Eastland Center Wraps Up Holiday Season and Tenure

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Harper Woods’ 60-year old Eastland Center wrapped up its last holiday season. With only two remaining stores, K&G Fashions and Shoppers World, the center is slotted for demolition next year. NorthPoint Development will redevelop the site into a $94.2 million industrial complex. Hudson’s built the center in 1957. Just 20 years ago, it housed nearly 150 stores. Area residents have pleasant memories of the popular after-school hangout. The shift to internet shopping, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, led to the center’s demise. Moody’s has predicted that 20% of the America’s remaining 1,000 malls will close or be repurposed in the next few years.

 

Pontiac’s Woodward Loop Will Get Pedestrian-Friendly Makeover

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Pontiac’s Woodward Avenue Loop opened in 1964 during the urban renewal binge. State high engineers announced they would turn Detroit’s I-375 spur into a street-level boulevard over the next several years. MDOT announced that it’s making a similar commitment for the Woodward Loop. Construction will take place in 2024-2025, along with the simultaneous reconstruction of M-59 through Pontiac. It will include new sidewalks, traffic signals and bike paths. The goal is to turn Pontiac’s Woodward Avenue into a series of pedestrian-friendly two-way boulevards with slower traffic speeds. The project also aims to reconnect neighborhoods to the downtown.

 

 

Ann Arbor Takes Steps Toward a More Walkable Neighborhood

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Ann Arbor real estate developer, Oxford Companies, plans to build a new apartment building on Ann Arbor’s south side. The space is currently used as parking for its main office. No timeline has been set for construction. The development endeavors to create a more walkable and livable neighborhood. The 226-acre area may potentially be rezoned to allow new buildings up to 300 feet which will develop a high-density and mixed-use area to create a downtown environment. The proposal would require the rezoning of 69 properties, including those around Briarwood Mall.

 

 

Washtenaw Conservationists Purchase Acreage

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The Michigan Land Conservancy purchased 162 acres of wetlands, forest and former cropland for $1 million. The acreage is located east of Ann Arbor in Superior Township. This is a second purchase toward preservation efforts in Superior Township. Previously, Superior Township leaders voted unanimously to buy 300 acres known as the “Rock property.” The newly-purchased Michigan Land Conservancy parcel is next door to that property and the township-owned Cherry Hill Nature Preserve. The speedy transaction was financed through private loans and donations, including a loan and donation from Detroit Audubon.

 

 

 

U.S. Home Prices Increased in October

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The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, out Tuesday, increased 18.4 percent in October from a year earlier. This was a slight deceleration from the 19.1 percent increase noted in September. All 20 cities noted on the price index recorded double-digit gains with Phoenix, Tampa and Miami leading the pack. Low mortgage rates and low home inventory, along with high consumer demand, have strengthened the housing market. Chief economist of Realtor.com predicts that the price growth will slow but continue to go up as the year progresses. Mortgage rates fell again last week, signaling concern about the omicron variant depressing economic growth.

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Details Revealed For Detroit Affordable Housing Plan

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Plans for a new 83-unit apartment building near the Masonic Temple and Little Caesars Arena were shared with the public during a virtual community meeting.  3rd & Charlotte, the name of the development, is a joint project between developer Stephen Ross’ Related Cos. and the development firm The Platform. The apartments would be leased at below-market rents to tenants making 60% of area median incomes. To go forward, the project must be awarded Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. If developers can meet the requirements, construction could begin in the 4th quarter of 2022.

 

 

Residential Sale Prices Continue Upward Trend

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Prospective buyers in Michigan’s housing market placed higher bids in 2021. A lack of inventory caused a 13.8% increase in residential sale prices in 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. There was a 3% increase in total sales. Branch County, Detroit, Bay County, Sanilac County and Mason, Oceana and Manistee counties reported higher than 20% increases in housing prices. Gratiot, Isabella, St. Joseph, Greater Shiawassee and Hillsdale counties reported less than 7% housing price increases. Antrim, Charlevoix and Kalkaska were the only to counties to report a decrease in home prices (-0.7%).

 

Home Sales Predicted to Continue Surging in December

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According to RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan and the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan, November was a robust month for home sales and new home starts. December promises even stronger home sales than last year’s figures. New single-family home permits were above 300 in Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair and Wayne counties for 18 months running. Even with the supply chain issues, new-home permits helped to make the year successful. However, no new multifamily permits were issued in November. The number of pending sales in November indicates that December will be a good month.

 

 

Lafayette West Development Secures Loans

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Bedrock Purchases Former UAW-GM Site

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Dan Gilbert, billionaire founder and chairman of Rocket Companies Inc. has purchased the former UAW-GM Center for Human Resource building for an undisclosed price. Developers Dominic Moceri and Christos Moisides bought it a little more than a year ago, paying $34 million for it in November 2020. The purchase adds almost 1 million square feet of office space, in excess of 25 acres of land and 1,600 parking spots to his Detroit-area holdings. Earlier this year, Gilbert purchased the former Stroh family portfolio which gave him over 8.7 acres of developable land, 735 parking spaces and approximately 500,000 square feet of office building.