Posts

Nonprofit Tackles Grand Rapids’ Homelessness Issue

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Mel Trotter Ministries is targeting Grand Rapids’ homelessness issue. The city planning commission recently granted approval to the nonprofit’s plans to rezone three industrial lots on Garden St. SE into a planned redevelopment district. Mel Trotter Ministries plans to build a mixed-use tiny home development called Hope Village. It will include 16 detached tiny homes and the redevelopment of a vacant two-story industrial building to add 10 workforce apartments upstairs. The ground level will be used for amenities, social services and offices and space for light industrial tenants. They tiny home will be 240 to 480 square feet. They will be available to tenants who make 20 to 40 percent of the area median income. They will also come with a path to ownership.

Detroit Regional Partnership Aims to Entice Industrial Development

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The Detroit Regional Partnership has created the Verified Industrial Properties web portal, a repository for detailed information on sites in an 11-county focus area, including Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties. The partnership views the clearinghouse as a way to get rid of leg work and improve the accessibility of metro Detroit site information. Property owners pay to have their sites listed in the web portal. Civil engineers have vetted nine sites, considering zoning, topography, geological conditions, transportation, wetlands, etc. Another 15 sites are under evaluation.  Some of the sites in process are large and prominent: The former Summit Place Mall property and 500+ acres of Lyon Township land. The partnership says its sites include urban, suburban and rural.

 

 

Rochester Hills Robotics Company Plans $86 Million Expansion

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Fanuc, the Rochester Hills-based manufacturer of robotics, is planning an $86 million expansion. Within the last week, they’ve purchased the former Thomas M. Colley Law School campus for $18 million.  The purchase included the former law school building and an adjacent 67 acres. The company is planning a 655,000-square-foot plant on the acreage. The company currently employs 1,200 in Michigan; this expansion will add another 100 workers. The new purchase follows on the heels of the company’s 461,000-square-foot North Campus in Auburn Hills in October 2019.

 

Oakland County To Create Land Bank Authority

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Oakland County is creating a land bank authority. The land bank authority will support economic growth and community revitalization. According to the county’s treasurer, the creation of the authority will enable the county to address property vacancies, support new developments and return foreclosed properties to the tax rolls. The application process for board members will begin in mid-July, with hopes that the board will be up and running by mid-August.

Ross Snags $100 Million for DCI Project

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Stephen Ross has acquired a $100 million in the state’s next budget for The Detroit Center for Innovation.  The Detroit native is the developer of the project. He previously committed to donating $100 million for the center to be built. With the budget deal being finalized, the center will have $200 million of its predicted $250 million price tag. Ross’ company will construct the center and donate it to the University of Michigan. The 200,000-square-foot building will be part of a three-building campus located on Ilitch-owned land and parking lots west of the Fox Theatre in Detroit.

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.

 

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.

 

 

Buick City Site Development To Create Thousands of Jobs

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A possible development for the Flint’s former Buick City site could be a game changer for the city, potentially creating thousands of jobs. Real estate developer Ashely Capital has the site under contract. The $300 million construction plans are dependent on financing environmental remediation for the site. The funding gap is $15-$20 million. The city of Flint is working with the state and county to come up with the needed funding. If the deal is finalized, construction could start as early as next year.

 

Eastland Center Mall Demolition Begins in Harper Woods

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The demolition of the former J.L. Hudson Company department store began this week. Facebook posts show the Harper Woods site in the closed Eastland Shopping Center. Large excavators have removed the outer walls and exposed three stores of the department store and mall. NorthPoint Development purchased the property in 2021. The mall closed in early 2022. Development plans include warehouses and a possibly industrial distribution center.

 

Packard Plant Owner Misses Demo Permit Deadline

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Fernando Palazuelo, owner of the Packard Plant, missed a court deadline on Thursday. He needed to apply for a demolition permit to allow the city of Detroit to demo the property and bill him for it. The city is considering its next steps. Wayne County Circuit Judge Brian Sullivan declared the Packard Plant a public nuisance on March 31 and ordered Palazuelo’s company Arte Express Detroit to apply for a demo permit within 21 days. The judge’s order allowed the city to hire contractors to proceed with the demo work at Palazuelo’s expense if deadlines were missed.