DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by seabee1526

Did Detroit rip out all the tracks when they sold their streetcars to Mexico City. Probably a fair number of them buried under the streets.

When the QLine was being built, the original tracks under Woodward were taken out. They were corroded and rusted beyond repair and also modern streetcars are built with a different size rail so they can't really be reused.

[subterranean]

There are some thought leaders and technology companies who are predicting the demise of transit due to autonomous vehicles.

Here in Portland, there are a lot of interesting discussions and even a conference dedicated to new technologies impacting the way we plan for cities and transportation when AVs eventually become commonplace in the next 20-30 years. Check out the Urbanism Next Conference put on by U of O.

The price of cars are also expected to go down drastically once we convert to nearly 100% electric and battery prices come down. It makes sense since there are so many fewer parts in electric vehicles. People are also expected to be more amenable to commuting much longer distances once they don't have to drive themselves.

I keep thinking about all of the expensive infrastructure projects that will be completely unnecessary once we start going autonomous drone.

[The North One]

Autonomous cars do nothing for congestion and traffic, it's still a very inefficient way to move people. The benefits of mass transit don't change.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by subterranean

There are some thought leaders and technology companies who are predicting the demise of transit due to autonomous vehicles.

Here in Portland, there are a lot of interesting discussions and even a conference dedicated to new technologies impacting the way we plan for cities and transportation when AVs eventually become commonplace in the next 20-30 years. Check out the Urbanism Next Conference put on by U of O.

The price of cars are also expected to go down drastically once we convert to nearly 100% electric and battery prices come down. It makes sense since there are so many fewer parts in electric vehicles. People are also expected to be more amenable to commuting much longer distances once they don't have to drive themselves.

I keep thinking about all of the expensive infrastructure projects that will be completely unnecessary once we start going autonomous drone.

It makes sense in places like Detroit where there’s space, but denser cities on the coasts and Chicago have through-put limits where even the best efficiency scenarios won’t move the masses... by any stretch of the imagination.

[subterranean]

I guess we'll see, won't we? I'm an advocate for transit, but once we go to the skies, all bets are off.

[DetroitSky]

Some more details Lafayette West details were revealed today:

Lafayette West moves quickly through community benefits process

The Community Benefits Ordinance (CBO) for projects over $75 million allots six meetings between the NAC and the developer, and the process for Lafayette West only took five. The developer, Ginosko, agreed to many of the requests made by the NAC; key issues included parking, hazardous materials abatement, work hours and noise concerns, and pest control.

Olympia hires Kraemer Design Group for Eddystone window consulting

The Ilitch family's Olympia Development of Michigan has hired Kraemer Design Group to advise it on the replacement of the Hotel Eddystone windows.

This comes after Olympia missed a September deadline to redevelop the 13-story windowless building across from Little Caesars Arena. Trash and debris removal began last month; the company said in August that it anticipated window replacement to begin in September.

[DetroitSky]

Children's Hospital of Michigan completes $155M new facilities

The six-story, $155 million Detroit facility includes a family-friendly main entrance, a ground-level emergency department, as well as expanded neonatal, pediatric and cardiac intensive care units with private rooms. Included in the construction is an updated surgery department and renovated operating rooms.

A Fried Chicken Joint Is Coming To The New Shinola Hotel In Detroit

New York-based chef Andrew Carmellini has decided to plant a fried chicken joint called Penny Red's in the new Shinola Hotel on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit.

"We try to be unique sometimes in our offerings and didn’t want to bring another New York brand, so I’m going to open a little shop that does fried chicken and biscuits," Carmelini tells the Freep's Mark Kurlyandchik.

The restaurant is expected to open next spring.

Tour Detroit’s Latest Fine-Dining Addition

Splashy downtown restaurant Besa opened this past Monday, October 29, at corner of Woodward and Congress at the base of downtown’s Vinton Building.

The 135-seat restaurant is owned by Tallulah Wine Bar & Bistro’s Mario Camaj, Tallulah alum Gerti Begaj, Wendi Farner, Edi Demaj, Etrit Demaj, and the group has tapped chef Kyle Schutte.

^ From being abandoned for decades to fine dining and upscale residential units. Not bad.

[Jasoncw]

Personally I think it would have been cool if they had built a new People Mover station into the Hudson's project, so that it integrated with the public amenities and shopping, and then shut down the Broadway and Cadillac Square stations.

