Builders Reuse, Recycle and Repurpose
/in Grand Rapids, National /by Tracy WillisBazzani Building Company completed the 730 Leonard Project last year in Grand Rapids. The project is a prime example of adaptive reuse. Renovating existing buildings into new housing is a growing trend. Over the last two years in the U.S., adaptive reuse apartments increased by 25%. Empty office buildings, dilapidated factories, vacant healthcare buildings and old churches have been revamped and repurposed in a sort of nationwide recycling project. In 2020 and 2021, recycling old buildings added 28,000 rentals onto the market. RentCafe predicts that over 77,000 apartments are currently being reprocessed. The building recycling trend is outpacing new construction.
Grand Rapids Booms With New Projects
/in Grand Rapids /by Tracy WillisGrand Rapids is close to a achieving a record number of new developments. Despite supply chain issues, inflated costs and interest rates, and labor shortages, the city reported big numbers for new private investment in 2021. According the Grand Rapid’s Economic Development Director, it’s set to outpace 2021’s record again this year. Although its 2022 outcomes won’t be reported until the first quarter of 2023, the data is obvious. Although the city wants to retain the companies that have found their home in Grand Rapids and attract new ones, its biggest issue is an a housing shortage across all price points. Nine projects are in the works for 2023, promising to bolster Grand Rapids’ economy. They include business incubators, a community kitchen, co-working and retail spaces, a healthcare facility and a few affordable housing projects.
Grand Rapids and Grand Haven Receive State Funding For Contamination Cleanup
/in Grand Rapids, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has awarded a $1.73 million brownfield cleanup grant to Grand Rapids and Grand Haven. The monies will be used for three residential and mixed-use projects on properties contaminated by gas and oil. Grand Rapids’ Boston Square Together is one of the projects that will benefit from the grant, enabling the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to address the environmental contamination on the site. The monies will also be used for future commercial condominiums in Grand Haven and a planned residential development in northeast Grand Rapids.
Amazon Fresh Stores Slated for Plymouth and Dearborn Communities
/in SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisPlymouth and Dearborn are slated to be the new homes for two new Amazon Fresh locations in metro Detroit. The stores bring the total number in the region to nine. One is being built in a strip plaza at the corner of Ann Arbor and Haggerty Roads in the Plymouth Towne Center retail development. The other is destined for the former Kroger Co. grocery store space at 23000 Michigan Ave. Construction on the Plymouth location began in the fall and is expected to be finished late spring/early summer of 2023. The two stores are anticipated to open in unison.
Proposed Mixed-Use Development in Roseville Brings Hope and Criticism
/in SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisHawasli Homes is planning a multi-story, mixed-use development on a 1.2-acre vacant site on Utica Road. The site once held the Tip-Top Bar. While unanimously approved by the Roseville City Council on Tuesday, the plan is not without controversy. Neighborhood residents say the 81,000-square-foot building will be too out-of-place in the residential area. They want its height to be capped at two stories. The four-story building will be one of the tallest buildings in Roseville. The first floor of the building will be utilized for commercial purposes like a deli, a UPS store, a studio, etc. The site will include 166 parking sites and studio-sized, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Critics of the plan worry that the number of parking sites exceeds the city’s requirements and that the project will increase traffic on the two-lane Utica Road. City officials hope the proposed development will transform downtown Roseville into a transit- and pedestrian-friendly location.
Regional Home Sales Decline Despite Interest Rate Drop
/in SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisRegional home sales declined into the double digits in November, but prices remained high. RealComp and RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan released reports on Tuesday confirming that buyers won’t have any price relief when compared to last year. The two separate reports reveal that the number of home sales in Southeast Michigan dropped by more than 14% from October to November. Even with a considerable interest rate drop, the largest since 2008, consumers aren’t enthusiastic. Many are delaying listing their homes for sale because buyer demand is weakening, and they don’t want to risk their current lower mortgage rates.
Gun Lake Tribe Plans Development on U.S. 131
/in Northern Michigan, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians (the Gun Lake Tribe) has begun a six-month planning process for a development on 1,200 acres along U.S. 131 in Allegan County. The tribe has been buying land for years, with most of the acreage between 133rd and 128th avenues on the east side of U.S. 131. The development could bring retail, housing, health care, manufacturing, entertainment and dining establishments. The tribe and Gun Lake Investements (the tribe’s non-gaming economic development arm) hired St. Charles WBK Engineering to oversee the planning. The planning process will help the tribe evaluate non-gaming opportunities for the site.
