Utility Companies Seek Land For Solar Farms
/in Grand Rapids, Northern Michigan, SE Michigan, Uncategorized, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisMichigan utility companies are securing real estate to expand their solar energy generation capabilities as consumer demand accelerates. DTE Energy Co. needs 20,000 to 35,000 acres of southern-facing flat land to erect solar arrays over the next 10-15 years. Consumers Energy Co. currently generates 40 megawatts of electricity from solar and plans to be at 8,000 megawatts by 2040. That will require between 40,000-56,000 acres of land. Customer demand and land usage is a balancing act that Lansing policymakers haven’t yet addressed. Industry leaders anticipate some community resistance.
28th Street Mega Mall Site Repurposed as B2 Bargain Bin
/in Grand Rapids /by Tracy WillisThe 28th Street Mega Mall site will once again welcome customers. B2 Outlet stores has transformed the site into a B2 Bargain Bins location. They’ve updated the 76,000-square-foot space to include new walls, restrooms and polished concrete floors. The new store will open on Tuesday. The concept of B2 Bargain Bins is different than the company’s traditional outlet stores. Prices start at $6 on Tuesday and fall each day until everything sells. The store is closed on Sunday and Monday for restocking.
Old GM Stamping Plant Site Purchased By Real Estate Developer
/in Grand Rapids /by Tracy WillisFranklin Partners has purchased the old GM stamping plant site in Wyoming. The real estate development firm plans to use the 74-acre site for industrial development. The manufacturing plants will range in size from 150,000 to 1 million square feet. They purchased the site from the city of Wyoming for $5.25 million. According to Wyoming City Manager, Curtis Holt, the property has tremendous potential for manufacturers.
WeWork Closing Cass Avenue Location
/in Detroit, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisNYSE: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. The location is one of three in Detroit. The company communicated with tenants that they may be relocated to the Detroit locations downtown.
Rising Mortgage Rates Continue to Cool Housing Market
/in SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisAccording 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% a year ago. The average home sale price over the four-county region (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston) was 2% higher than a year ago. The slowing market appears to be normalizing things, with buyers making fewer concessions than in the previous year.
Detroit Regional Partnership Aims to Entice Industrial Development
/in Detroit, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe 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. Property owners pay to have their sites listed in the web portal. Civil engineers have vetted nine sites, considering zoning, topography, geological conditions, transportation, wetlands, etc. Another 15 sites are under evaluation. Some of the sites in process are large and prominent: The former Summit Place Mall property and 500+ acres of Lyon Township land. The partnership says its sites include urban, suburban and rural.
Cannabis Company Opens in Saugatuck Township
/in Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe New Standard cannabis company has moved into a newly built retail store in Saugatuck Township. The new site is the company’s 6th dispensary in West Michigan and seventh store across the state. Located at 6406 Blue Star Highway, it carries more than 275 products for retail and curbside service. The company opened its first location in Hazel Park in April 2020. New Standard recently acquired Agri-Med LLC which was operating three dispensaries in Muskegon, Edmore and Nunica.
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.
Short-term Home Rentals Create Debate
/in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Northern Michigan, SE Michigan, Western Michigan /by Tracy WillisTwo 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.
Children’s Health Center Construction Underway in Flint
/in Northern Michigan, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe Genessee Community Health Center, will be completed by next September. The Genesee Community Health Center will house all the children’s services programs of the Genesee Health System. It will be located on a parcel of land on the outskirts of downtown Flint. The center will encompass 60,000-square-feet and cost $22 million. The cost is covered through private and public funding, including grants and new-market tax credits. Genesee Health System is a provider for Genessee County adults with serious mental illness or substance abuse disorders, as well a children with developmental disabilities.
Sugar Loaf Resort Demolition Is Underway
/in Northern Michigan /by Tracy WillisExcavators have begun demolition of Sugar Loaf Resort in Leelanau County. The demolition should be completed by early January, but questions continue to loom. Who is financing the demolition, and what’s on the horizon for the site? The resort operated from the early 1960s until it closed in 2000 and was a premier winter destination. It had two golf courses, a 144,000-square-foot lodge and hotel, a restaurant, two pools, a 3.500-foot paved airstrip, indoor tennis, 72 townhouses, five chairlifts and a wastewater treatment plant. Ross Satterwhite is a local real estate adviser and the spokesperson for the unknown owners.
Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport Expansion on the Horizon
/in Northern Michigan /by Tracy WillisTraverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport had its busiest month in July of 2021, serving just under 113,000 travelers. According to the airport’s director, the airport’s peak summer traffic could grow by another 32% by 2030. The airport is making preparations to support that growth. The Northwest Regional Airport Authority approved a parking expansion that will break ground next week. According to Klein, TVC’s existing long-term parking lot has 989 parking spaces. The expansion will incorporate a new EV charging station, underground stormwater retention systems, and restriping of the existing lot. The expansion sill add 425 spaces in total. Preliminary plans could triple the size of the airport’s terminal in the future.
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Long-Term Solutions Address Needs of Detroit’s Homeless
/in Detroit, National /by Tracy WillisThe Pope Francis Center broke ground on a Bridge Housing Campus that will provide 40 studio apartments as temporary shelter to people for 90-120 days. During that time, the project will offer social and job-preparation services and comprehensive medical care that addresses physical, psychological and addiction needs. The project is part of a long-term plan to solve the root causes of chronic homelessness in Detroit by 2030. People who stay in the studio apartments will transition to permanent supportive housing. The facility is scheduled to open mid-2023. Construction will begin in early 2022. Mayor Duggan sees this project as a potential national model.
Expiring Covid Mortgage Bailouts Problematic for Thousands
/in National /by Tracy WillisAs Covid-related mortgage bailout programs expire, hundreds of thousands of homeowners may lose or sell their homes. Out of options, borrowers who lost too much income or their businesses during the pandemic could take advantage of high equity in their homes and sell. However, data shows that has not been the trend. About a third of borrowers with at least 40% equity in their homes still go into foreclosure. Over 7 million bailed out borrowers are current on their mortgage payments. Some sold their homes or refinanced them to afford the mortgages. About half a million are in loss litigation with lenders.
InvestNext Raises $4.3 Million In Venture Capital Financing
/in National, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisInvestNext Inc., a software firm backed by Detroit billionaire Dan Gilbert, has closed on a venture capital financing round to the tune of $4.3 million. The company’s software goal is to help investors and fund managers keep track of pertinent details and documents involved in real estate investments. Hyde Park Venture Partners, Detroit Venture Partners, Whitecap Venture Partners and Grand Ventures participated in the funding round. InvestNext Inc. now has more than 18,000 active investors and has paved the way for more than $.4 billion in transactions.
Downtown Detroit’s Central Business District Rides the Rebound Rollercoaster
/in Detroit /by Tracy WillisDowntown Detroit’s restaurants and businesses continue to ride the return-to-office rollercoaster. While they eagerly welcome the return of office workers and the business they bring, the situation still isn’t stable. GM announced that its salaried workforce would return to the office three days a week by the end of the year. When workers called the company out for the abrupt decision, the company changed its tune, saying its policy wouldn’t be adjusted before 2023. To add to the instability, Meridian Health wants to shed more than 300,000 square feet in One Campus Martius and One Kennedy Square. Detroit’s downtown restaurants and businesses aren’t rebounding in leaps and bounds.
Free Legal Services for Low-Income Tenants Delayed
/in Detroit, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisA program to provide free lawyers to low-income Detroiters facing eviction is being delayed. The program was supposed to start October 1, according to the Detroit City Council ordinance that was enacted over the summer. Tenant advocates are voicing concerns over the delay, although legal services continue to be available through a statewide pandemic program. The ordinance offers legal representation in 36th District Court for tenants who are facing eviction and making below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. The city is working to produce requests for proposals and is working its way through the American Rescue Plan compliance process. Funding for the program would last for over three years.
Detroit’s New Huntington Tower Opens
/in Detroit /by Tracy WillisHuntington Bank held its grand opening of its new 20-story glass-clad Huntington Tower. Neumann/Smith Architecture designed the building which is located at 2025 Woodward Ave. The property houses Huntington’s commercial banking operations. Half of the tower is for indoor parking, with the top 9 floors mostly filled with offices. The ground floor includes a lobby and will include a Huntington branch. Construction of the tower began in 2019. Although it originally announced as a $104 million project, Huntington officials have not disclosed the project’s final costs. Huntington Tower is the first large new downtown Detroit building to be completed since the pandemic.