Proposed Livonia High Rise Apartment Complex Meets Resistance

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A proposed apartment complex development south of Wonderland Village in Livonia has neighbors up in arms. At a recent planning commission meeting, several residents spoke out against the project. The site is owned by Livonia-based Schostak Brothers. The request for the property would be to change the zoning from C-2 General Business to R-8 High Rise Residential. Residents have taken issue with the redevelopment of the site for years, but recent concerns include the appropriateness of a high rise apartment complex in the middle of a shopping center development with tenants having visual access into neighborhood backyards. The developer asked the commission to table the proposal to a future date, in order to work on additional details of the development.

CDC Mask Policy Reversal Throws Wrench

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The CDC recently took a step backward with its mask policy. Research on the Delta variant is the cause of the reversal. They now recommend that people should wear masks indoors, at least in areas where the coronavirus infection rate is high. The announcement throws a wrench in companies’ return-to-office plans. Many brought workers back, allowing fully vaccinated employees to go without masks. Companies with national footprints may decide to have a consistent mask policy across all offices and sites. The reversal in policy may also cause more corporate vaccine mandates.

 

 

 

Eviction Moratorium Expiration Leaves Renters in a Lurch

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The federal eviction moratorium was scheduled to end on Saturday at midnight, leaving renters to face uncertain futures as they search for housing. Homeless shelters have been adding beds in anticipation. According to a Census Bureau survey, 3.6 million people think they will be evicted within the next two months. The moratorium protected struggling renters in public or private housing if they could prove they had lost income during the pandemic. The moratorium ends when only a small part of the Congress-approved rent assistance has been distributed.  Some states have eviction moratoriums that will extend past the federal one.

 

 

Affordable Housing Options Scarce in Michigan

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According to a report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a two-bedroom apartment in Michigan is unaffordable for minimum wage renters…unless they work 77 hours a week. Affordable housing was an issue prior to the pandemic, and the economic upheaval has only made it worse. Lawmakers are doling out billions of dollars in emergency rent aid, but experts agree that this is only a short-term fix. Communities need more affordable housing options. With the eviction moratorium expiring, evictions are expected to increase, making it tougher still for displaced tenants to find a place to live. Governor Whitmer plans to use $100 million in federal COVID-19 relief dollars to create 2,000 new affordable rental homes, with funds going toward grants and loans for development, preservation of existing housing and security deposit assistance.

 

 

 

Southfield Homeowners Level Accusations of Exploitation

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Former homeowners are accusing Southfield and the Southfield Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative LLC of exploitation. They assert that the company made millions from tax-foreclosed homes over a three year period of time. The company made as much as $10 million from 138 properties after paying more than $2 million in back taxes to acquire the properties. The city has partnered with the company to take homes in the foreclosure process before they go to county auction. A class-action lawsuit in Detroit’s federal court accuses the company and the city of Southfield of taking equity away from former homeowners without reparations.

 

Detroit’s Clark Park to Receive Facelift

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As part of Mayor Mike Duggan’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund initiative, Southwest Detroit’s Clark Park is slated for $3.3 million in upgrades. Improvements will include a new entryway along Vernor Highway, new walkways, paths, a playground, a splash pad and a plaza. Improvements will also be made to the recreational and fitness fields. The makeover will start in August and wrap up in the summer of 2022.

New Mixed-Use Development Coming to Ferndale

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Ferndale’s Rosie O’Grady site is slated for redevelopment. The Ferndale Planning Commission has approved plans for a mixed-use development on the site. It will become the home to an Atlantic and Pacific seafood restaurant, a Mexican barbecue restaurant, office space, and 11 second story apartments. The one or two bedroom perimeter apartments will have balconies along with hot tubs and natural gas fire places. Apartments in the center of the building will have glass walls facing a private courtyard. The apartments are a requirement by the City and the zoning requirements in the Central Business District.

 

 

 

Real Estate Market Trend Predicted to Continue

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Realtors and brokers predict that Metro Detroit home prices will continue their record-breaking trend into the fall and holiday season. Virtual home inspections and online home purchases are likely to return to in-person showings and open houses. In June 2021, single-family real estate sales shattered records with median sales prices at their highest levels ever, and the number of homes available for sale rose for the second straight month. According to Realcomp, the median sales price rose 18.4 percent to $244,000 for single-family homes. Home showings also increased in June, and the average time on the market went from 60 to 22 days.

 

Mystery Buyer Is Snagging Detroit Properties

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An unknown entity or entities is purchasing well known Detroit properties. The Film Exchange Building at 2310 Cass Ave. and its parking lot sold for an estimated $8.75 million. The Bookie’s Bar & Grille building at 2208 Cass Ave. sold for an estimated $4.2 million. Both LLC buyers list their addresses as PO boxes, a tactic frequently used by the Illitches who are in talks with Stephen Ross for his Detroit Center for Innovation Project with the University of Michigan. Two other properties at 135 West Montcalm and 231 W. Elizabeth St. have also sold and list a Troy PO box address. All of these properties are within the footprint that Stephen Ross is targeting for his project.

Possible New Location for the Detroit Center for Innovation

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 Billionaire Stephen Ross and Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, are in talks about building the Detroit Center for Innovation within District Detroit.  District Detroit is comprised of Ilitch-owned properties around Little Caesars Arena. This is a change from previous plans for a 14-acre Gratiot site where the half-built Wayne County jail once stood. The size and scope of the project at the new site is unknown. The project could be in within walking distance of a multifamily residential or mixed-use development that Ross has planned at Charlotte Street and Third Avenue.