Saugatuck’s Clearbrook Golf Course Has New Owners
/in Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe new owners of Saugatuck’s Clearbrook Golf Course have no concrete plans for changes to the course other than small aesthetic amendments like burying overhead power lines. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and his wife, Julie, view their purchase as a way to invest in the community and plan to maintain the golf course which has been in place since 1926. The purchase did not include the Grill Room Restaurant. Jim and Candy Jeltema will continue as owners of the restaurant. Although they no longer own the golf course, the Jeltemas will continue to operate it.
Michigan Landlords and Tenants May Be Facing Big Changes
/in Northern Michigan, SE Michigan, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe State Court Administrative Office has proposed new rules that would affect eviction cases. The proposal includes an option for online pretrial hearings in eviction cases, a tenant requirement to give landlords 48-hour notice if a jury trial is desired, a requirement that tenants be served in person if the landlord wants an immediate default judgement, the creation of a minimum 7-day window between pretrial hearings and trials, and the ability for tenants to get an automatic stay if they’ve applied for rental aid. The aim is to allow more time for commercial and residential tenants to pay what is owed when they fall short. In some cases, this will lengthen the eviction process. The intent is to continue the advances that were made during the pandemic. The rule changes are in a public comment period until Tuesday.
Gun Lake Tribe Plans Development on U.S. 131
/in Northern Michigan, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians (the Gun Lake Tribe) has begun a six-month planning process for a development on 1,200 acres along U.S. 131 in Allegan County. The tribe has been buying land for years, with most of the acreage between 133rd and 128th avenues on the east side of U.S. 131. The development could bring retail, housing, health care, manufacturing, entertainment and dining establishments. The tribe and Gun Lake Investements (the tribe’s non-gaming economic development arm) hired St. Charles WBK Engineering to oversee the planning. The planning process will help the tribe evaluate non-gaming opportunities for the site.
Michigan Landlords and Tenants May Be Facing Big Changes
/in Northern Michigan, SE Michigan, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe State Court Administrative Office has proposed new rules that would affect eviction cases. The proposal includes an option for online pretrial hearings in eviction cases, a tenant requirement to give landlords 48-hour notice if a jury trial is desired, a requirement that tenants be served in person if the landlord wants an immediate default judgement, the creation of a minimum 7-day window between pretrial hearings and trials, and the ability for tenants to get an automatic stay if they’ve applied for rental aid. The aim is to allow more time for commercial and residential tenants to pay what is owed when they fall short. In some cases, this will lengthen the eviction process. The intent is to continue the advances that were made during the pandemic. The rule changes are in a public comment period until Tuesday.
The Gillespie Group to Transform Lansing’s Former Sears Location
/in Northern Michigan, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe Gillespie Group is looking to transform a major business corridor in Lansing, Michigan by developing a former Sears location. Located at 3131 E. Michigan Ave., the property is being marketed as ROECO as a tribute to Sears Roebuck. Gillespie Group’s project aims to transform the property into a mixed-use entertainment destination. It has already hooked the attention of local and national investors. The new development would come to be as thousands of new housing units are being built across the Lansing area. ROECO is situated in the heart of the region and across the street from new dining, housing and hotel rooms. The timeline and and final product of the project will be in flux as the Gillespie Group continues to find new partners.
Mall Properties Transition to the Untraditional
/in National, Outstate /by Tracy WillisWith mall vacancy rate across the U.S. setting new records, it’s no surprise that malls are standing empty or being repurposed. Two new occupants of the Lakeview Mall in Battle Creek are doing just that. A climate-controlled self-storage developer bought the former Macy’s and plans to rent storage units, reachable by an indoor drive-through, and Horrocks Farm Market will move from downtown Battle Creek into the former JC Penney store. This represents the current trend for mall properties. Development experts look toward transitioning these large retail properties into housing, entertainment venues, medical facilities and other non-traditional mall tenants.
Historic Train Depot in Lansing is Due for a Makeover
/in Outstate /by Tracy WillisA 113-year-old train depot on Michigan Avenue, just a few blocks from the state Capitol building, is coming back to life. Vacant since 2016, the Lansing property was the former location of Clara’s restaurant, and is being redeveloped by the Gillespie Group. A national coffee retailer will occupy part of the depot, while the remaining 4,045 square feet may be repurposed as a restaurant, retail or office space. A new parking lot and drive thru will be added, along with a green space parklet. Construction is expected to begin in September and wrap up during summer 2022.
