DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[subterranean]

Nothing short of spectacular. Thanks for posting.

[MasonsInquiries]

Glad to see Detroit's making a comeback!!

[animatedmartian]

Hey guys, just saw this in today's news, and it's nothing short of awesome.

A new Cobo!

Two years after Detroit officials ceded oversight of the 51-year-old facility, local business leaders, city and county officials gathered today to see the revealings of artist renderings of the project that is expected to begin in July and last until 2014. The work is the final stage of a $274 million project to revamp the 2.4 million square-foot facility that was last updated in 1989.

Full article including video.

To be honest though, I'm a bit skeptical to think that it would be fully completed. Then again, any improvement would be better than tearing down something.

[subterranean]

It looks like it connects the riverfront, which is the most appetizing piece to me.

[DetroitSky]

I saw new housing going up today near the intersection of Outer Drive and Van Dyke today while I was driving by. Looks to be senior housing maybe? Not too sure. It's a good thing for the area either way!

[PistonsFan]

Great news about Cobo! Hope it all happens.

Here is the youtube fly-thru video of the renovation plans:

• Video Link

[Onn]

Well the new design is certainly bright and airy, that's a huge plus! Also great use of the existing arena.

There's no doubt Cobo right now is in serious need of renovations, it's an embarrassment to the city, and the auto industry most of all.

[mousquet]

Some more about Cobo, because that seems big news though.
tvsdesign Leads Architectural Team to Restore Convention Center

Edit : 12,000 jobs created by the project.
Sorry guys, they actually said some twelve hundred jobs which is already not bad. I've been amazed myself when writing 12,000.

[gsgeorge]

Whole Foods Market scouting for space in Detroit's Midtown district
by John Gallagher of the Detroit Free Press

The Whole Foods Market chain won’t talk about it, but the upscale grocery has been shopping for a possible store location in Detroit’s Midtown district and holding preliminary meetings to line up potential local suppliers.

Kate Klotz, a Midwest regional spokeswoman for Whole Foods, declined to comment today, citing the company’s policy of never discussing possible new stores until a lease is signed.

But Dan Carmody, president of Eastern Market Corp., said he and Whole Foods representatives have held preliminary meetings in Detroit to explore lining up local growers and other potential producers to supply food products to a store in Detroit.

“They seem to be genuine about it,” Carmody said

Known for its fresh produce, prepared dishes and upscale prices, the company typically builds stores averaging 36,000 square feet in size, but has gone as small as 19,000 square feet and as large as about 100,000 square feet.

Contact John Gallagher: 313-222-5173 or gallagher99 @freepress.com

[gsgeorge]

Decaying Central Depot to get spruce-up
Tom Greenwood / The Detroit News
After decades of looking like a bombed-out relic, the iconic Michigan Central Train Depot is set to receive a mini face-lift.
Manuel "Matty" Moroun, owner of the depot and the Ambassador Bridge, will replace the roof and the windows on the once elegant 19-story building that has overlooked Michigan Avenue since 1913.
"We're applying with the city to replace the roof and the windows," said Dan Stamper, bridge company president.
"We're doing it because it would be much easier to help a developer to come up with a package to use the depot if some improvements were made … so that's what we're doing."
Stamper said it was too early to come up with an estimate for the repairs, but acknowledged it would be expensive.
"We have our engineers working on an estimate," he said.
Mayor Dave Bing's office confirmed the city has had preliminary talks with the bridge company about repairs to the depot.
"But that's about the extent of it so far," said Bing spokesman Dan Lijana.
"Obviously seeing improvements to the central depot to make it look more aesthetically pleasing is something we would certainly support. But they haven't pulled any permits as of yet. We await their next move."
Created by the same architects who designed Grand Central Station in New York City, the building at one time was the largest train station in the world and known for its rich décor.
Decline and decay pulled into the station soon after the last train departed in January 1988. Scrappers looted the building.
Over the years, several ideas have been pitched for the building, including a new police headquarters. None has panned out. Nor has a 2009 resolution from the City Council to demolish it.
Because of its look of urban decay, the depot has been used in several films, including "Transformers," "The Island," "Four Brothers" and "Eight Mile."


From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110325/...#ixzz1IaQUaT23

[gsgeorge]

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in...t_detroit.html

The Corner Development: Detroit rejects $65.3M proposal for 'living building,' charter school, retail and housing at old Tiger Stadium site
by Jonathan Oosting of MLive.com

You might not know it by looking at it, but the northwest corner of Michigan and Trumbull in Detroit still has a lot going for it: The 9.4-acre property has a rich history as former home of Tiger Stadium, sits in a relatively-stable neighborhood, enjoys tax-free renaissance zone status and qualifies for a $3.8 million federal earmark for redevelopment.

Here's what the city-owned parcel won't have any time soon: Michigan's first "living building," the headquarters of two prominent nonprofits, a charter school, retail shops and housing -- all surrounding a rehabilitated ball field re-purposed as a community recreation center.

