Lincoln Hills Golf Course undergoes renovations
Source: metromode, 11/19/2009
The Lincoln Hills Golf Course is undergoing renovations to its clubhouse in Birmingham.
The golf course is gutting and replacing much of its club house. This includes ripping out and replacing some inner block/brick walls that have suffered significant deterioration.
The
newly renovated building will feature new counters, doors, windows,
roof, decorative fencing along 14 Mile Road, a covered storage area for
carts, landscaping around the building, HVAC system, and updated
restrooms. The parking lot will also be repaved.
The project
began construction last month and will wrap up by March. The golf
course, which is owned and run by the city, is located at 2666 W 14
Mile Road.
Source: City of Birmingham
Writer: Jon Zemke
Birmingham looks at redeveloping Kenning Park
Source: metromode, 11/12/2009
A lot of stuff is done at Kenning Park
every day, from youth sports to police sharp shooting. More could be on
the way as Birmingham city officials weigh options for its future use.
City
officials were recently approached by personnel from the local little
league baseball teams and a local school about adding fields to the
21.7-acre park. The park south of Lincoln Street and east of Eaton
Street already houses facilities for soccer, tennis, a police shooting
range, and a skatepark.
Birmingham has issued a request for
proposals from design firms to create a long-term master plan for the
park. That will include a community charrette in the spring to develop a plan next year.
City officials expect to receive proposals for the master plan by December and make a choice on firms by February or March.
Source: Jana Ecker, planning director for the city of Birmingham
Writer: Jon Zemke
Work wraps up on Birmingham's Baldwin Bridge
Source: metromode, 11/5/2009
Cars, bikes, and pedestrians can cross
the Baldwin Avenue Bridge now that construction workers have wrapped up
work on replacing it.
The city of Birmingham began work on the
bridge in early August as part of a project to improve three other
spans, including the West Maple Road, Oak Street, and Lakeside Drive
North bridges. The Baldwin Bridge was the biggest project of the lot,
clocking in at $700,000 and finishing on schedule.
The bridge,
just northwest of downtown Birmingham, dates back to the 1920s and has
been showing decades' worth of wear and tear for years. The city did
away with the narrow, one-lane bridge, replacing it with something more
pedestrian and motorist friendly.
The new span features two lanes and a 5-foot-wide sidewalk. The historic arch with a stone-cut façade underneath has been recreated, a process the city has also done with four other bridge replacements.
Source: City of Birmingham
Writer: Jon Zemke
U.S. DOT names Woodward an All-American Road
Source: metromode, 10/22/2009
Woodward Avenue has always been known as
Michigan's Main Street, so it should be a no-brainer that it's now an
All-American Road. That's the conclusion the U.S. Dept. of
Transportation came to this week.
Woodward is now one of 37
byways in the U.S. that is designated as an All-American Road, part of
the U.S. Dept of Transportation's National Scenic Byways Program.
Staff at the Woodward Avenue Action Association expect the new
designation to bump up tourism and investment dollars along the
corridor.
"It raises the profile of Woodward Avenue not only in
America but around the world," says Nicole Brown, outreach and
promotions coordinator with the Woodward Avenue Action Association.
What
sets Woodward apart is its heritage as the home to the U.S. automotive
industry. Historic places like the Ford Piquette Plant (where the first
Model Ts were made) in Highland Park show the area's importance in the
story of the United States. New signage describing this history and the
new designation are expected to be erected along Woodward next summer.
"It's always the story the road tells that can't be duplicated anywhere else that sets it apart," Brown says.
Source: Nicole Brown, outreach and promotions coordinator with the Woodward Avenue Action Association
Writer: Jon Zemke
District Lofts all leased out, looks at starting 2nd phase
Source: metromode, 9/10/2009
The District Lofts are finished and full, but more of the same type of contemporary living spaces in Birmingham's emerging Rail District might be on the way.
All 24 of The District Lofts'
units are not only finished, but fully leased. The quick success of the
for-sale-turned-for-lease project is prompting the developer, J.C.
Cataldo, to look at building a second phase of units that will also be
for lease.
"There is a shift in living patterns," Cataldo says.
Rents
for units that once commanded prices starting at $400,000 now begin 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 Eton 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 planned for the area.
Source: J.C. Cataldo, developer of The District Lofts
Writer: Jon Zemke
Birmingham fights Rouge River erosion with new project
Source: metromode, 9/10/2009
Birmingham's Booth Park is getting a
little bit of river bank restoration love this fall, thanks to a new
city improvement project.
The city is focusing on the
prevention of river erosion on the Rouge River at the point where it
enters the 4-acre park, just north of downtown. A sharp bend in the
river causes the western bank to erode with the river's current. To
remedy this problem, city staff are trying to straighten out the river
and reinforce a city seawall already in place.
"That's in there
to prevent North Old Woodward from sliding into the river," says
Brendan Cousino, assistant city engineer for Birmingham.
To help
prevent this, workers are clearing out some space for flooding and
native plantings to soak up some of the water that rushes through. They
are also placing some rock structures in the river bed to help center
the river flow.
The project is expected to wrap up in October.
Source: Brendan Cousino, assistant city engineer for Birmingham
Writer: Jon Zemke
AIA Birmingham tour shows off new architecture
Source: metromode, 9/3/2009
Homes like you've never seen before, at least outside of magazines, will be on full display this fall as the Detroit chapter of the American Institute of Architects kicks off its semi-annual house tour.
This
year the tour will feature five homes from the Birmingham-Bloomfield
area during Oct. 4 at 11 a.m. The Detroit chapter of the AIA only holds
these tours once every two years and rotates the communities it
highlights for each tour.
"It showcases the finest homes in the area," says Tany Nagy, co-chair of the AIA-Detroit House Tour.
The
tour is focusing on modern architecture. Three of the houses are new,
while the other two are renovations that emphasize contemporary design.
All of the homes are designed by AIA architects and feature innovative
design concepts that represent some of the most current thinking and
trends in residential design.
The tour begins in the
Birmingham Parking Garage, 333 Old Woodward Ave. in downtown
Birmingham. Tickets, which go on sale this week, go for $15 a pop in
advance and $20 the day of the tour. For information, call (313)
965-4100.
Source: Tany Nagy, co-chair of the AIA-Detroit House Tour
Writer: Jon Zemke
Urbane Apts opens Urbane on Adams
Source: metromode, 8/27/2009
The first resident moved into Urbane on Adams, the newest offering from Urbane Apartments.
The
Royal Oak-based property manager recently turned what was once a
foreclosed old folks home into a 42-unit apartment building geared
toward young professionals. Urbane Apartments specializes in turning
old apartment properties in vibrant downtown areas into luxury
dwellings for young people.
"We're staying at a pretty high occupancy," says Eric Brown, co-founder of Urbane Apartments.
He
does concede that his 14 properties are feeling the effects of the
economy and people losing their jobs. However, Urbane Apartments is
also seeing an influx of people temporarily moving into Metro Detroit
for jobs. The company offers a freedom lease that lets tenants sign a
month-to-month lease with a refundable fee, which is a key factor in
attracting this business.
Urbane on Adams is on Adams Street,
just north of Birmingham's Rail District. It will consist of 42 luxury
one-bedroom rentals and a 2,000-square-foot club house-turned-office
space. Brown plans to create a co-working space in the club house,
which should be available later this fall.
Source: Eric Brown, co-founder of Urbane Apartments
Writer: Jon Zemke