Workers finish restoring Midway Theater façade in Dearborn
Source: metromode, 12/18/2008
A little bit of Art Deco has returned to Dearborn's east downtown now that the façade of the Midway Theater has been restored.
Work crews are done with the project for the season and only have a finishing touch or two to put on the converted cinema at 4915 Schaefer Road.
"We're going to put some sealer on it later when it gets warmer," says Mustapha Hannawi, the designer and contractor on the restoration.
Local businessman Ahmed Chebbani owns the historic Midway Theater and is restoring its exterior to its original 1936 appearance. The $75,000 project repaired or replaced most of the original stonework.
The 2-story building's interior is completely different. The structure ceased to be a movie theater in the mid 1970s, becoming an office building. Today the 18,000-square-foot building has offices on the second floor and a family entertainment center is planned for the first floor.
Source: Mustapha Hannawi, the designer and contractor on the Midway Theater façade restoration
Writer: Jon Zemke
Developer turns old industrial building in Ferndale into creative class center
Source: metromode, 12/18/2008
What was once old, dirty and busted is now new, edgy and hip in Ferndale.
GVA Detroit has turned what was once an old mid-20th Century industrial building into a mixed-use building, complete with loft-style office space on Hilton Street between 8 and 9 mile roads.
"We're trying to get the creative class to come there," says Jennifer Roosenberg, marketing and communications manager for GVA Detroit.
The Southfield-based firm bought what it now calls the Zicor Building three years ago and completely gutted the structure so the only original pieces left are the walls, roof and floor.
"It was in pretty rough shape," Roosenberg says.
The city rezoned the property for mixed-use, giving GVA Detroit a lot of flexibility on what it could do there. It's part of the reason why the developer left the units raw so the prospective tenants have more options on customizing the space. It has led to a lot of loft-life offices, with high ceilings, exposed ductwork and wide-open spaces.
The 15,000-square-foot building is divided into eight units over two floors. So far about 25 percent of the structure is occupied and another large tenant is close to signing. One of the tenants is a payroll company for the film industry that just opened a Michigan office.
Source: Jennifer Roosenberg, marketing and communications manager for GVA Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke
Finished units all leased in Birmingham's District Lofts
Source: metromode, 12/18/2008
The District Lofts in Birmingham are filling up fast now that the development in the city's emerging Rail District has gone rental.
All of the project's available units, nearly one third of them, are currently
leased. The next third set of units will come online in January and the rest are expected to be finished in March.
"The leasing is going quite well," says J.C. Cataldo, developer of The District Lofts.
The
development originally started out as for-sale units with a starting
price of $400,000. The tough real-estate market and even worse credit
market made it nearly impossible to complete the sale of some of the
units.
That prompted Cataldo to make the switch to rentals, following other prominent luxury developments like The Fifth Royal Oak and New Street Lofts in Mt. Clemens. Urbane Apartment's redevelopment rentals in downtowns are going fast, too.
The
District Lofts appear to be following suit. Rents in the 24-unit
development start at $2,700 a month for a 1,550-square-foot loft. That
includes all of the utilities and an underground parking space. They go
as high as $3,400 a month for just under 2,000 square feet.
The
development consists of a 4-story, mixed-use building where the homes
are located above ground floor retail space and an underground heated
parking garage. They are a few blocks east of downtown Birmingham on
South Eaton Street.
The old industrial corridor is dotted with
old factory buildings that are being converted to lofts and businesses
as the city redevelops the neighborhood. A stop for a northern
extension of the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line is also planed
for the area.
For information, call (248) 593-6000.
Source: J.C. Cataldo, developer of The District Lofts
Writer: Jon Zemke
Plymouth holds meeting to consider new YMCA proposal
Source: metromode, 12/18/2008
A new YMCA is coming closer to reality in
Plymouth. The city will hold a special meeting tonight on the proposal
to build the new recreation center on the Bathey Property.
"We're a ways away from starting but the developer is anticipating construction in 2009," says Paul Sincock, city manager for Plymouth.
The
16-acre site is just outside of downtown at Mill Street and Lilley
Road. For years it served as an industrial plant for heavy
manufacturing storage containers for the automotive industry. (Think of
giant French-fry baskets that could deep fry an axel.)
