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MI-HQ Plans New Life Sciences Place in Ypsilanti

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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

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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.

 

Long Awaited Demolition on Detroit Building Begins

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The Gateway Center building, across from the Westin Book Cadillac hotel, is being demolished. Plans for the demolition have been known as far back as 2016.  The upper exterior on its western side was removed by Thursday afternoon. The demolition is expected to be finished by August. Owner Richard Karp indicated that he wanted to do a mixed-use development back in 2016. He declined to comment on the recent activity. Entities linked to Karp’s Lansing-based Karp and Associates development firm paid $700,000 for the building in 2013.

 

Historic Downtown Building Changes Hands in $5.9 Million Deal

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The historic Merchants Building in downtown Detroit has sold in an off-market deal for $5.9 million.  A party linked to Detroit-based Method Development LLC bought the building last month. Method will share full development plans for the project in the near future. Broadway Merchants LLC bought the building in 1996. The building was listed in 2014 for $4 million, but never traded hands.  Method has been active in other parts of the city, as well.

 

Ann Arbor Rezones For High-Density Downtown Area

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The city of Ann Arbor has rezoned over 200 acres by Briarwood Mall with the intent of developing a high-density downtown area. The West Stadium and North Maple area may be next. The rezoning is meant to increase housing density along transit corridors and commercial development, creating a more pedestrian-friendly area. Feedback on the idea has been mixed. City officials are looking for more input and will hold a virtual webinar over Zoom at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June. 14.

Blake’s Orchard & Cider Mill Takes Over Erwin Orchards

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Blake’s Orchard & Cider Mill owners will take over operations at Erwin Orchards. They hope to maintain the integrity of Erwin’s but with a Blake spin on it. Orchard Crossing, a 181-acre development at Silver Lake and Kent Lake roads will be positively impacted by the deal.  The Orchard Crossing development will leave 104 acres for preservation of orchards, the cider mill and other new enterprises. Blake’s is planning a 20,000-square-foot tasting room with a full-service restaurant, bar service and cidery/beer brewing. The year-round facility will be located on the northeast corner of Silver Lake and Ken Lake roads.  The north side orchard operations area will also include a 20,000-square-foot venue with a 400-person capacity and an outdoor patio. On the south side of Silver Lake, the existing cider mill will be expanded with a cider press, cafe, retail sales and office.

 

 

 

Furniture Company Leases Former Art Van Headquarters

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The Florida-based Ashley Furniture Industries is leasing the old Art Van Furniture Inc. headquarters. Ashley Furniture is leasing 186,000 square feet of the 1 million-square-foot-plus property. Ashley Furniture’s lease, along with the square footage that Gardner White is leasing, has filled up about 57 percent of the Art Van property. Operations are expected to start in the building soon. Brasswater currently owns the property.

Amazon Ditches Square Footage

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Amazon is subleasing at lease 10 million square feet and possibly terminating leases in New York, New Jersey, Southern California and Atlanta. The figure could be as high as 30 million square feet. This is in contrast to the the company’s acquisition of 200 million square feet during the pandemic. In the Detroit area, it’s a different story. The company currently occupies or is building at least 13 million square feet. According to sources, Amazon was more deliberate in the Detroit area, as opposed to other areas where it acquired square footage where it could find it. The company also seems to be dropping smaller spaces and not mega-centers like those in the Detroit area.

 

 

Home Costs Rise As New Building Permits Dip

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As interest rates and materials costs rose, the number of single-family home permits in metro Detroit fell in April.  The number of permits across Detroit Metro counties dropped to 303 in April from 414 in March. That’s a 27% drop. When compared to April 2021, they number of permits dropped 31%.  Builders whose business was split between commercial and residential projects have seen it flip to entirely commercial. They cite rising costs, interest rates and supply chain issues. Buyers don’t have the money to cover the rising costs during actual construction. In addition, there aren’t enough workers to keep up with labor demands.

 

 

Pharmaceutical Company Rises in Grand Rapids

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Perrigo, the private label over-the-counter pharmaceutical company, is opening its new North American headquarters in Grand Rapids. The company chose Grand Rapids over Chicago and Miami in hopes of benefitting by joining other health care-focused companies and research facilities in the Grand Rapids area. West Michigan is home to 60,000 health science jobs, 428 health science companies and 83 medical device manufacturers.  This concentration has impacted the community, with doctorate-level jobs at six-figure salaries.