DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[skyfan]

The Griswold Building is going market rate

Griswold Apartments low-income housing to be redeveloped


A low-income senior living center in downtown Detroit’s Capitol Park district will be converted to market-rate apartments under the new owner’s plan.

A new partnership called 1214 Griswold Apartments LLC, created by developer Richard Broder of the Broder & Sachse real estate firm in Birmingham, recently purchased the 127-unit, 12-story residential building.

In a statement issued by a public relations firm, the partnership said current residents of the senior center were given a one-year’s notice on March 29 that their current U.S. Housing & Urban Development Section 8 rent assistance vouchers for living there would expire in one year on March 31, 2014.

Until then, the statement read, “The owners are working closely with HUD and Wingate, the property managers, to ensure all residents are fully informed of their options, the Section 8 program voucher process and available resources.”

http://www.freep.com/article/2013050...wntown-Detroit

[hudkina]

I've always loved those two buildings side by side. It will be good for Capitol Park to have the market rate apartments there.

[LMich]

As you saw earlier, I have empathy for those negatively affected by gentrification, but in this case, that the Griswold stayed restricted for as long as it did is a near-miracle. It's literally in the heart of the downtown area. I'd have been thankful as a resident for it to have remained a senior building for as long as it did given the location, and it sounds like they've been given appropriate notice unlike what happened on Cass - which, BTW, was updated to say that folks have been given more time to find a new place.

I love Capitol Park even in its declined state. Just imagine what it's going to look like all cleaned up. Detroit is really lucky to have squares like Campus Martius and Capitol and Harmonie and Grand Circus. The Woodward Plan really allows for some diversity in the type of neighborhoods that developed and will redevelop that a grid can't always give. I'd actually like to see the parking lands eventually developed around new squares and plazas wherever possible.

[animatedmartian]

Potential neighborhood investment?

• Video Link

Found the block on Google. It's not really anything big really, (heck not really any bigger than many of the vacant lots downtown), but it is adjacent to Indian Village (which is relatively stable against the surrounding decaying neighborhoods) and is only a half mile from Jefferson and only 4 miles from Downtown.

http://goo.gl/maps/rOxG8

Trying to contain my skepticism somewhat, but could it be possible something very positive comes out of this or is it still just too soon for Detroit's neighborhoods to get some interest?

[detroit_alive]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Also, there was a proposal for something on that site next to the McDonalds in 2008/09. I remember seeing it on the UCCLA website before they changed it to Midtown, Inc. That rendering is not new, but rumors have it that development is coming soon which would not be surprising if it's a 2008 development that was stalled. Either way, it's good news that there will be development on that site (if it is in fact true).


http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...-like-this.php

That rendering is current and the building, if I remember correctly, is nearly financed. It is not going to be residential, rather it is planned as commercial space aimed at design orientated firms.

[detroit_alive]

Originally Posted by Michi

Also, significant to note: Doesn't Dan Gilbert have his eye on that huge, brick building on Alexandrine, west of Woodward?

I can't imagine so as the building you speak of is actually already owned by Midtown Inc.

[LMich]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Trying to contain my skepticism somewhat, but could it be possible something very positive comes out of this or is it still just too soon for Detroit's neighborhoods to get some interest?

If watched most of the video, and it simply looks like a puff piece to help this guy sell his lot. I don't see why something good couldn't come from this, but you kind of portrayed it as if there was already plans for the site. BTW, plenty of stuff is happening out of downtown. I'd posted not too long ago of a mixed-use building going up way out Mack. This isn't the stuff you're generally going to be hearing about, though.

I think some folks have this view that nothing is happening in the out-city, when I'd argue that most redevelopment happening is happening in the out-city, though, on a far smaller scale. And really, this is how it should be given that the out-city is the vast majority of the city, of course. I mean, one of the biggest untold development stories in the entire city is the revitalization of the apartment buildings around Palmer Park.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by LMich

If watched most of the video, and it simply looks like a puff piece to help this guy sell his lot. I don't see why something good couldn't come from this, but you kind of portrayed it as if there was already plans for the site. BTW, plenty of stuff is happening out of downtown. I'd posted not too long ago of a mixed-use building going up way out Mack. This isn't the stuff you're generally going to be hearing about, though.

I think some folks have this view that nothing is happening in the out-city, when I'd argue that most redevelopment happening is happening in the out-city, though, on a far smaller scale. And really, this is how it should be given that the out-city is the vast majority of the city, of course. I mean, one of the biggest untold development stories in the entire city is the revitalization of the apartment buildings around Palmer Park.

I'm just worried the default non-downtown development is a liquor store.

Most other projects that I'm aware of are mostly low-income (supposedly mixed income) housing developments by HUD or local charities. I'd definitely agree that anything outside of the 3 mile radius of downtown is pretty underrepresented.

[jodelli]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Potential neighborhood investment?