The Detroit Economic Development Corporation earlier this month rejected a $65.3 million redevelopment proposal for the site, citing "significant concerns about the overall financial feasibility" of the project in a letter to organizers.

"I knew it wasn't a sure thing," said Thom Linn, who helped put together the proposal and serves as president of the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy. "But it would have been an amazing plan. It would have been a major draw for Southwest Detroit and Corktown."

[Illithid Dude]

Such a shame. It's like Detroit wants to stay in the pit they currently reside.

[LMich]

Reading the article, it's pretty clear that even those that proposed the project admit that there wasn't any solid funding for it. It's a great plan on paper, no doubt, but I don't think the city should feel obligated to hand over the development rights to a site - paticularly a the most valuable sites - for a fly-by-night proposal. If they can find funding, they are more than welcomed to come back to the table, I'm sure.

[LMich]

Whole lot of movin' and shakin' goin' on...

Quicken Loans closes deal on Detroit's Chase Tower

Corey Williams / Associated Press

April 7, 2010

Detroit— Online retail mortgage lender Quicken Loans is keeping to its promise to help Detroit's revitalization by closing on the purchase of a 14-story, 505,000-square-foot office building downtown, company officials said today.

The purchase price of the Chase Tower was not released, but Quicken founder and chairman Dan Gilbert said in a statement that about 4,000 of the company's employees will work downtown when the company moves into the building and the recently acquired Madison Theatre Building.

Quicken moved its corporate headquarters and 1,700 workers to the Compuware building near Campus Martius downtown last year. That building, the Chase Tower and Madison building are within walking distance of one another. The company also finalized the purchase of a 1,095-space parking garage two blocks from the Chase Tower.

...

Gilbert, who also owns the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, called the section of Woodward Avenue adjacent to Campus Martius "Webward Avenue" and wants other companies to join Quicken and software developer Compuware Corp. downtown.

"That's our thing," he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "Those dozers out there in the suburbs — I think it's time they wake up. They are going to lose opportunities in their own back yard."

He hopes to fill available space in the Chase Tower with major retail tenants.

"We have to be a destination," Gilbert told the AP. "We're about to be in flat-out recruiting mode for large tenants. They have knocked on our doors without us even asking."

...

http://www.detnews.com/article/20110...-s-Chase-Tower

[jodelli]

Today I noticed what looked like sequential LED lighting in a band around the top of Tower 400 at the RenCen. The colors were red, green and blue which could mean they could combine these to make different combinations.
This is in addition to a blue band that has shown up that surrounds the hotel tower just under the GM sign.

I'll post pictures when I get closer; it was foggy and my building is about 3 miles away.

[gsgeorge]

Eastern Market plans a full rebuild of Shed 4 after the successful renovations of Sheds 2 & 3.

http://modeldmedia.com/devnews/erbfoundation040511.aspx

Eastern Market to build community kitchen


Thanks to Birmingham's Erb Foundation, Eastern Market will build a $200,000 community kitchen sometime in 2011, furthering one of the foundation's key missions: promoting environmental health and justice.

Plans for the grant, payable over two years, will allow Eastern Market to develop the community kitchen as an hub for food entrepreneurs, in a city where access to commercial kitchen space can be difficult to find. They also hope to increase access to locally grown and processed healthy foods.

"It's going to serve as an incubator for people, especially Detroiters, who want to start their own niche food processing business. It's a good way to not only support the local food system, but to create jobs," says the Erb Foundation's Jodee Fishman Raines.

It's also a way to make better use of produce and other perishables that can go to waste -- fruit that can't be sold can still be pickled or jarred, for example. There will be food demonstrations and workshops encouraging healthy eating, plus the community kitchen can be rented out by groups.

The Erb Foundation, which has distributed money over the past three years, focuses primarily on promoting environmental health and cultural wellness to help revitalize the Great Lakes region, with a focus on Metro Detroit.

"Eastern Market is really, we think, an important institution in the city, an important part of building this local food system ... the better and stronger it is, the better off we think it will help revitalize the city. When you've got these wonderful local institutions, you can make them even more accessible to people. Eastern Market is already very user-friendly, but this takes it to a whole new level," says Fishman Raines.

Source: Jodee Fishman Raines, Vice President of Programs, Erb Foundation
Writer: Ashley C. Woods

Via
http://www.thekraemeredge.com/index...._market_shed_4

Constructed in the heart of the renovated Eastern Market campus will be the new Shed 4 Market Hall. In place of the existing Shed 4 and the public restroom building will be a multi-functional building containing a market hall, a cooking school, offices, and an incubator kitchen for new businesses. On the main floor, the Market Hall stretches from north to south, reinforcing the central axis of the adjacent market sheds. A cooking school, demonstration kitchen, and restaurant will anchor the facility and create a vibrant connection to the existing street retail
The renovation will also include two solar array structures to generate heat for hot water to the Eastern Market campus to be mounted on top of the parking garage. In addition, a green roof will span over the east side of the building to minimize storm water runoff and reduce solar heat gain. The building will also take full advantage of natural day lighting and stacked ventilation.
When complete, The Shed 4 Market Hall will heighten the options available for Eastern Market patrons and its vendors. It will also allow the Market to expand its hours into weekdays, with the eventual goal of being open for business 7 days a week.

