DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[The North One]

It's about damn time, I remember seeing those renders back in 2008.

IDK if I like the green color of the roof though...

[Austinlee]

GREAT NEWS on the Book Tower!

Also, I can't believe how many midrise and high rises are being renovated/rehabbed and repurposed in downtown right now as shown in this thread. All I can see are great projects. When Detroit does well, we all do well!


http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2015/0...e-real-estate/

Dan Gilbert: Hero?

While the building itself sold for $30 million, it will reportedly take approximately $140 million total to complete renovations for what Gilbert described to the Detroit Free Press as “a game-changing, mixed-use development.”

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by Docta_Love

Construction Starting on Apartments Atop Downtown Garage
by Rebecca Golden
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Curbed Detroit




http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...xbury-degc.php

I'd somewhat doubt but would be pleasantly surprised if it was the pre-recession rendering that ends up being built. The original design was intended for luxury condos and the boxy design is the post-recession rentals.

Originally Posted by The North One

It's about damn time, I remember seeing those renders back in 2008.

IDK if I like the green color of the roof though...

It's supposed to match the color of the roof of Cadillac Hotel which will turn green after the copper oxidizes.

[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.

....

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.

[animatedmartian]

Henry Ford unveils plan for $110 million outpatient cancer center
By JAY GREENE. Crain's Detroit. September 28, 2015.



Plans for a long-awaited, $110 million outpatient cancer center in Detroit's New Center area will be announced today by Henry Ford Health System, Crain's has learned.

The cancer center project is the second development so far for the 300-acre parcel, known as Henry Ford's South Campus. The area is bounded by Grand Boulevard to the north, the Lodge Freeway to the east, I-94 to the south and 14th Street to the west.

The exact location of the five-story, 144,000-square-foot center on the South Campus isn't expected to be decided until later this year, Henry Ford officials said. But the design calls for integrating the cancer center with the existing main hospital.

The project is part of a long-term plan for a $1 billion community health park.

....

Location: A 300-acre parcel known as the South Campus. The area is bounded by Grand Boulevard to the north, the Lodge Freeway to the east, I-94 to the south and 14th Street to the west. The exact location on the campus isn't expected to be decided until later this year.

Size: Five stories, 144,000 square feet. Will include rooftop garden and skywalk connecting to Henry Ford Hospital across West Grand Boulevard to the north.

Funding: From Henry Ford operations, supplemented by a possible bond offering with other projects and money raised through philanthropy.

Groundbreaking: Next spring, with the opening expected in the summer of 2018.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-cancer-center

Based on that rendering, the likely spot for that building (assuming the design doesn't change) would be on the southeast corner of the Boulevard and Trumbull.

[mind field]

Amazon, Lear moves help boost Detroit as a tech hub

By John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press 4:18 p.m. EDT September 28, 2015

Hopes of turning downtown Detroit into a major technology hub took a couple of big steps forward Monday as digital giant Amazon and Lear announced major moves and investments, including the first sale of a building owned and renovated by Dan Gilbert's real estate arm.



http://www.freep.com/story/money/bus...roit/72975132/

Wonderful news. 2015 has been a banner year for corporate moves into downtown. The feather in the cap was Ally Bank choosing One Detroit Center for their new corporate headquarters over suburban Southfield. Amazon's expansion will bring at least another 100 jobs and Lear "up to" 150. I'd imagine with all these moves, downtown's class A vacancy is rapidly shrinking.

[animatedmartian]

DDA issues RFP for 7 Paradise Valley properties
By KIRK PINHO. Crain's Detroit. September 29, 2015.



Five buildings and two surface parking lots in the downtown Detroit area formerly known as Harmonie Park are up for redevelopment under a request for proposals issued Monday by the Detroit Downtown Development Authority.

The area is now called the Paradise Valley Cultural and Entertainment District after the DDA purchased the properties and spent millions in infrastructure improvements.

Those submitting proposals can do so for one or more of the properties, which are zoned for mixed-use development.

A preproposal meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 15 at the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. offices in the Guardian Building at 500 Griswold St., followed by a tour of the Paradise Valley area.

Proposals are due by 3 p.m. Nov. 11.

The winning bidder is expected to be chosen by mid-December with notification coming about a month later, according to the RFP.

According to the RFP, the properties are:

-the 36,000-square-foot Harmonie Club Building at 311 E. Grand River Ave. Appraised value: $1.44 million. (pictured)

-the 8,300-square-foot Harmonie Pointe Building at 1407 Randolph St. Appraised value: $1.21 million.