• Video Link

Found the block on Google. It's not really anything big really, (heck not really any bigger than many of the vacant lots downtown), but it is adjacent to Indian Village (which is relatively stable against the surrounding decaying neighborhoods) and is only a half mile from Jefferson and only 4 miles from Downtown.

http://goo.gl/maps/rOxG8

Trying to contain my skepticism somewhat, but could it be possible something very positive comes out of this or is it still just too soon for Detroit's neighborhoods to get some interest?

It's showing up at Kercheval and Van Dyke. I walked that section of Van Dyke down to Jefferson not too long ago and it's fairly intact. There's infill going on just to the west as well so that block is as good a place to start as any.

[LMich]

Jus little news on the Gateway Marketplace up at Woodward and Eight Mile. It appears Mejier will be opening in July:

Meijer to open 200th store in Flint area, to announce hiring for Detroit store

By Karen Dybis | The Detroit News

May 10, 2013

Meijer Inc., the original superstore retailer that combined food and general merchandise under one roof, will open its 200th location next week — in the Flint area, the company said Thursday.

The Swartz Creek store, which will open Thursday, has filled all of the 200 part- and full-time jobs needed to staff the location, said company spokesman Frank Guglielmi.

Meijer also is set to announce today that it is hiring more than 400 people for its greatly anticipated Detroit store, which will open at Eight Mile and Woodward in mid to late July.

The Grand Rapids-based retailer is working with community groups to help with its hiring effort, Guglielmi said. They include Detroit Employment Solutions, Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services (ACCESS) and churches including Second Ebenezer in Detroit.

...

[LMich]

Details emerging of using Cadillac Square for a summer market:

Downtown Detroit's Cadillac Square host food retail market this summer

By Michael Martinez | The Detroit News

May 15, 2013

Detroit — Details are starting to emerge about how downtown's Campus Martius area will be transformed into a vibrant food and retail space this summer.

According to the Campus Martius website, the park is accepting vendor applications for a food market and retail market.

Summer Time Food at Campus Martius will take place in Cadillac Square between Woodward Avenue and Bates Street. It will begin June 10 and run Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until the end of August.

Vendors will be supplied with a booth, signs, advertising and refrigeration. Vendors must pay a weekly cost of $250, in addition to a $250 security deposit.

The retail market, simply called The Market, will take place every fourth Friday and Saturday in June, July and August. According to the Campus Martius website, it will "feature an area dedicated to dynamic retailers, artists, designers, crafters, vintage/antique dealers, craft-prepared food products, and distinctive apparel, home goods and accessory brands."

The Friday markets will run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; the Saturday markets run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Retail booth fees vary in price from $515-$915 and applications are due May 31. A notification of acceptance will be sent out June 7.

...

It's official, Rossetti is coming back home from Southfield, and Neumann/Smith is also moving downtown from Southfield.

Southfield architects Rossetti moving downtown

by Brian J. O'Connor | The Detroit News

May 15, 2013

As previously reported in The Detroit News, ROSSETTI Architects will be moving from Southfield to downtown Detroit, setting up shop in the vacant Federal Reserve building on Fort Street. The announcement was officially made Wednesday by Rock Ventures and Bedrock Real Estate Services, two companies managing the burgeoning real estate portfolio of Quicken Loans owner Dan Gilbert.

ROSSETTI will move 60 employees into 13,000 square feet of space, occupying the building's fourth floor. The firm also will be redesigning its new home, including street-level retail space.

The original building housed the Detroit branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and was built in 1927. In 1951, an eight-story glass and marble annex designed by World Trace Center architect Minoru Yamasaki was added. In 2004, the branch moved to a new, larger space on Warren Avenue, leaving the old building vacant. It was purchased by Rock Ventures last year.

The move will mark a homecoming of sorts for ROSSETTI, which was founded in Detroit in 1969.

In a statement, president Matt Rossetti said, "There is so much energy in the city that it made perfect sense to return to our roots and come back home and seize the opportunity in Detroit."

...

Another architecture firm quitting Southfield for downtown is Neumann/Smith Architecture. The firm announced in March that it will open a design studio in one of Gilbert's downtown Woodward properties, the Wright Kay Building. Neumann/Smith plans to bring about 12 people downtown, in a move scheduled for June. The building is at the corner of Woodward and John R and was originally called the Schwankovsky Temple of Music and later the Wright Kay.

[NYC2ATX]

I cannot get over the rate at which companies are choosing to relocate (and relocate back) to Downtown Detroit, especially having several coming from the suburbs they ran away to when the city was going to shit. The resurgence of the downtown core is reaching a fever pitch, and I couldn't be more excited.

[animatedmartian]

Update on the Zsite.


http://www.bedrockmgt.com/properties/video.php?id=22

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

I cannot get over the rate at which companies are choosing to relocate (and relocate back) to Downtown Detroit, especially having several coming from the suburbs they ran away to when the city was going to shit. The resurgence of the downtown core is reaching a fever pitch, and I couldn't be more excited.

It's something I've long awaited for. When I lived in Michigan I told countless people Detroit would be on the upswing with companies moving downtown...it was only a matter of time. That was 2002, and people laughed a bit. Well 10 years later, look at the pace at which things are happening. I believe there's a ton of pent up demand for some big projects. Detroit has to be ready for an apartment tower by now. I know so many folks that want to move into the city but they can't find a place that's newly built.

