Michigan Real Estate News

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Home Furnishing Store Slated for Birmingham

Birmingham’s planning board voted to recommend approval of a final site plan and special land use permit for a building that will house RH, an upscale home furnishings store. Formerly known as Restoration Hardware, the store will be housed in a new four-story building on the southwest corner of Old Woodward Avenue and Brown Street. Buildings on that site, at 300-394 S. Old Woodward Avenue, will be demolished to make room for the 54,000 square-foot building. RH will be an anchor tenant in the building. A restaurant will occupy the top floor.

 

Shipping Companies Find a Home in Romulus

Logistics businesses are moving into Romulus, bringing more than 500 jobs to the area. The Ecorse Commons Industrial Park, near Detroit Metropolitan Airport, houses Hearn Industrial Services, Pitney Bowes, DHL, LaserShip and Lowes Inc. With e-commerce taking off, it joins another million square feet of warehouse space that has been built in Romulus in the past couple of years. The city of Romulus credits the developments to its streamline approach to permits and approvals, as well as the proximity to both Detroit Metro and Willow Run airports.

Detroit Landlords Are Given An Ultimatum

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has given bad landlords an ultimatum. If they don’t clean, sanitize and restore damaged properties from last month’s flood, they’ll be fined $250 a day. The effort may not be enough in the face of the myriad of difficulties renters face. Year-long delays with home repair grants programs, mortgage challenges, over-assessed properties and a tax foreclosure operation have made things hard. For the first time in 50 years, renters outnumber homeowners, but with a high poverty rate and scarce renter’s insurance, renters are struggling after last month’s floods. They don’t qualify for most home repair programs, nor were they protected when their landlords were foreclosed and their homes were put on the auction block. Many Detroit landlords don’t keep their rental properties in good repair. Experts believe that renter-focused policies is the answer.