Originally Posted by seabee1526

I like that People Mover track as well. Is / Was there ever a plan to expand the system? Have a double track and have a train running the other direction? I'd rather see that upgraded than expanding Q

It wasn't planned to be expanded, but it was intended to be fed by other transit routes (in that sense the Q-Line follows the original intention). The alignment was determined before the technology was chosen, and at that point they were expecting to choose some kind of rubber tire/monorail technology. Those require complicated switches (google "monorail switch"), which would be impractical with a line + circulator loop running at high frequencies. Ultimately though, they chose a technology which is typically used in metro systems, and the loop has plenty of natural expansion points. There are no technical or logistical barriers to expansion.

However, doubling the track would require demolishing and rebuilding the entire system. You'd have to replace the entire elevated guideway to make it big enough, you'd have to rebuild all of the stations to have platforms for each direction, and you'd have to choose a new alignment because nothing would fit in the current one. Luckily being one way isn't much of a problem. If your destination is in the wrong direction of travel, then it's probably only a short walk anyway.

As far as I know there's nothing happening with the People Mover in the near future, except that in the next few years they're going to buy new vehicles or refurbish the current ones.

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

By comparison, the QLine was quite successful since it was something like 60 or 70 percent privately funded but of course the issue is still that it doesn't really connect any major areas and just shuttles people within Downtown and Midtown.

The Q-Line was successful in that the city didn't pay for it and got something that's attractive for certain trips and certain people. Outside of that, it's slower than buses, less frequent than buses, less reliable than buses, and doesn't go as far as the buses. The operations and maintenance facility is too small for more vehicles. If you extended it down Woodward you could give it its own ROW in the median, but no one would want to drudge their way through the midtown section if they were going downtown, so people would still either bus or drive. And aside from all that, you could provide better transit service by just making bus lanes. If the Q-Line was built as a People Mover extension, it would actually be faster than driving, and would arrive every 4 minutes all day long.

The chances of expanding the People Mover is pretty low since the technology it uses is so outdated and would probably cost more to upgrade and expand versus expanding the newly built QLine. At that point, it might be better to just build a whole new subway system with proper planning.

There's over 300+ miles of it around the world, with 80+ more miles in planning. The majority of it has been built since the time Detroit's light rail project started planning. There's a list of systems and more explanation here. Scroll down to the "Iron Wheel Type Linear Motor Car" section.

And here's a recent line in a north american context:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF_fe6Nqc2I

• Video Link

Originally Posted by seabee1526

maybe someone out there wants a test platform for autonomous trains to go along with Ford's Corktown plans and would invest?

The People Mover is already an autonomous train system.

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

The People Mover is useless. I’d much rather see them expand the streetcar or add real BRT to major roads than expand the PM. It’s outdated and much more expensive to expand than the streetcar is.

Even though all the buzz is around the Q-Line, the People Mover still has higher ridership. In fact, the Q-Line only matched the People Mover's typical ridership during the Q-Line's opening week, when it was free and everyone was checking it out.

It's true that an expansion would be very expensive. But it's only expensive because full grade separation is expensive, but grade separation is a requirement for good service anyway. Otherwise light rail just duplicates bus service, but more expensively. The value you get from an expansion would be high because the quality of service is so great. It comes every 4 minutes all day long. With more vehicles it can be a max of every 90 seconds which is the physical limit of the safe stopping distance of the trains.

I do agree that there's a debate between the value of building a few miles of high quality metro, vs a bunch of miles of BRT.

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by Jasoncw

Even though all the buzz is around the Q-Line, the People Mover still has higher ridership. In fact, the Q-Line only matched the People Mover's typical ridership during the Q-Line's opening week, when it was free and everyone was checking it out.

It's true that an expansion would be very expensive. But it's only expensive because full grade separation is expensive, but grade separation is a requirement for good service anyway. Otherwise light rail just duplicates bus service, but more expensively. The value you get from an expansion would be high because the quality of service is so great. It comes every 4 minutes all day long. With more vehicles it can be a max of every 90 seconds which is the physical limit of the safe stopping distance of the trains.

I do agree that there's a debate between the value of building a few miles of high quality metro, vs a bunch of miles of BRT.

