Real Estate and Development
Real estate and Development stories in and around the city of Detroit.
Join me and Devon O'Reilly on your Daily Detroit for a packed episode covering everything from hopeful superstitions to major downtown developments and exciting new food spots!
Recorded live from TechTown, there's also a video
Norris Howard is in as we talk three interesting stories around metro Detroit:
- Ground officially broke on a project that will reimagine Greektown's streetscape in Detroit
- Warren approved an ordinance without limits on the number
On today's all-local Detroit podcast with Fletcher Sharpe and Jer, three big topics:
01:36 - Understanding the direct impact of tariffs in a practical way
06:
Today's show is in two parts.
First, we have more details on the demolition of the old Southwest Hospital and cleanup of neighboring lots to make room for a new soccer stadium for Detroit City.
On today's show:
- Michigan Central Station: Jer and Shianne discuss their planning meeting at Michigan Central Station, noting changes in the back area and its popularity for weddings [00:35].
- National News and Tariffs: They
A partnership between Ste. Anne's and the newly-formed The Catholic Initiative is paying for a $30 million rehabilitation of the Basilica of Ste. Anne, aiming to guarantee its future for the next couple hundred years.
Built in 1886, Ste. Anne's is one of 89 churches in the U.S. to have the "minor basilica" distinction. It is the eighth structure in the parish's history. Ste. Anne's dates back to July 26, 1701, two days after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and a group of French people traveled from Quebec and settled in Detroit.
The parish's history is linked to the whole state. One of its early pastors Fr. Gabriel Richard printed the first newspaper in Michigan, co-founded the University of Michigan, and was a delegate to Congress from the Michigan territory.
The Vatican approved this partnership. Part of the agreement transfers ownership of the building and campus to a non-profit to preserve the basilica and property.
The Catholic Initiative assumes all responsibility for maintenance and renovation, while the Ste. Anne's parish retains exclusive and permanent rights to use the property as a Catholic church and basilica through a 200 year renewable lease.
The Catholic Initiative is supported by the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, paying for $111 million in projects to guarantee long-term perpetuity for community institutions and programs.
Only one Detroit City Council member — Angela Whitfield-Calloway who introduced it — supported a resolution to make the RenCen a historic district, subject to additional restrictions that would have helped preserve all of the towers.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan sent the following statement:
Designating the Renaissance Center as historic office buildings would have killed any realistic hope of redevelopment and pretty much guaranteed Detroit would have five empty towers sitting on the riverfront for the next 30-40 years.
Thanks to Detroit City Council’s strong stance today, the Mayor’s Office and Council can now move forward to explore all alternatives and develop the best solution for our city’s future.
The current proposed plan by General Motors and Bedrock is to demolish two of the towers, rehab one as more modern offices, another as residential, and improve hotel amenities.
Devon O'Reilly joins in to round up some of the interesting stories and places around town.
Timestamps:
00:21 - Introductions, mentioning that Fat Tuesday is approaching and our favorite flavors of Paczki
03:
12 Things To Know Around Metro Detroit
One of the most impactful stories long-term on Detroit isn't in the core of downtown, but up by the New Center and TechTown.
The Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences Research Center is will be a seven-story, $335 million building that will be home to various medical research teams devoted to cancer, neuroscience, cardiometabolic diseases, and immunology — as well as the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute.
I saw that major visible progress is being made and wanted to share a little update.
You can find it on Third Street, south of the boulevard and across from the Pistons Performance Center.
Part of the wider $3 billion Henry Ford and MSU partnership, this should be ready in 2027.
The Prince of Brightmoor Norris Howard is in, and we discuss a recent push to turn the RenCen into a historic district to save all of the towers. Is that the best way forward?
Plus,
The spot I visited Tuesday was Brush Park Apartments.
It's a $19-million development with 53 affordable units and 3,800 square feet of commercial space at 269 Winder in Detroit.
The second is in Midtown. It's named MLK on 2nd, at 3515 Second Avenue.
That $11.5-million project has 33 units and also features ground-floor commercial space.
Out of the combined 86 units across both developments, 63 will be deeply affordable for those earning 60 percent area median income (AMI) or below, with the remainder being available for households earning 80 percent AMI or below.
The projects, funded through various partnerships including CVS Health, Fifth Third Bank, and government programs, aim to make sure Detroiters can afford to live in desirable neighborhoods.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said that more than $1 billion of affordable housing has been built in the last five years.
A litte Townie Talk with Fletcher Sharpe...
Topic timestamps:
02:10 Fletcher appears on One Detroit and talks about the hug that broke barriers in baseball
04:28 - Seva is closing. We
I saw visual progress is being made on the former United Savings Bank in Detroit's Capitol Park.
It's undergoing significant remodeling to an art deco-inspired design, and the addition of four new floors. Two stories will be for commercial space, and the rest will have 25 residential units.
Designed by Albert Kahn and opened in 1921, the building's facade was ruined by a "facelift" in the 70s that removed most of the windows.
The developers of 1133 Griswold Street are the Detroit-based RKP Group.
How the building looked in the 1920s, vs. just before renovation, then the rendering for the future.
Outlier Media's Aaron Mondry joins us to talk about his in-depth reporting about foreigners investing in Detroit through cryptocurrency.
More, as part of his series on the "Speculators of Detroit": https://outliermedia.org/crypto-real-estate-realt-cryptocurrency-detroit/
In this episode, Luciano talks with Jer and Shianne about the new Raising Cane's in Canton. Luciano talks about the energy of the moment, how the food tasted, and his first impression of Raising Cane's.
As you can see in the video below, a major overhaul of the triangle-shaped park has gotten started in earnest, with work to be completed in the summer. Businesses will remain open.
This one has been a long time coming. Big parts of a plan from 2017 will be put into place. Historically, the park had more green space and was more welcoming than the current design.
What's coming? The Downtown Detroit Partnership says:
- Softening the park by adding new gardens
- Permeable surfacing (it allows water to go through instead of pool or have to be handled by sewer systems)
- Expansion of the dog park and lawn
- A new canopy of trees
If you're looking for some Capitol Park history, may I suggest this link on the monument to Michigan's first governor.
Our latest episode of what to know and where to go in Metro Detroit! We talk about a ton of things - from trying Vecino and an Archery cafe, to visiting an old favorite in
We're back with our annual predictions episode! First we run down what we said last year and checked if we got it correct - then, we get into high, medium, and low confidence predictions for