[montréaliste]

Downtown Detroit per se has so much potential, a ton of older quality highrises of many eras. I am pretty happy to see all that is happening there right now. We would like the neighborhoods to pick up, but if downtown and midtown New Center gather steam, it will start happening in the outliers anyway.

[animatedmartian]

Livernois Avenue in the fast lane for $1.7 million face-lift
May 20, 2013
By Amy Haimerl

The buildings are low slung and filled with collision centers and cash-checking centers separated by wide swaths of parking. The sun beats down on the pavement, leaving little relief for pedestrians walking along Livernois Avenue.

As they approach Seven Mile, the environment changes. Sun dapples through tree leaves. A stretch of brick storefronts appear and customers step out of barber shops, restaurants and ladies' boutiques.

This is the Avenue of Fashion, once the Rodeo Drive of Detroit shopping. Charlie Sanders, the Detroit Lions' Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end, bought his first suit on this stretch of Livernois between Six and Eight Mile roads. And the players were known to frequent the strip with Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin. The district suffered since then, like much of Detroit, but investment dollars are starting to flow back.

Today, the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. is announcing a $200,000 prize from ArtPlace, a national group of nonprofits and banks -- including the Ford Foundation and Chase bank -- to install art in the vacant storefronts and medians along Livernois Avenue from Seven Mile to West Outer Drive. The project was one of 54 projects selected out of 1,200 proposals.

....

That $200,000 is just the beginning of bigger funding for Livernois Avenue. Approximately $1.5 million will be flowing to the area for streetscaping projects along the 2.8-mile stretch from the Lodge freeway and Eight Mile. The money is a matching deal between the federal government ($975,000) and the DEGC and other partner organizations ($525,000), and will be used for landscaping in the medians and pedestrian-safety improvements. The project will start next spring.

The DEGC is also working with its partners to secure additional funding for a second phase that would include new sidewalks, lighting, bike lanes and other amenities.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...1-7m-face-lift

A video by Model D was made for Avenue of Fashion a few months ago. $2 million dollars is really going to improve this area.

Video Link

[animatedmartian]

Also, by the way, the Crown Plaza opens May 30th (10 days from today).

• Video Link

[LMich]

I really like the Avenue of Fashion. I never saw it in its heyday, but it's at least one area where the surrounding neighborhood didn't let it go completely to hell like so many of the commercial areas outside the core. Some photos of the area by Marvin Shaouni for a Model D story back in 2011:


Marvin Shaouni


Marvin Shaouni


Marvin Shaouni

[LMich]

Update on Capitol Park:

Big plans are in the works for a tiny Capitol Park in downtown Detroit

By Louis Aguilar | The Detroit News


The former United Way building at 1214 Griswold was bought earlier this year. The state approved a $6 million loan for the historic building. (Steve Perez/The Detroit News)

May 23, 2013

Detroit Capitol Park, site of Michigan’s first Capitol building and more recently where people wait for the bus, is a major front in the block-by-block battle to gentrify downtown.

Investments likely to top $100 million, including taxpayer money, are beginning to be poured into this small triangular patch tucked between Woodward Avenue and Washington Boulevard. Bounded by Shelby, Griswold and State streets, the area is ragged, but big change is on the way.

On Wednesday, the state approved a $6 million loan forthe former United Way building, one of three historic buildings targeted in an $85 million redevelopment plan. Another building, an Albert Kahn-designed gem, was sold earlier this year, with the new owners moving to boot low-income seniors out of their homes to make way for upscale residents. Another Capitol Park building is under contract for sale, and the College for Creative Studies and Cranbrook Academy of Artare exploring ways to create a permanent presence for international and local artists.

“Capitol Park is envisioned to be the center of a new arts district with galleries and cafes on the ground floors and residential apartments above,” according to “A Placemaking Vision for Downtown Detroit,” the big plan unveiled recently by Quicken Loans Inc., founder Dan Gilbert and other downtown leaders to dramatically overhaul the city’s central business district.

...

Some of it will start soon. Renovations on two buildings that are part of an $85 million development plan should start this summer. The two buildings are the former United Way Building at 1212 Griswold St. and the Capitol Park Building at 1145 Griswold St. Last year, Lansing’s Karp and Associates won the rights to renovate three buildings owned by a consortium of government and non-profit agencies.

“Things indeed are moving forward in Capitol Park,” developer Richard Karp said in an email sent to the Detroit News. “Our first major tenant, the Archdiocese of Detroit, has announced they will be occupying the lower level and first five floors of 1212 Griswold,” he wrote. Floors six through 13 will contain 56 “high-end, market-rate loft apartments” in the 101,000-square-foot building, Karp said. Work at 1145 Griswold will start this summer to convert the 11-story, 68,000-square-foot building into mixed-used retail and housing.

...

[north 42]

Now if someone would just buy and renovate the Book Building, I'd be happy!