Some Question Bedrock’s 10-Year Tax Break

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A month ago, Detroit City Council Members stressed that stricter requirements for affordable housing are part of the $60 million tax break deal given to Bedrock’s Hudson’s site project. However, Bedrock LLC is almost completely in compliance with those requirements already.  As a result, the company won’t have to change much of anything in exchange for the 10-year tax break deal, including not having to add any affordable units to the project.  Some question if the city’s requirements for Bedrock are stringent enough. The Hudson’s site project is expected to be finished in 2024.

 

 

Corktown Receives A $50 Million Facelift

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The Michigan Department of Transportation and the city of Detroit are co-funding a $50 million renovation of the Corktown neighborhood.  The makeover will include dedicated lanes for autonomous vehicles, raised bike lanes and the removal and repurposing of its red brick pavers. The goal is to tie into Ford Motor Company’s renovation of Michigan Central Station and the vision of creating a connected corridor from Detroit to Ann Arbor. Corktown’s old brick will be removed, restored and reincorporated into other aspects of the roadway’s design. It will be replaced with new red concrete pavers. MDOT will fund $42.7 million, and the city will fund $7.32 million.

 

Pabst Blue Ribbon Extends Its Reach Into Hospitality

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Pabst Blue Ribbon is continuing the go-to trend for brands to feature retro products and cultural icons from the past. The brand has created three PBR-themed motel rooms that transport guests to the 1980s. In creating the rooms, which are located within the Grand Traverse Motel in Traverse City, they’ve cloned a dive bar, arcade and rec room. Think shag carpeting, back-in-the-day game consoles, a jukebox, and a blue ribbon trophy case that store PBR cans. Seattle-based agency DNA collaborated with Hotopp Creative Studio to create the rooms. The 1980s theme comes from the brand’s tagline, “Pabst is the place.” Pabst has experienced a resurgence and reemergence during the pandemic with people remembering brands that illicit a sense of safety and nostalgia.

 

New Report Offers Insight into Detroit’s Rental Housing

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Information on the number of rental properties in Detroit is limited and creates issues concerning improvements to housing conditions and reduction of lead exposure. Most landlords in Detroit own one or two properties, making up about 50% of the units in the city.  Of that number, only 2% have registered properties within the city’s formal rental system. The think tank, Detroit Future City, released an analysis on Wednesday that breaks down landlords into categories using the assessed value of the property, corporate ownership, blight violations, taxpayer’s location, property acquisitions and the number of units they own. Tenant advocates continue to raise concerns about evictions and unaffordable housing. The goal is to support landlords and enable them to become compliant with healthier housing conditions.

 

Southeast Michigan’s Housing Market Is Stabilizing

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Southeast Michigan’s housing market is becoming more stable. The number of buyers is decreasing due to growing interest rates and high home prices. Sales of homes in southeast Michigan in July were down by almost 20 percent from July of last year. Pending sales are declining rapidly, and properties are sitting longer on the market. According to the Realcomp report, the costs of buying a home is 80 percent more expensive now than three summers ago. Detroit is ahead of the rest of the region for growing housing prices. The median price of a home in Detroit has grown 38 percent since last year, having surpassed $100,000 for the first time in history.

 

Pilot Program Pays Storefront Owners to Renovate Upstairs Apartments

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Southwest Detroit Business Association’s pilot program grants $8,500 per unit to renovate apartments above commercial spaces. In an effort to expand the number of affordable homes and apartments for city residents, empty and derelict second-floor units are an untapped market. According to Elaina Peterson, a program analyst on the policy and implementation team for the city’s housing and revitalization department, there could be as many as 12,000 unoccupied apartments above stores and restaurants in Detroit. If they were updated and made livable, they would make a huge impact on the number of affordable apartments as rents and sale prices continue to increase. The program is one part of a $203 million housing plan that intends to create new rental housing, help renters to become homeowners, and improve the quality of existing rental units.

 

 

Three Dispensaries and Processing Facility to Open in Grand Rapids

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Tommy Nafso, former metro Detroit lawyer and state regulator, and Darel Ross, a Grand Rapids entrepreneur, have partnered to open three cannabis dispensaries and a process facility. They will open the first of the three Noxx dispensaries at 2440 28th St. NW in Grand Rapids this month.  A soft launch is planned for Aug. 22, along with a grand opening September 10. The second dispensary will open in late September. The processing and dispensing facility will be Noxx’s main production and will open in mid-November. Noxx’s three dispensaries will be the most operated by one company in Grand Rapids. The partners plan to hire 150 employees across the three locations.

 

$116 Million Amphitheater Approved by Grand Rapids Leaders

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In April, the Grand Rapids City Commission approved a proposal by the Grand Rapids-Ken County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA) to buy over 11 acres of land to build an amphitheater. At its board meeting on Friday, the commission approved a memorandum of understanding with Grand Action 2.0 (GA2.0) that outlines the terms of partnership between CAA and Grand Action 2.0 in developing the amphitheater. The proposed $116 million amphitheater will seat 12,000. It will sit at the southwest edge of downtown Grand Rapids and be slightly smaller than Pine Knob Music Theater in metro Detroit. The CAA is a seven-member board that administers DeVos Place, DeVos Performance Hall and Van Andel Arena. Grand Action 2.0 is an economic development group chaired by Carol Van Andel, Dick DeVos and Tom Welch, Michigan’s regional president of Fifth Third Bank.

 

Upper Peninsula State Representative Requests AG Investigation

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Rep. Sara Cambensy, D-Marquette has requested that the Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel investigate an Upper Peninsula development company headed by a Northern Michigan University board member. The firm states that Cambensy’s claims are “meritless and reckless.  Cambensy wrote a 13-page letter on July 28, sounding an alarm about a potential conflict of interest and misuse of state and local money in regards to the former Marquette General Hospital. 

 

 

Rocket Mortgage’s Issues Forecasted for Other Mortgage Lenders

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Rocket Mortgage’s struggles are evident in the earnings report released Thursday evening by Rocket Companies Inc., and they are not likely to be unique as other mortgage companies face challenges. According to Rocket CFO, Julie Booth, the rise in rates had a big impact on rate and term refinance demand. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has experience its steepest and fasted rise in 50 years. While drastic, Rocket’s diminished earnings were not surprising. Henry Coffey, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, says the same will most likely be true for United Wholesale Mortgage and Home Point Financial when they report earnings next Tuesday and Thursday. Detroit’s Rocket Mortgage is the nation’s largest mortgage lender, generating a record $351 billion in closed loan volume in 2021.