Detroit Development News

[Mudhen419]

Im likin the bw3 news.. Should be a good spot to hit after a game! Wish it was gonna be done by late summer when i go to see the tribe n tigers play

[Jaybird]

Great news about another national chain coming downtown! Although I doubt I would eat wings there as, IMO, it is a crime to eat Buffalo wings outside Buffalo, New York.

[hudkina]

Buffalo wings have long moved beyond the idea of being a "Buffalo" thing.

[Paddington]

Originally Posted by hudkina

Buffalo wings have long moved beyond the idea of being a "Buffalo" thing.

Buffalo Wild Wings is a Minnesota chain.

[steel]

Originally Posted by hudkina

Buffalo wings have long moved beyond the idea of being a "Buffalo" thing.

It has never been a Buffalo thing,

[hudkina]

Buffalo Wings originated in Buffalo, NY and only become nationally popular beginning in the late 80's, but especially into the early 90's. Buffalo Wild Wings is currently headquartered in Minneapolis, but originated in Columbus, OH by a man from Buffalo.

[Mudhen419]

I heard the first location for buffalo wild wings was at the corner of High St and Lane Ave in Columbus Ohio (across the street from OSU campus) There is still a location there

[Lmichigan]

It must have been a very slow news week if you guys are still arguing over buffalo wings.

[Lmichigan]

Babcock urges state backing for new Wings arena

by Louis Aguilar | The Detroit News

February 21, 2012

Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock urged the state government Tuesday to support plans to build a new hockey arena in downtown Detroit and vaguely referred to a development perhaps connected to it — a mall.

"A new facility, no question," Babcock said Tuesday morning on a 97.1 The Ticket sports radio talk show, when asked if he preferred that the Wings continue to play at Joe Louis Arena or at a new arena.

"If you want the city to come back, you got to revitalize downtown. A big part of that's going to be the new arena, and the mall and the stuff going around it," he said. "And that's very important. That's why we need the state to jump onside, and the sooner the better, if we're going to revitalize Michigan. It's got to start right here in Detroit."

An Olympia Entertainment spokeswoman did not have an immediate comment.

...

Babcock's reference to "the mall" feeds into speculation that a shopping center might be connected to an arena development plan — particularly in the swath of blighted and empty properties from Woodward Avenue to Cass near Temple. There has been a real estate buying frenzy in the area, which is several blocks north of the Fox Theatre, headquarters of Ilitch Holdings Inc., as well as Comerica Park and Ford Field.

...

[Mudhen419]

I'd love to see a new Arena for the wings but man it would suck to not play in a building with all the history theyve had there. (I know its not that old of an arena but the playoff streak and the stanley cups won in there make a statement)

Woodward and Cass near temple... Does this mean the new arena would be on the other side of 75 from comerica park?

Also, is that building that looks like a castle still standing? I believe it was in the area bounded by Woodward, Cass, Adams, and i-75

[Mudhen419]

http://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/...to-decide.html

Romney calls new-bridge issue state's to decide

[Paddington]

Michigan should have never allowed that Matty Maroun guy to take over the state's most commercially important piece of infrastructure. There was a graphic in the Free Press a while back that showed what was supposed to be built (for the new ramps connecting his bridge to the expressway) and what he actually built. He basically stole public land in Detroit to build duty free shops and gas stations, instead of the expressway ramps to I-75. I don't think any other state would have tolerated that. But he's been getting away with it now for years. The most penalty that he's paid is 1 night in jail.

[Lakeland]

Originally Posted by Mudhen419

I'd love to see a new Arena for the wings but man it would suck to not play in a building with all the history theyve had there. (I know its not that old of an arena but the playoff streak and the stanley cups won in there make a statement)

Woodward and Cass near temple... Does this mean the new arena would be on the other side of 75 from comerica park?

Also, is that building that looks like a castle still standing? I believe it was in the area bounded by Woodward, Cass, Adams, and i-75

It has all the history but is still one of the worst arena's in sports. The restrooms are a total joke, the stairs are horrible and it is not handicap friendly. If the Pistons had not build the Palace it would have made perfect sense for the state to fund an arena where both teams play. Right now, who's going to pay for a new "just hockey" arena? Maybe a Casino tax like they did in Pittsburgh.

[Lakeland]

Originally Posted by Lmichigan

Babcock urges state backing for new Wings arena

by Louis Aguilar | The Detroit News

February 21, 2012

Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock urged the state government Tuesday to support plans to build a new hockey arena in downtown Detroit and vaguely referred to a development perhaps connected to it — a mall.

"A new facility, no question," Babcock said Tuesday morning on a 97.1 The Ticket sports radio talk show, when asked if he preferred that the Wings continue to play at Joe Louis Arena or at a new arena.

"If you want the city to come back, you got to revitalize downtown. A big part of that's going to be the new arena, and the mall and the stuff going around it," he said. "And that's very important. That's why we need the state to jump onside, and the sooner the better, if we're going to revitalize Michigan. It's got to start right here in Detroit."

An Olympia Entertainment spokeswoman did not have an immediate comment.

...

Babcock's reference to "the mall" feeds into speculation that a shopping center might be connected to an arena development plan — particularly in the swath of blighted and empty properties from Woodward Avenue to Cass near Temple. There has been a real estate buying frenzy in the area, which is several blocks north of the Fox Theatre, headquarters of Ilitch Holdings Inc., as well as Comerica Park and Ford Field.

...

It was shot down...

A rumor that Bloomfield Hills-based mall developer The Taubman Co. might be involved was quickly shot down by Karen MacDonald, a spokeswoman for the company.

“There’s no proposal that’s been made to us or that we’re reviewing, nor do we anticipate one. So there’s no truth to this,” she said.

The roadblock to a new arena, now as in the past, has been paying for it. Many sports facilities built in recent decades have involved some public financing.