Second “First” Home Buyers Accelerate Home Prices In Southwest Michigan
/in Outstate, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisA beachfront house in New Buffalo will set a new record for Southwest Michigan. It will be the fourth home in New Buffalo to sell for $4 million or more in the past year. The real estate boom in Southwest Michigan is not only at the upper end of the market. Along the 16-mile strip of shoreline towns from New Buffalo to Bridgman, home sales were up 48 percent in the first quarter of the year from the same time in 2020. Buyers aren’t necessarily buying vacation homes. They may keep their first residence in another city, but think of New Buffalo as “home” for now as they wait to see how things play out with the pandemic. New Buffalo is seeing an influx of buyers from Indiana and the Chicagoland areas.
As Mortgage Rates Rise, Demand Drops
/in National /by Tracy WillisThe S&P 500 bounced back from the 2022 lows. The 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds yield hit 4.337% on Friday. Following a Wall Street Journal report that some Federal Reserve officials are uneasy with the pace of the central bank’s interest rate increases, treasury yields slid down to close out the week. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that U.S. mortgage demand dropped to a 25-year low, and the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.15%. The S&P 500’s price to earnings ration is 15.5 which is below its 10-year average.
Detroit’s Satellite Suburbs Boom With New Home Construction
/in National, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisOuter-ring suburbs are booming with new residential construction and newly paved roads despite the rising interest rates that are causing the resale home market to slow. According to census data, more than 3,000 new single-family homes were ok’d to be built from January to July of 2022. New construction in satellite suburbs of larger cities is a national trend. Rising interest rates have had an effect on the new-home market. New-home permits are down 10 to 15 percent from last year, but the demand isn’t gone. Lower lumber prices and the continued high demand for housing have helped builders.
Apartment Construction Gets A Boost Due To Mortgage Rates
/in National, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisNew construction of multifamily properties jumped 28 percent in August. bringing the market’s multifamily segment to its highest level since 1986. The jump is due to rising mortgage rates. Single-family home construction also increased slightly in August after a two-year low. Borrowing costs have doubled since late 2020 due to interest-rate hikes designed to tame high inflation. Last week, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage surpassed 6 percent. The continued low apartment vacancy rates and low single-family inventory have given multifamily construction a boost.
Detroit’s Hotel Boom Is Just The Beginning
/in Detroit /by Tracy WillisDetroit’s hotel market is showing signs of revitalization. Operators and developers are investing millions in new and renovated properties. Hotel occupancy is coming back to pre-pandemic levels after a lean-to-starvation year in 2020. Cambria Hotel Detroit Downtown is expected to open in February. Corktown’s Godfrey Hotel, west of downtown, is slated to open in the spring. The Westin Book Cadillac’s $20 million renovations begin next month. In addition, Olympia Development and Related Companies have plans to build two hotels as part of a $1.5 billion investment in the District Detroit. Operators of Huntington Place are pushing for the construction of hotels at the former Joe Louis Arena site. The tourism industry hopes to attract more large-scale events, like the 2027 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four that was awarded to the city last month.
Michigan’s Residential Real Estate Market Is Stabilizing
/in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Northern Michigan, SE Michigan, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe 2023 real estate market is finally starting to look like it might normalize. Seasonality is back in the resale market, and rent increases and high supply costs have mostly stabilized. However, interest rates will remain high, pricing some buyers out of home ownership. Some materials costs continue to be issues. While materials costs have rebounded for the most part, builders are now more conditioned to check on lead times and suggest alternatives if long waits are indicated. Building materials that once took eight months to arrive are now arriving after 4-6 weeks. Lumber is at pre-pandemic prices, while materials like concrete continue to be expensive. Rents are stabilizing. Fewer people are leaving apartments to buy homes, and people are doubling up. Home sale prices are dropping in some areas, like Wyandotte, Southgate and Riverview. Experts are expecting the industry market to contract, with realtors who are inexperienced in a tight market leaving the business.
Metro Detroit’s 2022 Commercial Real Estate Update Impresses
/in Detroit, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisIn the past year, the Ilitch family and billionaire development mogul Stephen Ross announced their partnership to build the Detroit Center for Innovation. Since then, no construction has started. Whether or not the plans come to fruition is up in the air. There are currently 10 projects in the works outside of the DCI. They include business incubator space, new office and residential towers, and hotel space. Altogether, $1.5 billion in projects are waiting in the wings. That figure doesn’t include the DCI which would cost $250 million, funded in part with a $100 million earmarked in the state budget.