-the 7,200-square-foot Harmonie Recording Studio building at 1427 Randolph. Appraised value: $410,000.

-the 31,000-square-foot Randolph Centre Building at 1435 Randolph. Appraised value: $2.13 million.

-the 10,200-square-foot Harmony Studios Building at 1502 Randolph. Appraised value: $1.42 million.

-a surface parking lot at 1455 Centre St. Appraised value: $603,000.

-a surface parking lot at 1468 Randolph. Appraised value: $790,000.

...

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ley-properties

[animatedmartian]

Passed by the Wayne State new medical office building next door to the Hammer and Nail building. Grass is growing on the dirt with exposed rebar and pipes in the ground. Definitely seems like the project stalled for some reason.

Meanwhile other projects are happily continuing.

Orleans Landing is starting on foundation work:







HAA

5 projects are near approval

Building at Cass and York to become 80 residential units.

Free Press Building hits market for $16 million.

[detroit_alive]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Building at Cass and York to become 80 residential units.

This would be HUGE for TechTown and bridging the gap between Midtown and New Center. That area has next to no housing currently but is wedged between WSU, CCS at the Taubman Center, HFHS, and the New Center office buildings. The daytime presence is there but after 6:00 it is a ghost town.

Also great to see earth moving on Orleans Landing. It is my favorite project currently under way in the city. The whole east riverfront is primed to become the next big residential neighborhood. The riverwalk is just too nice an asset to ignore.

[Docta_Love]

Former Corktown Inn to get $9 million makeover, open with new rooms in January
By KIRK PINHO
October 02, 2015
Crains Detroit





The 144-room former Corktown Inn in Detroit is expected to open early next year with newly renovated rooms now that the owners have closed on a $5 million construction loan from Kansas City-based NCN Lending.

An investment group with Detroit ties purchased the hotel for $70,000 a year ago and has rebranded it as the Trumbull and Porter. Barry Caplan, managing principal and COO of Orlando, Fla.-based Access Hospitality, said his company is renovating the third and fourth floors of the building, which was built in 1964.

....

Caplan, a 1986 Michigan State University graduate who still owns a home in West Bloomfield Township, said the hotel will have multiple bar areas, a swimming pool, restaurants, a fitness center, artwork by Detroit artists, a coffee bar and a private meeting room that can seat about 50.

“We want to make this an authentic Detroit hotel,” Caplan said, adding that things like Anthology Coffee, local craft beer and spirits and the Detroit Bikes bike service will be available.





http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...h-new-rooms-in

[animatedmartian]

Eastern Market projects could add more than 210 residential units to area
By KIRK PINHO. Crain's Detroit. October 7, 2015.



A pair of large mixed-use projects — one a new development, another a redevelopment of several buildings and construction of a new one — in the Eastern Market area are working their way through Detroit City Council approvals, with more than 210 new residential units possible for the greater downtown enclave.

The first project, which is what a source said is expected to cost $35 million to $40 million, is planned for the area generally bounded by Gratiot Avenue to the north and Rivard, Russell and Maple streets.

According to a memo to City Council, there are six buildings — five of which are vacant — as well as surface parking lots and vacant land on the site. Plans include new construction of a 170,000-square-foot residential and/or hotel building consisting of 154 apartments and/or 160 hotel rooms plus 28 commercial tenant spaces. The plan also calls for demolition of “several” of the existing buildings.

If the project is residential, some of the units would be designated affordable housing. The existing brick paved alleys of the area would be used for “a walkable, year-round community hub,” the memo says.

The development is proposed by Detroit-based Town Real Estate LLC, which is registered to Jordan Wolfe, a 2011 Crain’s 20 in their 20s honoree for his work as director of the CommunityNext program of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. Kyle Polk, who declined comment, is also a principal of Town Real Estate.

The project developers are seeking from City Council the establishment of a commercial rehabilitation district, established under Public Act 210 of 2005, which allows for the abatement of property taxes generated by new investment for up to 10 years.

A public hearing is pending.

The project would also include the renovation and reuse of the building at 1400 Gratiot Ave. for loft apartments with first-floor retail space; the rehabilitation of a warehouse at 1350-1366 Service St. into a “mixed-use, food-oriented centerpiece” with a food hall and exhibition space, according to the memo.

The first renovation work would begin early next year, according to the memo, which also says the project would create about 70 short-term construction jobs and 40 full- and 20 part-time jobs long-term.