[Lmichigan]

Gilbert plans for 'big bang' of retail activity in Woodward corridor

by Louis Aguilar | The Detroit News

March 8, 2012

Quicken Loan's Inc. founder Dan Gilbert said the mass accumulation of downtown property by his real estate unit should lead to a "two-year period when a lot of new residential … and new retail" will open in the city's core, most likely on Woodward Avenue.

Speaking at the Idea: Detroit conference at the Fox Theatre Thursday, Gilbert and two executives from his Bedrock Real Estate Services outlined a broad overview of the groups' plan to revive the struggling Woodward Avenue corridor between Grand Circus Park and Jefferson Avenue. It was big on vision that is at the early stages of conception at best.

But one thing is definitive: Troy's Somerset Collection will return downtown this summer with another version of CityLoft, according to Gilbert and a Somerset Collection spokesman. The retail project was a 4,000-square-foot collection of pop-up shops on the ground level of the Lofts at Merchants Row on Woodward that operated for three days each month in July, August, September and December.

"They are going to do a whole bunch of new stuff this summer," Gilbert said, but he did not elaborate.

...

Gilbert said the plan is for a "big bang theory" where much is added to city's core in a short amount of time.

"We want to do a lot of grass-roots urban retail that you cannot get anywhere else but Detroit; really remarkable destinations," said Dan Mullen, Bedrock's acquisition manager. The plans emphasize "small, unique boutiques." That includes a small grocery story. "We are thinking about a cool little market on the east side of 1500 block" of Woodward. The 1500 block of Woodward is near Grand Circus Park. Mullen also said Somerset "is looking to do something down here permanently."

There are also plans to utilize the alley behind the east side of 1500 block of Woodward for pedestrian-friendly retail and restaurants, said Bruce Schwartz, Bedrock's Detroit relocation.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...dward-corridor

[Lmichigan]

The Brewster-Douglass projects (Brewester low-rises and rows, and Douglass towers) are coming down to be replaced by something I'd imagine would be a lot like what's gone on at Jeffries East and West and Herman Gardens:

Storied Brewster-Douglass housing projects in Detroit may soon be demolished


Kathleen Galligan | The Detroit News

by Steven Neavling | Detroit Free Press

March 11, 2012

The storied and abandoned Brewster-Douglass public housing complex that once offered housing to low-income Detroiters, including the families of Motown legends Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson, is now a towering symbol of the city's residential decline.

The four 14-story high-rise apartments -- decaying, windowless and tagged with graffiti -- greet drivers along I-75 across from Ford Field.

Two six-story apartments and rows of burned-out town houses also line the 30-acre grounds, littered with heaps of trash, vermin and discarded needles.

...

"You've got a piece of property that is in a prime location, and we aren't getting anything out of it right now," Bing told the Free Press on Friday, adding that he met with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Director Shaun Donovan on Thursday. "I think we can get the funding."

Asked what would replace the housing projects, Bing responded: "I can't get into that." But in his speech Wednesday, he said, "We will create affordable housing and commercial development in its place."

The Detroit Housing Commission, which is handling the demolition plans, said the area will be revitalized once the $9.8-million demolition project is completed. Plans also include renovating the abandoned and adjacent Brewster-Wheeler Recreation Center on Brewster Street, which once included a swimming pool, basketball court, open gym and game room, said Eugene Jones, executive director of the Detroit Housing Commission.

"We want to bring the rec center back to its old glory," Jones said.

...

A few more photos of the place:

image hosted on flickr

_MG_9579.jpg by detroiturbex.com, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr

Brewster-Douglass Housing Project Low Rises by Mackushla, on Flickr

[hudkina]

Yes, because if Detroit is lacking anything, it's affordable housing... What needs to be built is market-rate apartments. In fact, I wouldn't even mind if they renovated the complex into market-rate apartments. I'm sure the crap they build to replace this will be ugly, cookie-cutter designs with cheap vinyl siding or stucco that will look terrible within 10 years. I'd rather have theses mundane brick buildings than a suburban-style townhouse complex...

[Lmichigan]

I envision it will be like what they did with the Jeffries, which is a mixed-income neighborhood (i.e. some "affordable" housing and some market-rate), only that this will also be mixed-use, too, as they mention commercial space. To be honest, I don't imagine they have anything beyond a very general vision of the site, so who knows what may end up getting built. Not a big fan of the architecture - though, let's not pretend they are going to build townhomes in the mold of the New Brewsters directly to the north -, but I am a fan of mixed-income housing where appropriate. Of course, you wouldn't dictate the income-level of housing on say a site with ridiculously high land value like the Hudson Block, but I think there is an argument to be made that mixed-income would be appropriate for Brewster-Douglass.

My only real problem with the likes of Woodbridges Estates and Cornerstone and Gardenview besides the architecture is that every single one of them reduced the unit and population density of what stood on the sites, before. They seem to be under the incorrect assumption that density was the problem of the previous communities, when what was wrong with them was income segregation, in this case, segregation of those in poverty.

[Mudhen419]

Wow I just saw a video on youtube some guy took of these buildings.. watched it about a month ago.. wasnt anything informative.. just some guy drivin around videotaping abandoned homes

[Jaybird]

Originally Posted by Mudhen419

I'd love to see a new Arena for the wings but man it would suck to not play in a building with all the history theyve had there. (I know its not that old of an arena but the playoff streak and the stanley cups won in there make a statement)

Woodward and Cass near temple... Does this mean the new arena would be on the other side of 75 from comerica park?

Also, is that building that looks like a castle still standing? I believe it was in the area bounded by Woodward, Cass, Adams, and i-75

Yes, it is, the GAR building, it is being renovated! Check this:

http://gardetroit.posterous.com/106039356