Property Types

$5.8 Million in Grants Awarded to Detroit Projects

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) awarded brownfield grants and loans to the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (DBRA), the Southwest Housing Solutions Corp., the American Indian Health and Family Services, and Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED). Brownfields are areas where reuse is complicated by contamination issues. DBRA will use $1 million in EGLE brownfield grants to fix contamination at the former American Motors Corporation headquarters. Southwest Housing Solutions Corp. will use the grant monies to remediate an entire block of contaminated land into a new development that will provide affordable housing. The American Indian Health and Family Services will build a new community health and wellness center in southwest Detroit. The city of Detroit will use the $450,000 it was awarded to transform vacant parcels of land for a residential redevelopment project. BSEED will use its grant to assess contamination, remove an underground storage tank and install a ventilation system if removal of the contamination is impossible.

Developer Plans 250-Unit Project For Grand Rapids’ Celebration Village

Victory Development Group is planning a 250-unit mixed use project in Grand Rapids’ Celebration Village. The developer is seeking a planned redevelopment district amendment for Celebration Apartments, a mixed-use apartment project it is proposing. The Grand Rapids City Planning Commission will hear the request on January 12. Victory Development group will ask for a change in use or character of the development, an increase in residential density, and an increase to five stories from the maximum allowable building height of four stories. The project would be located on the only remaining vacant parcel in the Celebration Village commercial development. Victory Development Group is the firm behind the 280 Ann and Victory on Leonard apartment projects on Grand Rapids’ northwest side.

Amazon Fresh Stores Slated for Plymouth and Dearborn Communities

Plymouth 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.

South Lyon Golf Course Proposed for Single-Family Development

Developers presented a conceptual plan to put 182 single-family homes the site of the 160-acre Cattails Golf Club in Lyon Township. The golf course has been a part of the community for more than 30 years. Brothers Mario, Frank and Tony Moscone owned and operated the golf course. With Mario and Frank’s deaths, Tony Moscone wants to make the property attractive to a diverse group of people. The property is directly across from the Woodlands of Lyon, a planned 103-home development. The proposed single family properties will have lots of 55 and 65 feet. More than half of the land would be preserved as open space in the conceptual plan, doubling the density allowed by ordinance. According to planner Brian Keesey, the planning commission has already voiced their objections.

Pending Home Sales in Steep Decline

Pending home sales are often considered as a leading indicator of existing-home purchases. For the sixth month, U.S. pending home sales fell in November to the second-lowest on record. Higher borrowing costs and economic uncertainties continue to exclude many potential buyers out of the market. The National Association of Realtors index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes took a hit. The index decreased to 73.9, exceeding estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The doubling of borrowing costs, from the start of 2022 to present, has caused home sales and prices to decline. A University of Michigan survey indicates that current home-buying conditions are worse than the early 1980s.

Metro Detroit Tops Most Expensive Home Sales in 2022

Metro Detroit had some of the most expensive home sales in 2022. The Bloomfield Hills home at 780 Vaughn Road features classic French chateau design. It sold for $6.125 million. Its location on more than 3 acres by Cranbrook was a selling point. The property at 4890 Birchway Drive in Orchard Lake Village boasts more than 10,000 square feet and 109 feet of Orchard Lake frontage. It features a bedroom suites, a guest room over the garage, a theater room, wine cellar and patio with outdoor gathering area. The home sold for $5.6 million in less than 48 hours. The home at 7420 Inner Circle Drive in Bloomfield Township sold for $4.9 million. It includes 11 acres with a river and a chicken coop. A large garden, theater room, and a lower level entertaining space with a second kitchen and bar were big selling points. The Fisher Mansion is the most expensive house to sell in Detroit’s history. Located at 1771 Balmoral Drive in Detroit, the home includes entertaining space, a library, 15 bedrooms and more than 20,000 square feet. Other properties in Bloomfield Township, Oakland Township and Birmingham sold in the range of $4.3 to $5 million.