[mind field]

"We have to be a destination," Gilbert told the AP. "We're about to be in flat-out recruiting mode for large tenants. They have knocked on our doors without us even asking."



I wonder who these ever elusive "large" tenants are? A few more companies the size of Quicken to fill up vacant downtown space and downtown can return to the hustle and bustle of the late nineties early 2000s.

[Complex01]

Some nice new stuff. Kewl...

[subterranean]

Broderick Tower renovation continues -- here's the update

Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Source: Brian Rebain, project architect, Kraemer Design Group
Writer: Ashley C. Woods
http://www.modeldmedia.com/devnews/b...ion042611.aspx

"It was in rough condition. Not the roughest I've ever seen, but pretty rough," says Kraemer Design Group's Brian Rebain, the architect who's managing the project. Faulty roof conductors leaked water into the building, which crumbled much of the concrete on the building's upper floors. Old carpet, peeling paint, forgotten furniture. Vandalism and graffiti. "I have seen worse buildings, but you gotta strip it clean before you start building again," he says.

Rebain says much of the Broderick's original splendor will be maintained -- and in some cases, restored. Much of the building's original plaster walls and original beams will be on display. While many of the Broderick's materials and finishes will be more contemporary, the structure's old-time elegance will be visible in the historic lobby off of Witherell. The lobby's black marble and tiled floors, ceiling and brasswork will all be preserved.

[LMich]

Some more updates:

A $21.5-million port development along Detroit's riverfront is to open next month and is expected to create a new era of waterfront tourism. The Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority plans a ribbon-cutting when it opens. At the site last month, workers continue with construction. / April 19 photo by WILLIAM ARCHIE/Detroit Free Pres

New development aims to make Detroit a popular port of call

By Matt Helms & Ellen Creager | Detroit Free Press

May 3, 2011

A $21.5-million port development along Detroit's riverfront will debut next month with the tall order of changing how the waterway is used.

The port -- located between Hart Plaza and the Renaissance Center -- is the latest piece of the ongoing revitalization of Detroit's riverfront and is the key to hopes of luring Great Lakes cruise ships, starting a Detroit-Windsor ferry and creating a new era of waterfront tourism.

The project mirrors efforts of other Great Lakes port cities looking to maximize their waterfronts, including Cleveland, but critics doubt that Detroit has the demand to match the cost.

"On net balance, these kinds of investments are little more than expensive ribbon-cutting ceremonies," said Michael LaFaive with the free-market Mackinac Center think tank in Midland. "If this was a valuable addition to Detroit's waterfront, entrepreneurs would fall over themselves to fund it."

The Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority plans a ribbon-cutting next month; the Grande Mariner cruise ship is expected to be among the first to use the new dock in July.

A bustling riverfront is "not as far-fetched as people might imagine," countered John Kerr, the port authority's economic development director. "Port communities across Michigan are looking at what we're doing."

...

Among the Detroit port's first customers will be the Grande Mariner.

The 96-passenger vessel will dock in Detroit for one night during a July 15-23 cruise, then again sometime between July 25 and Aug. 3 for the "Discover Ontario -- Scenic Georgian Bay" cruise, said Esther Pato, spokeswoman for Blount Small Ship Adventures in Warren, R.I. Grande Mariner's journey goes from Chicago to Toronto.

Shore excursions for passengers at the Detroit port will be the Henry Ford and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, plus Windsor.

...

3,000 Blues workers start move to RenCen

Louis Aguilar / / The Detroit News

May 3, 2011

Detroit— Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan began relocating 3,000 workers Monday from Southfield to their new offices at the General Motors Co. Renaissance Center downtown.

"We write the next chapter in the story of Detroit," said Daniel Loepp, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, at a press conference in Tower 500 of the RenCen. "For a kid who grew up on the east side of Detroit, this is a great day."

About 300 workers came this week and the remaining will come in waves that end in 2011. It's one of the biggest infusions of workers into downtown in recent memory.

The workers join nearly 3,000 employees already in Detroit on a unified campus extending from the Detroit River to the company's headquarters two blocks north on Lafayette Boulevard.

The relocation to downtown Detroit is part of a series of moves by the nonprofit health care insurer to concentrate its employees to three cities — Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids — where 97 percent of the Blues' work force eventually will be located.

...

The Blue Cross workers will move into the RenCen's 500 and 600 towers, occupying 435,000 square feet of space for at least 15 years.

The move by Blue Cross will raise the RenCen's occupancy rate to 92 percent and reduce the amount of vacant Class A office space 6 percent. Blue Cross will occupy 21 floors of Tower 500 and floors 3 to 10 in Tower 600.

...