The 23 parcels involved in the project are owned by Busy Bee Detroit LLC, Stroh Properties Inc., Historic Trinity Lutheran Church and the city, according to the memo.

The second project, proposed by Joey Jonna, is the construction of a new four-story, 80,000-square-foot mixed-use building with about 10,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor, 10,000 square feet of flex space on the second floor and the remaining two floors devoted to about 60 multifamily units, according to Jonna.

He said Wednesday that he is still working on the site plan process.

The city council referred the sale of two parcels near Rivard and Alfred streets to Jonna for about $32,000 to the public hearing process, which has not yet been scheduled, according to the clerk.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ntial-units-to

[Docta_Love]

Its really great to see that there are more new units in the works for Eastern Market, recently it seems like there has been a lot of development starting to take place on the Lower East Side Du Charme Place in Lafayette Park, Orleans Landing and the planned new apartment building West Village. Also there's the planned redevelopment of the Brewster Douglass site (although technically in the Midtown Loop) its very much a part of the "eastern gateway" to downtown. Its been ten years since this area first seemed like it was going to take off like Midtown but now it seems like this time its for real.

[Docta_Love]

I'm gonna do a couple Metro Detroit updates, i've been bookmarking some interesting projects and articles that i've come across and haven't had the time to post. I'm going to start close to home with a Farmington Hills update. Google signed a lease at an office complex at the corner of 12 mile and Farmington roads over the summer and should be moving in this quarter, this seems to have sparked a large scale hotel development that they are somehow squeezing in across Farmington rd. Construction had already started with the demolition of a couple 70s era office buildings along I-696 and now earth moving has begun, i'm interested to see how they plan to fit 3 hotels on such a small site there's a hill overlooking the area with an unobstructed view perhaps ill snap a couple pics if things get interesting its only a block south of where i live.


Google signs 90,000-square-foot lease in Farmington Hills
Source: Company to move into 696 Centre in fourth quarter

Crain's Detroit Business
KIRK PINHO
June 05, 2015




Google Inc. is taking about 90,000 square feet in the 696 Centre building on Farmington Road in Farmington Hills.

The Internet giant is expected to move an unknown number of employees into the 264,000-square-foot building just north of I-696 in the fourth quarter, according to a real estate source.

The lease comes one month after Google announced it will be moving into about 140,000 square feet of space outside of downtown Ann Arbor in the third or fourth quarter next year. The company will occupy a 67,000-square-foot building in the Traverwood Business Park north of Plymouth Road and west of Huron Parkway and build an additional building on the campus.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...rmington-hills

There was also an announcement of Google signing a lease in the city of Plymouth i around the same time i believe.


Oakland County makes room for new hotels
Low financing, high demand spur plans in county

Crain's Detroit Business
SHERRI WELCH
July 04, 2015




Construction of new Oakland County hotel projects continues in the midst of historically low financing rates for developers and strong demand.

And they aren't all limited-service projects.

A project under construction in West Bloomfield Township's community center district, for example, includes a Hampton Inn, a restaurant with rooftop seating, retail storefront space for multiple tenants, courtyards and a garden. The garden includes a running stream and waterfall — and a spot for an extended-stay hotel to be added.

A couple of miles away in Farmington Hills, a project comprising a trio of hotels will offer multiple options: limited-service and extended-stay, plus a full-service hotel bringing banquet space and a restaurant to the community.

They're two of at least four hotel projects underway or planned in western Oakland suburbs — featuring Hilton Worldwide-owned Hampton, Marriott International and Holiday Inn flags. The projects are expected to bring 370 rooms to the market, adding to the 416 rooms coming online in another Oakland community, Troy, this year or early next.

1) A $4 million Marriott Towneplace Suites near 14 Mile and M-5 in Commerce Township will add 72 extended-stay rooms to the short-stay rooms at the Hampton Inn next door.

2) A Courtyard by Marriott is the first of three hotels planned near 12 Mile and Farmington roads in Farmington Hills. Also planned for the site: A four-story Homewood Suites by Hilton with 121 rooms and a six-story, full-service Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites with 140 rooms, a restaurant and banquet center.

3) The Hampton Inn complex under construction at Orchard Lake Road and Northwestern Highway in West Bloomfield Township has 89 rooms, retail, a restaurant site with rooftop seating, courtyards and a garden area — including a waterfall.

