Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous coworking spaces were opening or planned in Detroit. While the growth appears to have slowed post-pandemic, and several locations have permanently closed, there are still new coworking locations planned in Detroit. There are currently about a dozen coworking sites open in the city, with a few more planned in the near future. Some of the new sites are planned for areas outside of the core downtown area.
Petit Bateau, a $31 million Midtown mixed-use development, received a tax break from the Michigan Strategic Fund. The fund approved a more than $247,000 state tax break to fund environmental decontamination. The 92-unit project also received $2.6 million from the city in tax abatements for decontamination work. Twenty percent of the development’s residential units are set aside for individuals at 80 percent of the area median income or below.
A Westin Book Cadillac penthouse sold for $3.537 million. The penthouse sits atop the 31-story high-rise hotel in downtown Detroit. The deed was recorded in Wayne County in December. The sale came at a time when the downtown Detroit condo market was oversaturated. Previously, the most expensive Detroit condo sale was recorded at about $1.8 million in 2017. Incidentally, that condo is also in the Westin Book Cadillac.
The Mid development in Midtown is headed toward a financial loss. The developer is still trying to get the project off the ground. Almost $9 million in Michigan Business Tax brownfield tax credits expired on Thursday, June 10, 2021. The 10-year expiration looms because the development team has not built the promised seven stories of one of its proposed buildings by June 10, 2021. The Michigan Business Tax statute requires projects to be completed within 10 years of the pre-approval letter.
Sterling Group’s quick sale of the Joe Louis Arena parking garage netted eight figures for the Detroit real estate company. Sterling Group purchased the property from the City of Detroit in a deal that became public in October 2019. The real estate company paid $2 million in cash to the city and reimbursed the city $12.1 million for the demolition within the area. Detroit also saved $3 million on parking deck improvements, $4 million on remediation of the arena site, and about $7 million in tax-increment financing dollars.
Two Michigan bills that address short-term home rentals have created intense debate about who will determine how to regulate dwellings like Airbnb or vacation rentals. The Ann Arbor-based Michigan Municipal League and Lansing-based Michigan Association of Realtors are on opposite sides with each asking its constituents to email, call and write to their local legislators about the bills. Under the bills, a short-term rental would be a residential use of property. It would be a permitted use in all residential zones. It would not require a special use or conditional use permit, and it would not be a commercial use of property. Opponents of the bills call them a “cookie-cutter approach” to legislation that ignores the different needs of Michigan communities.
Bills in the Michigan legislature that have bipartisan support would nix local laws that ban or limit short-term rentals through zoning. The bills are controversial and have garnered heated debate. Proponents like Airbnb, realtors, and lawmakers from both parties say the proposed changes to state law are about personal property rights and do not prevent cities from regulating short-term rentals. Opponents, which include leaders from cities all over the state and hoteliers, say they do not support an outright ban on short-term rentals. They feel that local leaders should have the power to decide what rules are most effective for their communities.
Detroit has been awarded a $30 million federal grant to add more mixed-income housing and improve neighborhood conditions in the Corktown area. The grants are designed to redevelop distressed housing, boost social services and improve public spaces. The grant will be used to replace the 87-unit Clement Kern Gardens Apartments with 841 units of mixed-income housing. The plan also includes more pedestrian-friendly streets, increased access to community amenities and training and employment opportunities.
Construction will begin soon on the first part of a mixed-use development at the site of the former Eastern High School in Detroit’s Islandview neighborhood. The first phase is a joint venture between nonprofits GenesisHOPE Community Development Corp. and Lansing-based Cinnaire Solutions. The $10 million first phase will have 30 townhomes, a pair of pocket parks, a playground and a community garden. Rents for the two- and three-bedroom units in the first phase are between $769 and $1,083 per month. The second phase, which carries $10.2 million price tag, will include 30 more residential units and 3,000 feet of commercial space.
Although offices are beginning to reopen as vaccinations climb, many employers are still allowing employees to work remotely from home indefinitely. Those who are able to continue working remotely at least part of the time are heading for greener pastures, literally. Real estate company Redfin reported this month that online searching for homes in suburbs and rural areas has increased since the first quarter of 2020 in most major U.S. metro areas. Before the pandemic, a bigger house might not have seemed worth the commute, but if that commute is cut down to 1-2 days a week, the story changes.