Michigan Real Estate News

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Crate & Barrel Sister Brand is Coming to Birmingham

CB2, a Crate & Barrel sister brand, has signed a lease for the vacant Panera spot at 100 N. Old Woodward Ave. The CB2 offshoot caters to customers looking for some “coolness” factor in their furniture. Crate & Barrel moved from its Somerset Collection location in Troy to Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi in 2020. CB2 is owned by the Boji Group. Serena & Lily, another furniture retailer is also moving to downtown Birmingham. Both stores are part of a the recent surge of retailers and restaurants to open or expand in downtown Birmingham in the last year.

 

 

Eastland Center Wraps Up Holiday Season and Tenure

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

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.