4) A $4 million Holiday Inn Express and Suites on Northwestern Highway will bring an additional 107 rooms to Farmington Hills.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...for-new-hotels

The reason i said this would be a Farmington update is that the Hampton hotel is located on the new Orchard Lake - 14 Mile - Northwestern Hwy Roundabout on West Bloomfield side of the Farmington Hills border and the Marriott is a quarter mile west of the western border of Farmington Hills.

Ford and GM are both making major investments modernizing their tech centers while Redico is making big moves in Bloomfield and Northville and also U of M has designed a model city for testing of automated cars, more updates coming soon.

[The Lurker]

I used to drive 696 past here every day. I'm sure these projects will be as horrible as the homewood suites at Halsted but still interesting to see that spot get more developed.

[The Lurker]

Delete

[skyfan]

New Detroit auto supplier expected to employ 350




India-based auto supplier Sakthi Automotive Group on Monday broke ground on a new multi-million-dollar manufacturing facility in southwest Detroit.

The planned 180,000-square-foot, $30 million plant at 6921 W. Fort is part of a larger campus encompassing the former Southwestern High School building and American Mailers Building. The manufacturing plant is expected to open in March and will employ 350 workers, including some ex-convicts returning to the workforce after incarceration.

Sakthi executives were joined by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, delegates from Mexico and executives from General Motors Co. and others

“It’s a special day,” Duggan said Monday. “Everything about this city’s recovery starts with jobs. This city is not going to be what it should be unless everybody’s included in that comeback, and if you look at what’s happening here, it’s remarkable.”

Sakthi has already hired 25 ex-convicts through a partnership with Focus Hope that trains them for manufacturing jobs.

.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...roit/74206556/

[Docta_Love]

Great to see that the redevelopment of Southwestern is moving forward. I think that perhaps this may be another sign along with all but one of Matty's lawsuits being thrown out, that construction on the Gordie Howe Bridge is going to begin sometime soon.

The official groundbreaking for Orleans Landing happened today and it comes with renderings of the overall project, it looks like at least one high rise is planned for phase 2.

Orleans Landing Breaks Ground
Rebecca Golden
October 21, 2015
Curbed Detroit



Sometimes a picture is all you need. Yesterday, developers broke ground on Orleans Landing, which promises to bring 272 housing units to Detroit's riverfront.







http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...round.php#more

....

Here's the promised 2nd Metro Detroit Update.

....

Redico plans $150 million redevelopment of former women's prison site in Northville
Company expects retail, residential, hotel space at Five Mile and Beck roads

KIRK PINHO
June 02, 2015
Curbed Detroit

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ns-prison-site

According to the Northville Hometown Life Redico hopes to have a conceptual plan by the end of the year and start work next fall.

....

GM tech center expansion spurs growth in Warren
Tech center expansion spurs development

KIRK PINHO
September 05, 2015
Crains Detroit


(This aerial view of Warren's city office complex (right center) is anchored by parks, courts and other buildings.)

When one of the largest companies in the world decides to invest $1 billion in your city, there are bound to be a few ripple effects.

Some of those ripple effects: More than 200 high-end loft apartments around City Hall, a new Prestige Cadillac dealership and possibly a new five-star hotel across the street from General Motors Co.'s Warren Technical Center -- all evidence that the automaker's planned spending barrage at the tech center is a catalyst to a range of investment in Warren's city square area.

City officials estimate about $300 million in new development is planned in the Downtown Development Authority district alone, which is anchored around the tech center on Van Dyke Avenue north of 12 Mile Road.

.....

General Motors Co. Technical Center renovations
Cost: $1 billion
Project: Expansion and renovation of the 326-acre campus, coupled with the creation of 2,600 jobs
Expected completion: End of 2018
Location: Van Dyke Avenue between 12 Mile and 13 Mile roads

Former Campbell Ewald building redevelopment
Cost: $35 million
Project: Renovation of 10-story building across from the GM tech center for 800 new GM jobs
Expected completion: By 2017
Location: Van Dyke north of North Civic Center Drive across from the tech center

City Square Lofts
Cost: $30 million
Project: 210-unit loft project with rents from $1,200 to $2,000 per month by Bingham Farms-based Burton-Katzman LLC
Expected completion: 2017
Location: South and east of Warren City Hall

Five-star hotel
Cost: $50 million
Project: 200-room hotel with retail space including specialty grocery store, a 1,000-person banquet center, conference room and rooftop swimming pool by Lansing-based The Boji Group
Expected completion: Not known
Location: East side of Van Dyke across from the tech center