Most of Detroit's main arteries have too many lanes than what's needed to support current traffic levels. That's part of the reason I'd rather see bus RT or an extended streetcar system. If it was put in dedicated lanes it could be as efficient as a grade separated system while utilizing right of ways that are already present, and it would be cheaper to build than a grade separated system.

[DetroitSky]

Midtown apartment building transitions to condos

A 1908 apartment building in Midtown is about to see its next life as for-sale condos. The building will undergo a complete gut rehab—construction has started—with the completion date expected in spring 2019. When finished, the building will have eight one-bedroom condos, two of those located at garden level.

632 Prentis St.

Detroit's Eastern Market looks to keep identity as developments sprout up

The city, with its partner the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., began earlier this year creating a strategic framework for the neighborhood. The plan will spell out short- and long-term goals.

There have been eight meetings: four with stakeholders and four with the public. The next stakeholder meeting will take place in December when the city and the DEGC will review recommendations, said Catherine Frazier, senior real estate manager for the DEGC. A date for that meeting has not been set.

The Detroit Wholesale Produce building on the corner of Riopelle at Adelaide will feature street-level store fronts and second-floor residential units at Eastern Market.

This Eastern Market Gateway rendering seems to show more of the Busy Bee Hardware warehouse being reused than we previously had heard.

Detroit indoor farming operation looks to grow food, create jobs, and feed the hungry

Planted's initial 6,000-square-foot production space is filled with heavy duty shelving for holding lights and hydroponic growing trays. Five of these shelves rise up to a ceiling that is sealed-off from the rest of the space to control temperature and humidity. The goal is to fill the 20,000-square-foot building within three to five years and then move to a larger building that they will construct themselves.

[DetroitRises]

Originally Posted by detroiterforlifehttps://i.imgur.com/FERBX78.jpg

Crane is fully up at the one campus martius building

Crane is raised higher now to same height as Campus Martius building. You can also see hudsons site progress if you zoom image and look at the wall, the supports? / modifications to the garage wall for the are progressing.
https://i.imgur.com/AGP4mkS.jpg

[Fvn]

Is Barton Malow also doing the expansion at One Campus Martius?

[DetroitSky]

Eastern Market egg building to convert into retail, event, and coworking space

Another Eastern Market building will soon reopen with a new business—and more. Beatrice Wolnerman and her husband Eli just closed on 1533 Winder, distinctive—for now—for its egg murals. In the coming months, the building will house not only their small business, but a coffee bar, an event space, and coworking space. The couple just closed on the building for $525,000.

The transformation will call for a full rehab, including the facade and a new roof. There’s no front door to the building, only an entrance in the back. The couple will work with Mertz Design in Grosse Pointe on both design and construction of the building.

[DetroitSky]

Plum Market set to open in downtown Detroit in summer 2019

The Central Business District will be the home of a new “street concept” from Michigan-based Plum Market next summer. The market will offer fast casual dining, grab-and-go items, a bar, and some groceries in the Ally Detroit Center.

Spin scooters, recently acquired by Ford, land in Detroit today

More scooters are available in Detroit today, and they’re under a very familiar name. Ford announced that the company has acquired Spin—a San Francisco dockless electric scooter sharing company—reflecting a new direction in mobility for the automaker.

Historic Detroit church undergoes extensive restoration

The wood underlayment is currently being replaced on the steeple, followed by the slate and copper. Detroit Cornice and Slate is working on the project. As an interesting historic note, Detroit Cornice and Slate also worked on the building in 1892 when the spire was added. At that time, it was the tallest building in Detroit at the time.

Stein says that they can’t do a lot of the inside work until the outside is secured. They’re using real slate to match the original, and applying a patina treatment to match the original copper. In the near future, they’ll tuck point the stone work and replace the roof.

Ford chooses Christman Brinker, Quinn Evans Architects to lead Michigan Central Station redevelopment

Christman Brinker, a joint venture whose major Detroit presence is most recently evident in its work with the Ilitch family on the new Little Caesars world headquarters campus downtown, will act as construction manager. according to a news release.

Quinn Evans Architects will lead design. The company with offices including in Washington D.C., Ann Arbor and Detroit has worked on more than 60 preservation or restoration projects at national historic landmarks.

