Stiiizy Opens Ferndale Dispensary

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California’s best-selling cannabis brand is coming to Michigan. Stiiizy opened its new location in Ferndale this past weekend. It hosted a grand opening at 642 E. Nine Mile Road. Stiiizy offers a clothing line, skateboard decks, and smoking accessories in addition to cannabis products. The company has previously partnered with charitable efforts in Michigan. In 2021, Stiiizy partnered with the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative to host an event to teach sustainable gardening to children at Detroit’s MUFI urban farm.  In early 2022, they worked with Easterseals Miracle League to fundraise for a new accessible field in Orion Township’s Friendship Park.

 

 

New Michigan State Law Is Pricing Out Redevelopment Plans

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A new state law that allows for former property owners to collect surplus proceeds after a foreclosed property is sold is crippling redevelopment plans. The law received praise because it allowed those who were able to recoup some of the money from sales that would have gone into county government monies. More than 300 metro Detroit property owners filed forms to recoup the profits of the auction sales on their foreclosed properties. According to Hazel Park City Manager, he rejected taking two properties that the city would’ve normally developed because former property owners had filed claim forms on them. In Oak Park, the city passed on a property with a filed claim form because its value was too high. The claims add more cost to the purchase price of the foreclosed homes, making them prohibitively expensive.

$37 Million Hospice Long-Term Care Facility Coming to Grand Rapids

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Beaumont Health and Spectrum System has begun construction on a $27 million long-term care, hospice and dialysis center in Grand Rapids. The facility will span 94,000-square-feet and is expected to be complete by spring 2024. The facility will include 125 beds, as well as art therapy and other therapeutic programs. The new center is replacing the current continuing care facility located on Fuller Avenue. Currently, the Fuller Avenue facility provides post-acute rehab, including care for accident and stroke victims. Those services will move to another property underway on Leffingwell Avenue NE.  All employees of the Fuller Avenue sub-acute rehab and long-term care facility will have the opportunity to transfer to other locations.

 

 

Plymouth’s Fox Hills Golf Club Sold After 50 Years of Family Ownership

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Sisters Kathy Aznavorian and Sandy Mily recently sold the Fox Hills Golf Club to Virginia-based Heritage Gold Group. The sale took place in July, and its terms are undisclosed. Their parents bought the property 59 years ago when it was known as the Plymouth Country Club. After inheriting it from their parents, the sisters expanded, adding several new courses to bring the number of holes to 63, including an 18-hole course made up of par 3 holes. They added a clubhouse in order to host big events throughout the year. According to the vice president of operations at Heritage Gold Group, the name, the course and the food will remain intact. The company also kept the entire staff on, including several family members of the original owners.

 

 

Paper Trail Links Birmingham’s Townsend Hotel to Yellen

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While Sheldon Yellen is mute about his pending purchase of the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, state business filings and documents speak volumes. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission has received an application to transfer the liquor license from the hotel’s current owners to an entity called BHIP Townsend Hotel LLC. The entity is registered at the Oakland Avenue address for Yellen’s Birmingham-based property restoration company, Belfor Holdings Inc., whose CFO is Chris Jones. Chris Jones is named on the BHIP filing, as well as attorney Alan J. Schwartz who is identified on other business filings as Yellen’s attorney.

 

 

Jefferson Chalmsers’ Apartment Building Revived

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The renovated Marlborough Apartments in the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood have opened. Jefferson East Inc. and its subsidiary, East Jefferson Development Corporation are responsible for the renovation of the 1927 building that houses. 8 unit apartments. They are also renovating another circa 1929 property on the north side of Jefferson. It will have 15 units. According to Mayor Mike Duggan, the second property has stood vacant for 50 years.  The two properties will reserve a total of 13 units for tenants with incomes between 50% and 60% of the area median income. The two and three bedroom units will range from $848 to $914 a month.

 

 

Ann Arbor’s Former Lucky’s Market Is Repurposed

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The company, Venue, is bringing a 15-minute neighborhood concept to the former Lucky’s Market space in Ann Arbor. Located at 1919 S. Industrial Highway, Venue is the sister location to Prentice4M, a coworking and co-living space. Venue is slated to open on Friday, August 26, but its coworking space will open on September 1. The 30,000-square-foot location will feature five menus, shared coworking space, a bar, a coffee shop, a market and private office rental space. Venue also hosts a podcast studio, telephone booths and conference rooms. It has partnered with an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing system, as a drop-off and pick-up location for May Mobility’s  A2GO service.

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.