Cookie-Cutter Duplexes Could be Making a Comeback

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Remember pattern book or catalog homes? Returning to classic home patterns could increase the number of multi-family units across the state, potentially adding new housing and more density while new single-family construction slows down. The Michigan Municipal League is proposing pattern-book homes that take one back to the days of the catalog homes that were built across metro Detroit a 100 years ago. Pattern-book homes include blueprints for duplexes, triplexes and quads, creating lower-cost housing units in neighborhoods. According to the Michigan Municipal League’s program manager, pattern-book homes could fill the housing option gap. T

 

 

Meridian Healthcare To Shrink Its Detroit Office Footprint

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Meridian Health is subleasing multiple spaces in downtown Detroit, shrinking its office footprint. 266,000 square feet are up for grabs in One Campus Martius building, and almost 40,000 square feet are available in the One Kennedy Square building. Meridian Health is the state’s largest Medicaid health plan. Meridian’s parent company is reducing its leased space footprint nationwide by 65 percent, which could save them up to $200 million per year. The One Campus Martius sublease would be through the end of 2024. One Campus Martius is owned by Bedrock LLC and Meridian; One Kennedy Square is owned by Redico LLC.

 

 

Downtown Detroit’s Central Business District Rides the Rebound Rollercoaster

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Downtown Detroit’s restaurants and businesses continue to ride the return-to-office rollercoaster. While they eagerly welcome the return of office workers and the business they bring, the situation still isn’t stable. GM announced that its salaried workforce would return to the office three days a week by the end of the year. When workers called the company out for the abrupt decision, the company changed its tune, saying its policy wouldn’t be adjusted before 2023. To add to the instability, Meridian Health wants to shed more than 300,000 square feet in One Campus Martius and One Kennedy Square. Detroit’s downtown restaurants and businesses aren’t rebounding in leaps and bounds.

 

Free Legal Services for Low-Income Tenants Delayed

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A program to provide free lawyers to low-income Detroiters facing eviction is being delayed. The program was supposed to start October 1, according to the Detroit City Council ordinance that was enacted over the summer. Tenant advocates are voicing concerns over the delay, although legal services continue to be available through a statewide pandemic program. The ordinance offers legal representation in 36th District Court for tenants who are facing eviction and making below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. The city is working to produce requests for proposals and is working its way through the American Rescue Plan compliance process. Funding for the program would last for over three years.

 

 

Detroit’s Satellite Suburbs Boom With New Home Construction

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Outer-ring suburbs are booming with new residential construction and newly paved roads despite the rising interest rates that are causing the resale home market to slow. According to census data, more than 3,000 new single-family homes were ok’d to be built from January to July of 2022. New construction in satellite suburbs of larger cities is a national trend. Rising interest rates have had an effect on the new-home market. New-home permits are down 10 to 15 percent from last year, but the demand isn’t gone. Lower lumber prices and the continued high demand for housing have helped builders.

 

 

 

 

Apartment Construction Gets A Boost Due To Mortgage Rates

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New construction of multifamily properties jumped 28 percent in August. bringing the market’s multifamily segment to its highest level since 1986. The jump is due to rising mortgage rates. Single-family home construction also increased slightly in August after a two-year low. Borrowing costs have doubled since late 2020 due to interest-rate hikes designed to tame high inflation. Last week, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage surpassed 6 percent. The continued low apartment vacancy rates and low single-family inventory have given multifamily construction a boost.

 

Detroit’s New Huntington Tower Opens

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Huntington Bank held its grand opening of its new 20-story glass-clad Huntington Tower. Neumann/Smith Architecture designed the building which is located at 2025 Woodward Ave. The property houses Huntington’s commercial banking operations. Half of the tower is for indoor parking, with the top 9 floors mostly filled with offices. The ground floor includes a lobby and will include a Huntington branch. Construction of the tower began in 2019. Although it originally announced as a $104 million project, Huntington officials have not disclosed the project’s final costs. Huntington Tower is the first large new downtown Detroit building to be completed since the pandemic.

 

 

Ilitch and Ross Propose Hotel Development Near Little Caesars Arena

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The Downtown Development Authority board signed off on a proposal for a new $190.5 million hotel south of Little Caesars Arena. Plans for the hotel have been in the works for a while. The hotel would be 14 stories tall with 290 rooms. The Ilitch family and developer Stephen Ross submitted the development plan. Together, they would ground-lease the land from an Olympia-owned entity. The hotel, food, beverage and other amenities will create a variety of jobs and attract people to the region. The project would cost $137.3 million. Ilitch and Ross have partnered on projects in the Ilitch family’s District Detroit area in the last year.

 

 

Bed Bath & Beyond To Close 5 Michigan Stores

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Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is closing five Michigan locations, as part of a 150-store closing and liquidation plan. Many of the closings are occurring in the upper MIdwest, New York and New Jersey. The changes, along with job cuts for 20% of its workforce, will slash costs. The company has a new $500 million line of credit to get back on good terms with its suppliers. Complicating its turnaround plan, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Gustavo Arnal committed suicide. The rise of Amazon.com Inc. and other online retailers contributed to Bed Bath & Beyond’s struggles. The five affected Michigan locations are Chesterfield, Farmington Hills, Northville, Walker and White Lake.

 

Federal Grant Allows I-375 Project to Move Ahead Sooner

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A $104 million federal grant, an allotment that’s part of $1.5 billion from the infrastructure for Rebuilding competitive grant program, will allow the I-375 Interstate project to begin two years early. The state will replace the 1-mile sunken freeway that connects I-75 to Jefferson Avenue with a wide street. Michigan had asked for $180 million, and Governor Whitmer had requested monies from the new federal Reconnecting Communities program. The estimated cost of the project is $300 million. The project should be completed in 2028.