Macomb County’s Big Red Orchard For Sale

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The Big Red Orchard in Washington Township is on its way out. The site includes 11 buildings-a main barn, a market, a pair of residences, a retail shop, a cold storage building, a feed bar and a garage. Owner Ryan Moore is auctioning off the farm equipment and selling the property in November. Four years ago, Moore purchased the property known for apples, cider and doughnuts in order to supply the restaurants he had bought. Moore wants to divide the property into small sections for single-family home development.

 

 

Homeownership On The Rise In Detroit

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For the first time in a decade, the majority of Detroit residents are home owners, according to new Census data. Data from the American Community Survey shows a large increase in the number of vacant units in the city. Detroit’s homeownership peak was in 1970 when 60 percent of the city’s residents were homeowners. Thirty years later, that figure had fallen to 55 percent. Foreclosures and population loss impacted 2012 data, dropping the data to 49.9 percent. By 2014, homeownership dropped again to 46.3 percent of residents. Increasing home ownership has been one of Mayor Mike Duggan’s goals since taking office.

 

Detroit Relies On Virtual Property Appraisals

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The city of Detroit is using desktop appraisals to determine property values. Desktop appraisals involve looking at aerial photos of properties and information gathered from parcel maps, deeds and permits, in stead of going to look at it in person. They are a quicker way of keeping up with about 71,000 residential parcels that need to be valued each year. Up until 2017, 60 years had passed without Detroit finishing a comprehensive reappraisal of city property values. After playing catch up, the assessor’s office must keep current with a state requirement that 20 percent of properties be reassessed each year. Aerial technology aids the city in keeping up with the huge number of homes over about 140 square miles. The strategy has critics who say that aerial imagery can cause low-value property owners to be in over their heads when their properties are already over-assessed. A shortage of appraisers has contributed to the reliance on desktop appraisals.

West Michigan Projects Receive Rehabilitation Grants

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Multiple projects in West Michigan have received almost $19 million in placemaking and real estate rehab grants from the state. The Right Place, the city of Grand Rapids and city of Muskegon were awarded $18,991,166. Twenty-two grants totaling $83.8 million were approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund board. The grants are part of the Revitalization and Placemaking (RAP) incentive program created to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan. The program grants up to $5 million per project for real estate rehabilitation and development and up to $1 million per project for public space improvements.  Up to $20 million can go to local or regional partners who develop a coordinated subgrant program.

 

 

Cities Rethink Parking Rules

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The city of Ann Arbor recently voted to remove all minimum off-street parking requirements. Detroit is reviewing its zoning code, possibly implementing new rules regarding how many parking spaces are needed for uses like housing, retail and industrial. Both examples are part of a growing trend in Michigan and around the U.S. as cities rethink their parking rules. Complying with Detroit’s parking requirements is a pain and poses a threat to business growth. Some Detroit-area businesses and organizations think the parking minimums are old-fashioned and block the development of vibrant neighborhoods. Others remain skeptical of entirely scrapping all parking minimums.

 

 

Downtown Detroit Receives Grant Monies for Parks and Real Estate Development

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Downtown Detroit parks can expect a facelift in the near future. The Downtown Detroit Partnership was recently awarded a $13.74 million-dollar grant by the Michigan Strategic Fund board. This grant is just one of 22 awarded. Metro Detroit’s awardees are the DDP, the city of Ecorse, the Wyandotte Downtown Development Authority, the city of Mount Clemens, and the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority. Bedrock LLC and Karp and Associates will get some funds from DDP’s pot of grant money with the redevelopment of Gilbert’s Harvard Square Center building and the former United Savings Bank of Detroit building. A total of 8 projects are part of the funding, according to the DDP.

 

Metro Detroit Rents Begin to Soften Amidst All-Time High

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Although metro Detroit’s average rent growth is 5.14% annually, and metro Ann Arbor’s is 7.14%, metro Detroit’s rent market is beginning to soften.  According to CoStar Group Inc., asking rents are $1,214 a month in the metro area. In Ann Arbor, the average asking rents are up to $1,443 a month. The largest annual increase between both areas was in Saline, with rents up 26.56% which equates to $1,311 a month. Birmingham/Bloomfield area averages $1,815 a month, which is down from $1,857. Detroit’s west side has the most affordable rent at $726 a month. According to CoStar’s director, inflation, rising interest rates and home sales prices, increasing maintenance costs and a rush of renters wanting t lock in rates contributed to increasing rents.

 

Vacant WBJK Building To Become Midnight Golf Headquarters

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On August 5, the deed to the former WJBK-TV Studios building was transferred to another entity called 7441 MGP Properties LLC. The building, located in Detroit’s New Center area, will become the new headquarters for the Midnight Golf Program nonprofit. James Jacob, CEO of Ajax Paving Industries Inc. bought the building through his family foundation and donated it to the nonprofit. He has not disclosed the price he paid for the building. According to the founder and president of Midnight Golf, Renee Fluker, the organization is readying a capital campaign to raise the $10-12 million needed to retrofit the property. The program provides college coaches, life skills training and mentoring to about 1,500 students, mostly first-generation college students.

 

Metro Detroit’s Fair Market Rents Increase

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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is predicting rent hikes for the 2023 fiscal year in metro Detroit. It published fair market rents at a 11.9 percent increase for a two-bedroom apartment. The rate is increasing from $1,084 to $1,213, beginning October 1. This increase is higher than the Michigan and national averages which hover around 10.3 to 10.4 percent. Metro Ann Arbor rates are 9.7 percent higher. Kalamazoo County wins the prize for the highest fair market rent increase at 19.3 percent. Private sector data was used to estimate changes. The figures are used to determine rent ceilings for certain low-income and emergency grants, as well as the worth of housing vouchers and the maximum award amounts for Continuums of Care.

 

Amazon Pivots, Cancels Warehouse Plans in Ypsilanti Township

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After years of expansion in southeast Michigan, Amazon has begun scaling back by scrapping its plans for a new warehouse building in Ypsilanti Township. The plan had called for a 183,200-square-foot facility and had been dubbed “Project Yoga.” The cost of the project was $21.4 million and was to be constructed on about 30 acres of a 120-acre parcel.  Amazon has also indefinitely postponed it’s plans to build a new facility in Pittsfield Township. Amazon’s footprint in the region includes about 13 million square feet or more and includes redevelopments of the former Pontiac Silverdome site and the former Michigan State Fairgrounds property in Detroit. It’s finalizing construction on a Canton Township facility in the coming weeks.