Prestige Cadillac dealership
Cost: $10 million
Project: New dealership by Gregory Jackson, chairman, president and CEO of Jackson Automotive Management, on 4.6 acres
Expected completion: April
Location: Van Dyke and 12 Mile Road

Majestic Plaza Shopping Center redevelopment
Cost: $2 million
Project: Redevelopment of shopping center for new 40,000-square-foot Y & C Beauty Supplies store
Expected completion: 2017
Location: Van Dyke at Martin Road

Tech Plaza redevelopment
Cost: More than $10 million
Project: Redevelopment of shopping plaza with at least a dozen new stores
Expected completion: By the spring
Location: Van Dyke at 12 Mile Road

Menards
Cost: $8 million
Project: Construction of new 170,000-square-foot store
Expected completion: Sept. 21
Location: Van Dyke at 14 Mile Road

Art Van Furniture warehouse renovation
Cost: $18 million
Project: Warehouse and office remodeling
Expected completion: October
Location: 14 Mile east of Mound Road

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...owth-in-warren

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Ford draws up plans to modernize Dearborn research and engineering hub

KIRK PINHO
June 07, 2015
Crains Detroit

Ford Motor Co. is embarking on a 10-year plan to modernize its research and engineering hub in Dearborn and consolidate the majority of its 26,000 local employees there in reconfigured and updated office and testing space.

Real estate sources who asked to remain unnamed expect Ford to embark on the estimated $1 billion reinvestment in the complex after selecting an architecture firm.

While a Ford Land Development Corp. representative said Friday there were not yet specific plans to announce, the project outlined in a request for proposals document suggests building improvements and new building construction, building demolition, infrastructure upgrades, more green spaces and gathering places, and added parking.

The complex includes engineering offices, testing labs, parking and ancillary buildings. The automaker plans to weigh architectural options on how to best reconfigure the campus.

Brokers and architects say the space is due for a makeover.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...nd-engineering

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UM opens 32-acre Mcity test environment for connected, driverless vehicles

July 20, 2015
By Keith Naughton (of)
Bloomberg News
Crain's Detroit Business



A simulated city opened today on the north campus of the University of Michigan to test how self-driving cars will travel in the future without mowing down pedestrians or causing colossal crashes.

“We had the faculty here at the university design the fully evolved future,” Peter Sweatman, head of the Transportation Research Institute, which oversaw the creation of the Mcity test facility, said in an interview. “After all, we’re replacing humans with machines and those machines need to be able to operate in a full, rich environment.”

Automakers are racing to develop self-driving cars and overhaul their business models for a world where mobility is being redefined as most of the global population crowds into megacities during the next two decades. Driverless cars that move in harmony may become essential to keep people and goods flowing safely and efficiently.

Mcity, a 32-acre mini-metropolis, seeks to replicate modern urban chaos with traffic jams and unpredictable pedestrians, alongside suburban streetscapes, superhighways and rural roads. The $6.5 million facility in Ann Arbor has 40 building facades, angled intersections, a traffic circle, a bridge, a tunnel, gravel roads and plenty of obstructed views. There’s even a four-lane highway with entrance and exit ramps.

....

Automakers have said driverless cars may be on the road within five years. The market for autonomous technology will grow to $42 billion by 2025 and self-driving cars may account for a quarter of global auto sales by 2035, according to Boston Consulting Group. By 2017, semi-autonomous cars that operate in auto-pilot mode, park themselves and change lanes automatically will be available in “large numbers,” the firm said.

Ford has already tested a driverless Fusion hybrid sedan in Mcity and computer mapped all the streets and structures. The automakers will prove out their own technology on the course, but they are jointly researching issues like legal liability and how robot cars will make ethical decisions when confronted with a crash, said Greg Stevens, global manager of Ford’s driver assistance and active safety research.

....

Until now, tests of autonomous cars have been conducted on public roads or private proving grounds. Automakers study robot cars on old test tracks designed to evaluate how fast traditional cars can run laps or how well they handle with humans at the wheel. Google Inc. has logged more than 1 million miles of testing its self-driving cars on Silicon Valley roads and, as of last month, Austin, Texas, highways.

Mcity represents an alternative to that.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ted-driverless

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Magna Seating plans new $48 million headquarters in Novi

July 02, 2015
LINDSAY VANHULLE
Crain's Detroit

LANSING — Magna International Inc. plans to spend $48 million on a new facility in Novi for its seating division.