The
site went vacant about four years ago when the city took possession of
it after the owner failed to pay taxes. The developer, Royal Oak-based
Connective Properties, bought it for $2.2 million late last year.
Connective
is still working out planning details with the city and financial
details with lenders. However, it is also trying to take advantage of
the Wayne County Land Bank's TURBO program.
Source: Paul Sincock, city manager for Plymouth
Writer: Jon Zemke
U-M considers $45 million in building projects
Source: metromode, 12/18/2008
It seems like there is always some sort
of major construction project on the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor
campus. A quick look at the college town's skyline reveals the
ever-present view of sky cranes.
Construction may just see a boom as tonight the University's Board of Regents consider approving seven new projects worth $45 million.
The projects under consideration are:
- $4.8 million for a 10,000-square-foot expansion of the Engineering School's Engineering Program Building on North Campus.
- $20 million for an expansion of the Museum of Zoology and relocation of most of its "wet" collection to the University Stores building.
- $4 million to renovate and retrofit the guest rooms the Business Administration Executive Dormitory.
- $5.3 million to create a ultra-low vibration research laboratory in the basement level of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building.
- $2 million to $2.8 million to create soccer fields on 12.5 acres next to the Varsity Tennis Center.
- $4.2 million to renovate 6,400 square feet of General Clinical
Research Center at the U-M Hospital into the Cardiovascular Center.
- $4.5 million to renovate another 1,700 square feet of U-M Hospital
to make room for new positron emission tomography/computed tomography
scanners.
Most of these projects are set to begin early next year and finish toward the later end of 2009.
Source: University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke
Woodward Action looks to help fund next streetscape project
Source: metromode, 12/18/2008
The Woodward Avenue Action Association wants to help the communities along Michigan's Main Street put their best face forward with its new streetscape grant program.
The association recently received $160,000 from the Federal Highway Administration to help fund streetscape design or improvements along the Woodward Avenue corridor.
"We
are looking for projects that will actually come to life," says Nicole
Brown, outreach and promotions coordinator for the Woodward Avenue
Action Association.
The grants will range between $10,000 and
$50,000. The projects can be for things like crosswalk improvements,
new signage or decorative streetlights. Applicants can be either
municipalities or non-profits that border the Woodward corridor.
Applications are due by Jan. 16. For information, call (248) 288-2004.
Source: Nicole Brown, outreach and promotions coordinator for the Woodward Avenue Action Association
Writer: Jon Zemke
Lincoln Park preservation group goes viral with video to save buildings
Source: metromode, 12/18/2008
The Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance is going beyond meetings, petitions and fliers to save buildings in its downriver downtown. The group has launched a video on YouTube to call attention to historic buildings in need of redevelopment. (video below)
Martin
Roberts of Eye of Ra Productions created the video highlighting
historic structures along downtown's Fort Street corridor in danger of
being swept into history's dustbin.
Among the featured buildings is the Park Theatre, designed and built in 1925 by C. Howard Crane of Fox Theatre fame. Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency plans to raze it and replace it with a mixed-use development.
Other historic structures include the Mellus Newspapers Building,
the northwest block of Fort Street from Southfield Road to Arlington
and the National City Bank Building. The alliance is working to
preserve all of these historic buildings but local officials or
developers have other ideas for that land that mostly means bulldozing
the historic structures.
For information on these preservation efforts, contact Leslie Lynch-Wilson at lalynch@wideopenwest.com or (313) 598-3137.
Source: Leslie Lynch-Wilson, president of the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance
Writer: Jon Zemke
Detroit's Lee Plaza building shopped to developers
Source: Model D, 12/18/2008
Detroit's Lee Plaza might have some life left in it yet as the city shops it to potential developers.
Excerpt:
Lee Plaza may just see new life: Its owner, the City Housing Commission, is looking to work with a viable developer to build the financing necessary to revive the property. In the case that the numbers could be made to work, the agency would part with the building for $1.
Built in 1929, the 15-story Art Deco tower is located on West Grand Boulevard and has sat vacant for since the early 1990s. Mildred Robbins of the West Grand Blvd. Collaborative has hopes that a renovated Lee Plaza would be of great benefit to the neighborhood. "If something were to come of this, it could create a revitalized environment," she says. "It can mean jobs, sustainability, more community in terms of businesses, retail and housing."
Read the rest of the story here.