Michigan Real Estate News

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Bankhole Thompson Calls Out Bedrock’s Tax Subsidy Grab

According to Bankole Thompson, Detroit needs improvements that will impact the lives of its ordinary residents. The tax breaks for big companies are off the backs of ordinary citizens. Residential poverty still exists because of the lack of initiatives designed to make a difference. The city has given away huge tax subsidies to highly capitalized companies who don’t follow through with concrete plans. This is what’s creating the opposition to Dan Gilbert’s request for $60 million in tax breaks for the Hudson site project. Gilbert has the money to complete the project without a tax break from disenfranchised Detroiters. The author believes the heart of the issue is a civil rights issue. The jobs that are promised during the PR blitz for subsidies often do not materialize. The City Council should use the tax break Gilbert wants for more important quality of life issues.

 

 

MI-HQ Plans New Life Sciences Place in Ypsilanti

Ann Arbor’s Michigan Innovation Headquarters (MI-HQ) has announced that it entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Eastern Michigan University’s former College of Business headquarters in downtown Ypsilanti. It plans to purchase the building for $2.6 million, and with an additional $10 million, renovate it to build shared workspace for STEM companies. The deal will put 130,000-square-foot building on the city’s tax rolls, generating more than $1.1 million of net benefits over a 10-year span. It promises to create 300 jobs.

 

Demolition Contract For Portion of Packard Plant to be Awarded This Month

The Detroit City  Council will consider awarding a demolition contract for a portion of the Packard Plant later this month.  Only one bidder responded to a May request for proposals to tear down the building at 6199 Concord St.  The city will most likely award the contract to the unnamed bidder in the next week. According to the director of the Detroit Demolition Department, the city is moving quickly to tear down that portion of the plant because of the danger it poses to The Display Group Ltd., who operates its Display Group Creative Collective in the adjacent space. Demolition is expected to begin in late summer.