Entries by Tracy Willis

432-Unit High Rise Planned For Grand Rapids

Spire Investment Properties and Krika Development are proposing 432 market-rate apartments at the southern edge of downtown Grand Rapids. The McConnell is a 10-story, 336,835-square-foot development that covers three lots. The two out-of-state investors hope to build a food hall, microbrewery or distillery, an outdoor lot for food trucks and shipping container-retail  stores. The development […]

Duggan-Targeted Riverfront Apartment In Foreclosure

The former River Plaza Apartments, a rundown apartment building between old Whittier Hotel and Owen Park, has fallen into foreclosure. The two-building property went into foreclosure with Columbia, Maryland-based Enterprise Community Loan Fund Inc. The property, one of 100 similar properties, was targeted by Mayor Mike Duggan to rid the city of blighted buildings. It’s […]

WeWork Closing Cass Avenue Location

NYSE:WE, the New York City-based coworking space provider has announced that it’s closing its space at 6001 Cass Avenue, effective November 10. According to a WeWork spokesperson, they have two other coworking space locations in the immediate area. Three years ago, the company more than doubled its space at the time, adding the 91,000-square-foot location. […]

Downtown’s Merchants Building Slated For Redevelopment

Method Development LLC plans to revamp the Merchants Building in Detroit into a 135-room hotel. The $44 million redevelopment plan includes hotel space, and food, beverage and event space, as well as a rooftop bar. The $44 million price tag includes $5.9 million in building acquisition cost, $21.5 million in hard costs and $16.6 million […]

Detroit City Airport ALP Approved By The FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration has given a thumb’s up to the city of Detroit’s Airport Layout Plan (ALP) for the Coleman A. Young International Airport. The ALP is expected to net about $100 million for airport development over the next 10 years. According to Mayor Duggan, the too-short runway made the airport nonviable. The grants […]

Nonprofit Tackles Grand Rapids’ Homelessness Issue

Mel Trotter Ministries is targeting Grand Rapids’ homelessness issue. The city planning commission recently granted approval to the nonprofit’s plans to rezone three industrial lots on Garden St. SE into a planned redevelopment district. Mel Trotter Ministries plans to build a mixed-use tiny home development called Hope Village. It will include 16 detached tiny homes […]

Grand Rapids Office Market Continues to Sputter

The Grand Rapids third quarter office market vacancy rate hit 13.1 percent. The vacancy rate has been increasing since the pandemic as employees move between work-from-home and in-office situations. According to the real estate firm JLL, the market will continue its stops and starts for a while to come. Detroit’s General Motors is an example […]

Rising Mortgage Rates Continue to Cool Housing Market

According to a report by RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan, metro Detroit’s home sales were down 20% in September when compared to the previous year. This year’s rising mortgage rates have slowed the home-buying craze that started in the summer of 2020. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.66% last week. It was just under 3% […]

Detroit Regional Partnership Aims to Entice Industrial Development

The Detroit Regional Partnership has created the Verified Industrial Properties web portal, a repository for detailed information on sites in an 11-county focus area, including Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties. The partnership views the clearinghouse as a way to get rid of leg work and improve the accessibility of metro Detroit site information. […]

State Suspends Novi Dealership’s License

The Michigan Department of State has suspended the license for Carvana LLC, located in Novi. Several alleged violations of the Michigan Vehicle Code led to the suspension. The violations were found during an investigation of multiple no-title complaints from consumers. The violations include failure to make application for title and registration within 15 days, fraudulently […]