Momentum builds for $50M multi-use development in downtown Royal Oak

A project dubbed Gateway for its location at the most prominent entry into Royal Oak is gathering steam since a group of real estate developers, architects and consultants presented a proposal for a residential-retail-medical-office development on Main Street near I-696. The proposal, which still requires approvals of the Downtown Development Authority and other city commissions, calls for a massive project that would transform a section of Main Street at I-696 into a multistory building that will house nearly 10,000 square feet each of retail space, medical space, office space with a parking deck and a 160 apartments as the centerpiece. The Gateway project would take up a city block and be bordered by I-696, Main Street and Woodward Avenue and also fill a void in apartment living options in the area, the developers say in their proposal. The project could come in with a price tag of $50 million, according to the Royal Oak DDA. Assuming approvals are given to the project without extensive delays, ground could be broken in summer 2014. The same developers are proposing an eight-story, 114-room hotel project that will be part of a complex of apartment, retail and offices at the former Fresard car dealership at 400 N.Main Street. Source: City of Royal Oak Writer: Kim North Shine