JoeBlam
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- Jun 1, 2013
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Or in this case 5 blocks at a time.... 
A national developer plans to build five blocks worth of apartments, town houses and small-scale retail on Detroits east riverfront, one of the biggest such projects since the recession and a bet by the company that urban living in Detroit will remain popular with some young professionals.
The $60-million project would fill mostly vacant land east of the Renaissance Center, north of Atwater Street and just west of the popular Dequindre Cut Greenway. The proposed mix of three- to four-story town houses and apartment buildings could offer monthly rental rates of about $850 up to $1,700.
The St. Louis-based developer, McCormack Baron Salazar, specializes in urban market revitalization. Its chairman and CEO, Richard Baron, is a Detroit native.
■ Related: Detroit development board tentatively approves $60M riverfront residential project
We think that theres pent-up demand for the housing product with the workforce downtown and others, said Baron, who hopes to break ground by the spring and finish by early 2016. Ive always wanted to come back to Detroit and help with the redevelopment of the city.
The firm would develop the first of a two-phase project that could later involve 200 or more additional rentals or condo units and more substantial retail offerings and restaurants.
The east riverfront project still requires financing and multiple land-use approvals. Baron is to present an overview of the project at this mornings meeting of the Economic Development Corp. of the City of Detroit.
Most of the land within the five-block area is owned by the city and controlled by the EDC, which works to boost development through programs seeded with property taxes, grants and other sources.
The EDCs board is expected to approve an agreement that could transfer the property for $1 if the developer is able to line up financing from various governmental, foundation and private sources. The EDC is also expected to contribute a $1.7-million loan.
McCormack Baron Salazar also is involved in a $28-million planned transformation of the abandoned Strathmore Hotel in Midtown on Alexandrine Street near Woodward. The 129-unit project in planning stages for about a year could break ground next spring.
The projects underscore what appears to be a dichotomy in Detroits real-estate market, where a few trendy areas in and around the citys core continue to attract young professionals and empty nesters as most other city neighborhoods cope with a decaying housing stock, abandoned structures and rock-bottom land prices.
The projects follow the successes of recent high-profile, market-rate developments including the 124-unit Broderick Tower in downtown and the 58-unit the Auburn in Midtown.
These are practical real-estate deals that we know therell be a lot of market acceptance for, said Sue Mosey, president of the nonprofit organization Midtown Detroit Inc., which has partnered with the firm to redevelop the graffiti-covered Strathmore.
With the still-unnamed riverfront project, Baron is hoping to build on the excitement surrounding the ongoing renovation of the neighboring Globe Building, a former maintenance shop for a shipping company now undergoing a $12.8-million overhaul by the Department of Natural Resources to become an adventure and education center, complete with a climbing wall and other attractions.
Like all recent downtown and Midtown developments, this east riverfront project would depend on a hodgepodge of various government subsidies and foundation support, as Detroit rents are not yet high enough to support all-private ventures.
About half of the financing would come from a U.S. Housing and Urban Development mortgage. An additional $6.7 million of support would come from the Michigan Community Revitalization Program and $5.5 million from the Michigan Business Tax program for Brownfield redevelopment.
We believe we have the terms of a terrific development, said Brian Holdwick, executive vice president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.
$60M east riverfront development in Detroit to bring housing, streetscape | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
A national developer plans to build five blocks worth of apartments, town houses and small-scale retail on Detroits east riverfront, one of the biggest such projects since the recession and a bet by the company that urban living in Detroit will remain popular with some young professionals.
The $60-million project would fill mostly vacant land east of the Renaissance Center, north of Atwater Street and just west of the popular Dequindre Cut Greenway. The proposed mix of three- to four-story town houses and apartment buildings could offer monthly rental rates of about $850 up to $1,700.
The St. Louis-based developer, McCormack Baron Salazar, specializes in urban market revitalization. Its chairman and CEO, Richard Baron, is a Detroit native.
■ Related: Detroit development board tentatively approves $60M riverfront residential project
We think that theres pent-up demand for the housing product with the workforce downtown and others, said Baron, who hopes to break ground by the spring and finish by early 2016. Ive always wanted to come back to Detroit and help with the redevelopment of the city.
The firm would develop the first of a two-phase project that could later involve 200 or more additional rentals or condo units and more substantial retail offerings and restaurants.
The east riverfront project still requires financing and multiple land-use approvals. Baron is to present an overview of the project at this mornings meeting of the Economic Development Corp. of the City of Detroit.
Most of the land within the five-block area is owned by the city and controlled by the EDC, which works to boost development through programs seeded with property taxes, grants and other sources.
The EDCs board is expected to approve an agreement that could transfer the property for $1 if the developer is able to line up financing from various governmental, foundation and private sources. The EDC is also expected to contribute a $1.7-million loan.
McCormack Baron Salazar also is involved in a $28-million planned transformation of the abandoned Strathmore Hotel in Midtown on Alexandrine Street near Woodward. The 129-unit project in planning stages for about a year could break ground next spring.
The projects underscore what appears to be a dichotomy in Detroits real-estate market, where a few trendy areas in and around the citys core continue to attract young professionals and empty nesters as most other city neighborhoods cope with a decaying housing stock, abandoned structures and rock-bottom land prices.
The projects follow the successes of recent high-profile, market-rate developments including the 124-unit Broderick Tower in downtown and the 58-unit the Auburn in Midtown.
These are practical real-estate deals that we know therell be a lot of market acceptance for, said Sue Mosey, president of the nonprofit organization Midtown Detroit Inc., which has partnered with the firm to redevelop the graffiti-covered Strathmore.
With the still-unnamed riverfront project, Baron is hoping to build on the excitement surrounding the ongoing renovation of the neighboring Globe Building, a former maintenance shop for a shipping company now undergoing a $12.8-million overhaul by the Department of Natural Resources to become an adventure and education center, complete with a climbing wall and other attractions.
Like all recent downtown and Midtown developments, this east riverfront project would depend on a hodgepodge of various government subsidies and foundation support, as Detroit rents are not yet high enough to support all-private ventures.
About half of the financing would come from a U.S. Housing and Urban Development mortgage. An additional $6.7 million of support would come from the Michigan Community Revitalization Program and $5.5 million from the Michigan Business Tax program for Brownfield redevelopment.
We believe we have the terms of a terrific development, said Brian Holdwick, executive vice president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.
$60M east riverfront development in Detroit to bring housing, streetscape | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