The Canadian auto supplier, which bases its U.S. operations in Troy, plans to build the 180,000-square-foot building for its Magna Seating of America Inc. subsidiary, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said this week. The project would add 164 jobs.

The MEDC’s Michigan Strategic Fund this week awarded Magna Seating a $984,000 performance-based grant to put toward the project. Novi will offer a property tax incentive, the state said.

Magna Seating currently has headquarters in Novi on Lewis Drive, near Haggerty and 13 Mile roads. Its new headquarters will also be in Novi on Cabot Drive, north of 13 Mile Road and east of the M-5 highway, Magna spokesman Scott Worden said.

It will house Magna Seating’s engineering, sales and marketing, and research and development functions, the state said.

Construction is expected to start in the fourth quarter, Worden said. He did not have a target completion date.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...arters-in-novi

There are already several projects being constructed along Cabot Drive in the 13 Mile and Haggerty area, helping reinvigorate development along the M-5 corridor which had stalled during the great recession.

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I found an interesting tidbit about a possible new mixed use development between Joe Louis Arena and The Riverfront Towers

The Fisher, Kahn redevelopment project isn't the only one Peter Cummings plans in New Center

August 03, 2015
KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit

Peter Cummings has his sights on a surface parking lot totaling just over 1.4 acres in the New Center area for a mixed-use development that includes multifamily residential units.

Cummings, who is part of the development group that last month closed on the $12.2 million purchase of the Fisher Building and Albert Kahn Building, plans to buy the parking lot at the northwest corner of West Grand Boulevard and Third Street near the two office buildings, according to a real estate source.

Reached by phone Monday, Cummings, also one of the developers behind the first Whole Foods Inc. store in Detroit, declined to comment.

But he did tell me that he has three properties in the city “under control.” That’s Cummings’ parlance for either having them under contract or having a memorandum of understanding to purchase them.

Cummings, featured in a Sunday Detroit Free Press story, also said he owns a 2.3-acre parcel of land wedged between the Joe Louis Arena and the Riverfront Towers high-rise apartments, which are currently up for sale.

“We are in early planning stages for (mixed-use) development there,” Cummings, the chairman of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based Ram Realty Services, said.

He declined to elaborate.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...only-one-peter

[The Lurker]

Thank you for putting together this update. Its starting to get hard to keep up

[Docta_Love]

Thank you for putting together this update. Its starting to get hard to keep up

No prob i've been bookmarking articles that catch my eye for a while so i can post them when i have time. But yeah it really has been hard to keep up, especially with all the big announcements that have taken place this year in the greater downtown area there's been a lot of major projects in the burbs and some important but smaller projects in the neighborhoods that have been overlooked.

Speaking of being overlooked i had posted about a possible riverfront transit system in the works a while ago and in the new renderings for Orleans Landing a streetcar is pictured in what looks to be phase 2.

Report: Detroit Riverfront Conservancy plans transit system along Detroit River
By Associated Press
May 11, 2015




Quote:
The nonprofit Detroit RiverFront Conservancy is preparing to raise $3 million to fund a transportation system along the Detroit River that includes water taxis and trolley buses.

The Detroit News reports that the conservancy hired Michigan-based Freshwater Transit to study the feasibility of such a system. Based on the research, the conservancy proposed a plan for six water taxi stations and 14 trolley stops from West Riverfront Park to Gabriel Richard Park.

William Smith, the conservancy's CFO, said the first phase of the water taxi route would use six existing docks or access points along the river.

Its a cool idea and as projects like Orleans Landing and not to mention the numerous loft conversions that have already taken place along the eastern part of the river walk. Then there's the western part of the riverwalk there's finally going to be investment in Riverside Park the riverwalks western terminus. While the idea of a water taxi now is a little bit premature it seems that in the near future the infrastructure should be there to support it, i think the Riverfront Conservancy shouldn't have too difficult of a sell in the initial fundraising effort, despite the setbacks and cancellations during the recession the East Riverfront seems to have reached a critical mass and with a major hotel development coming to the eastern terminus the west riverfront once the Red Wings move to their new arena seems primed.

Touching back on a possible riverfront transit system, with the groundbreaking of the Orleans Landing happening today new renderings have been released and one that i believe is of the 2nd phase has a streetcar pictured in it. While we all know that the job of a rendering is to help sell the development and create the kind of image that the public wants its interesting that they would include a streetcar while a riverfront transit system seems to be in the works.

[hammersklavier]

Wow, that Orleans Landing project is enormous! Way to go Detroit!