hills adding nearly 100,000 square feet of empty space to the market.

Wonderful news! Well not so much for the burbs, as they are just as important to the regional economy. As more buildings in the CBD get renovated, and word of mouth spreads, hopefully the trend will intensify. One thing Dan Gilbert, and even the local and national media of late has done a good job of, is marketing the hell out of the core of the city. The right approach to marketing does wonders....just look at Apple.

LMich · #**124** Posted **Jul 20, 2011, 3:45 AM**

I can see, now, why Gilbert has been so incredibly bullish on downtown. Not having seen the numbers up until the other day, I thought he may have been foolish to buy the properties he was buying, but there does seem to be a positive trend that most likely will only get stronger. For instance, 1001 landed a sizeable tenant over the quarter according to the Grubb & Ellis market report. I had no idea that the owners had been actively marketing the building.

mind field · #**125** Posted **Jul 20, 2011, 6:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMich

I can see, now, why Gilbert has been so incredibly bullish on downtown. Not having seen the numbers up until the other day, I thought he may have been foolish to buy the properties he was buying, but there does seem to be a positive trend that most likely will only get stronger. For instance, 1001 landed a sizeable tenant over the quarter according to the Grubb & Ellis market report. I had no idea that the owners had been actively marketing the building.

Do you mean One Detroit Center landed a sizable tenant? I didn't see anything about 1001 Woodward landing a big tenant, other than Galaxe Solutions which wasn't this last quarter, it was earlier.

hudkina · #**126** Posted **Jul 20, 2011, 8:33 PM**

1001 Woodward was mostly empty a few years ago because the owners had planned on turning it into luxury apartments. That plan fell apart so now they are looking for new tenants. The building is still in good shape, and it now has that attached parking garage. I think it should eventually attain a healthy occupancy rate, especially because it is facing Campus Martius. I'm sure anything facing Campus Martius will end up as being the most expensive in the city.

mind field · #**127** Posted **Jul 20, 2011, 9:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hudkina

1001 Woodward was mostly empty a few years ago because the owners had planned on turning it into luxury apartments. That plan fell apart so now they are looking for new tenants. The building is still in good shape, and it now has that attached parking garage. I think it should eventually attain a healthy occupancy rate, especially because it is facing Campus Martius. I'm sure anything facing Campus Martius will end up as being the most expensive in the city.

I'm aware of the history of 1001 Woodward. I read the quarterly market report that LMich referenced in his post and didn't see anything about 1001 Woodward gaining a sizable tenant.

mousquet · #**128** Posted **Jul 24, 2011, 1:28 PM**

Someone helpful noticed this on the French forum :

Quote:

Originally Posted by detnews.com

July 22. 2011

Mayor Bing tours old MGM Grand, soon-to-be home of Detroit public safety

Detroit — Mayor Dave Bing and other officials toured the gutted former MGM Grand Casino on Thursday that is being retrofitted into new public safety headquarters.

Bing was joined by Police Chief Ralph Godbee and Fire Commissioner Don Austin for a walkthrough of the building, whose open spaces are primed for offices, a crime lab, and the police and fire departments.

What was the main casino floor will be converted into a main area for public access as well as areas for polygraph tests, a mediation room and fitness center. Two floors up will be the State Police crime lab.

Police should be ready to move in by April 2013.

(...)

Last year, the City Council approved a purchase agreement for the building on Third and Abbott for $6.32 million on a two-year land contract.

Retrofitting the 400,000-square-foot building will cost another $47 million.

Full article

Rizzo · #**129** Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 10:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mousquet

Someone helpful noticed this on the French forum :

Full article

Finally good to hear something more concrete. I first heard about this in 2009

DetroitMan · #**130** Posted **Jul 27, 2011, 9:06 PM**

It's official: Whole Foods to build a store in Detroit

Quote:

Whole Foods makes it official: The upscale, organic-food grocery chain will build a store in Detroit.

The Austin, Texas-based company made the announcement moments ago in an earnings press release.

Whole Foods did not say in its release where in Detroit the store will be located, but documents obtained by the local Chaldean News under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that it is, as widely expected, a site in the city’s Midtown district east of Woodward Avenue and north of Mack. The site is now a surface parking lot owned by developer Peter Cummings.

http://www.freep.com/article/2011072...text|FRONTPAGE

fishrose · #**131** Posted **Aug 8, 2011, 11:40 AM**

Suburbs looking to get on board light rail

Quote:

Detroit's momentum in bringing light rail to Woodward Avenue may finally do what years of talks, political promises and symbolic gestures have failed to do: lead to real regional cooperation.