A look inside Google's new Detroit office

Google is celebrating the grand opening Thursday of its Detroit office at The District Detroit linked to Little Caesars Arena.

The nearly 30,000-square-foot office at 52 E. Henry St. in Detroit officially opened in August, but Google invited a cast of federal, state and local officials as well as business leaders to show off its new digs this week.

The office employs roughly 100, mostly sales associates in its massive advertising business. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company moved those employees from about 17,000 square feet in downtown Birmingham at Willits Street and North Old Woodward Avenue in a building owned by Boston-based International Real Estate Corp.

Groundbreaking for Monroe Blocks on track for December

The Monroe Blocks site is a mostly vacant two-square-block area bounded by Monroe, Bates, Cadillac Square and Randolph. Plans calls for 818,000-square-feet of office space, 170,000-square-feet of retail space and 482 residential units.

Crews are prepping for the groundbreaking and the temporary Wayfinding Skatepark is gone. Guziewicz said there are plans to relocate it.

The former National Theatre will be demolished, but its facade will be preserved and moved to Farmer and incorporated as a pedestrian archway.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

Ford chooses Christman Brinker, Quinn Evans Architects to lead Michigan Central Station redevelopment

Wait, so is Snohetta still involved?

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by The North One

Wait, so is Snohetta still involved?

They're designing the overall campus. Probably more focused on potential new builds rather than doing much on historic renovations.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

They're designing the overall campus. Probably more focused on potential new builds rather than doing much on historic renovations.

I was confused by "lead" since when this was announced Snohetta was chosen to lead both campus projects.

[DetroitSky]

Sacred renaissance: Midtown church getting assist from national group for restoration

Work on First Congregational's facade, which began in the spring, has slowed while the contractor on the project, National Restoration Inc., works to secure red sandstone to match the church's exterior.

Beyond that, the church has a list of work yet to be completed or started, including:

restoration of the columns in the bell tower
repairs to the roof
reconstruction of the handicap accessible ramp in the rear of the church
rebuilding the Forest Avenue porch
internal plaster work in the sanctuary
re-leading and other repairs to the stained glass windows.

No details yet, but before Ford bought MCS there was talks of a developer converting this building into residential:
Morouns sell another vacant Corktown building near train station

The latest property sold is an eight-story, 432,000-square-foot former cold-storage warehouse at 1448 Wabash. The massive building is three blocks southeast of Michigan Central Station, which Ford bought from a Moroun-controlled entity for $90 million in May. The Wabash building was sold in late September but the new owner has not been revealed, nor have plans for the property.

Ford is not the buyer, sources said. A Ford spokeswoman did not respond for comment.

Sprint adding Detroit stores, upgrading service

Sprint is planning to hire more than 100 new jobs in the city of Detroit by mid-2019.

Catching up on investments to its competitors, the telecommunications company said it is planning to add 20 more stores in the city by the end of 2019 and is investing $300 million in network upgrades.

Sprint plans to add nine new Sprint and Boost Mobile stores in Detroit and 14 more across the state by the end of this year. In 2019, an additional 11 stores are expected to open in Detroit and 24 more across the state. In total, the company expects to add more than 300 new jobs in the state by mid-2019. Those interested can apply on the company's website.

Here's a blurb about a new restaurant coming soon to the Avenue of Fashion:

An upscale steak-and-seafood restaurant is joining the Avenue of Fashion food scene in northwest Detroit.

Good Times on the Avenue replaces 1917 American Bistro, which closed abruptly in January.

New restaurant owners Derrick and Ladonna Reynolds have invested nearly $500,000 buying the building at 19416 Livernois Ave. and remodeling it. They expect to host a soft opening in mid-December.

[detroiterforlife]

Steel going up on OCM extension!






New Shinola storefront downtown detroit in Shinola Hotel

[DetroitSky]

Tony Hawk launches brand consulting agency in Detroit

The nostalgic skater-turned-entrepreneur is co-founder of a new brand agency called D/CAL that has launched in downtown Detroit and California. The business, billed as a "hybrid brand consultancy and creative agency," has an office on the 38th floor of the Guardian Building at 500 Griswold St.

While the popularity of skateboarding has generally declined in recent years, Hawk has remained a household name since first captivating audiences in the late 1990s. D/CAL is pitching itself as an agency that can help companies achieve similar brand endurance.