Leaders in six southern Oakland County cities are taking a big step to literally bridge the 8 Mile divide by extending the rail service into the suburbs.

"We recognize the opportunity here to really help move the region forward," said Berkley City Councilman Steve Baker, a member of a task force of leaders from Oakland County cities.

...

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said he would support expanded transit if voters are willing to pay to subsidize the system through a regional tax.

"My question all along has been: How much is it going to cost, and who's going to pay for it?" Patterson said. "If it comes, it will come with the will of the people."

http://www.freep.com/article/2011080...326/1001/rss01

fishrose · #**132** Posted **Aug 13, 2011, 2:51 PM**

Midtown incentives program so popular that almost all the money is gone

Quote:

Incentives offered to Midtown employees to move into the district have proven to be so popular that all the money set aside for the first year of the five-year program has already been claimed.

Sue Mosey, president of the civic group Midtown Detroit, said this week that roughly $1 million put up by three anchor employers -- Wayne State University, Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford Health System -- as well as foundations is now committed just eight months into the first year of the program. No new applications are being taken for now.

...

Mosey estimates that the Midtown residential buildings are about 95% occupied, and leasing experts say the same is true of downtown proper. The Kales Building, a 116-unit apartment building on Grand Circus Park, is fully leased with a waiting list.

The Midtown and downtown incentives are attracting different kinds of people. Mosey said that roughly 90% of the Midtown workers approved have been apartment renters, and only 10% were buying a home or condominium. But of those downtown employees applying, almost two-thirds are hoping to buy a unit.

http://www.freep.com/article/2011081...all-money-gone

This really demonstrates just how much demand there is for housing in the core of Detroit. Hopefully the success of this program will lead to more residential development, it's badly needed.

DetroitMan · #**133** Posted **Aug 23, 2011, 2:47 AM**

Another Gilbert firm to move downtown Detroit

Quote:

MyInsuranceExpert.com, an online life insurance brokerage owned in part by Quicken Loans founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert, will soon follow Gilbert’s other companies moving to downtown Detroit from the suburbs.

MyInsuranceExpert currently employs about 85 workers in Troy, but has plans to hire an additional 200 people in the next several months and move downtown by the end of this year.

http://www.freep.com/article/2011082...text|FRONTPAGE

GRsupercity · #**134** Posted **Aug 23, 2011, 7:27 PM**

Well looks like motown is coming back to life. Sorry for troy and southfield though lol.

fishrose · #**135** Posted **Aug 23, 2011, 9:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GRsupercity

Well looks like motown is coming back to life. Sorry for troy and southfield though lol.

They'll be fine. The state legislature is already pouring more effort into replacing business clients in Troy and Southfield than they ever did into bringing business to Detroit.

Rizzo · #**136** Posted **Aug 23, 2011, 11:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishrose

They'll be fine. The state legislature is already pouring more effort into replacing business clients in Troy and Southfield than they ever did into bringing business to Detroit.

^ And Dearborn too.

But oh well, these are the same communities that pulled businesses from the city many decades ago. It's great to see the move back

GRsupercity · #**137** Posted **Aug 24, 2011, 12:32 PM**

So i keep hearing that Sears might be coming to detroit and leaving chicago.

fishrose · #**138** Posted **Aug 24, 2011, 2:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GRsupercity

So i keep hearing that Sears might be coming to detroit and leaving chicago.

If Sears were to move, it would be to Southfield or Dearborn, as that's where the MEDC is concentrating their efforts. That said, Sears probably isn't going anywhere. They're just trying to scare Illinois legislators into giving them a bigger tax break to stay.

hudkina · #**139** Posted **Aug 25, 2011, 12:03 AM**

Who knows. I'm sure there are plenty of people at the corporate office with ties to Metro Detroit.

DetroitMan · #**140** Posted **Aug 25, 2011, 4:39 AM**

Detroit seeks ideas to remake Capitol Park district

Quote:

The city of Detroit is seeking ideas from developers to remake the historic but dilapidated Capitol Park district on downtown’s west side into a vibrant live-work-play enclave.

Specifically the city is asking for proposals to redevelop three vacant buildings that the city took control of in the recent past – 1145 Griswold, 1212 Griswold, and the Farwell Building at 1249 Griswold. The three buildings comprise more than 250,000 square feet of space.

http://www.freep.com/article/2011082...text|FRONTPAGE