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Is Detroit on the move?


rbdetsport

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You really just don't know when it comes to Detroit. Detroit is getting a lot of positive articles and reports from national news crews, but what really is happening in Detroit. About two weeks ago an article cam out about a Madison-Lenox renvovation, but is it really happening. Book-Cadillac? Pick Fort Shelby? What about Visteon moving to Kennedy Block? A lot of news on Detroit is not even happening. I wish I could do something, but one guy can't do something so massive. Does anyone know anything on these renovations and construction?

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It's called development in the real world and it doesn t happent at the snap of finger. Last I heard the B-C is being held up due a IRS issue with one of its tax credits.There were survey crews out on the Kennedy Block in early January taking measurements so they don't pull another Post-Brodway. Nothing is in stone, but I'd doubt they'd do that if they weren't serious. So relax, go with the flow, and remember just because there isn't article on it every week that doesn't mean there isn't anything going on.

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Every development in Detroit gets caught up in red tape. It's just a fact of life in the city. Each one of the developments you mentioned is being worked on. Just have a little patience.

The newspapers tend to report things way before development deals are actually finalized, so that doesn't help things much.

Detroitfan mentioned some of this, but here is a sort of mini recap:

Madison Lenox - The Ileeches supposedly sold the building. If that is the case, look for details on its redevelopment to come forward in a couple months.

Book Cadillac - Ferchill is waiting on the IRS to restore a certain $20 Million tax credit so the renovation can begin. Rumor has it that state has kicked in $7 Million so that they can run crews 24/7 to get the hotel portion completed by the Super Bowl. The NFL was threatening to move the Super Bowl to another city if the city did not add more hotel rooms by June. Fortunately, a couple new hotels opened up downriver and in Dearborn in the last few weeks, so they have said that they will not move the game after all.

Pick-Fort Shelby - The developers are trying to secure financing for the renovation. That's no small task when you're talking about a skyscraper that has been vacant for 30 years that is located in what the banks would call a "risky area."

Visteon - Crews surveyed the Kennedy Block to locate the I-beams. I'm sure the architects are working on a design right now. Whether or not Visteon occupies the building is a whole other story, but it is definately a serious proposal.

600 Wooward (Vinton Building) - The Garrison Company of Farmington Hills will be renovating the building into condos after they complete work on the Carlton Hotel & Hotel Eddystone.

Lafayette Building - The city has selected a developer. Look for an announcement in the coming weeks.

Lafer Building - The renovation will begin as soon as the developers secure financing.

Metropolitan Building - The renovation will begin once the title issues with the building are cleared up. Construction should begin by late spring or early summer.

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Book Cadillac - Ferchill is waiting on the IRS to restore a certain $20 Million tax credit so the renovation can begin. Rumor has it that state has kicked in $7 Million so that they can run crews 24/7 to get the hotel portion completed by the Super Bowl. The NFL was threatening to move the Super Bowl to another city if the city did not add more hotel rooms by June. Fortunately, a couple new hotels opened up downriver and in Dearborn in the last few weeks, so they have said that they will not move the game after all.

There is a lot of truth to the tax credit part of that. Though I don't think there is anybody with inside knowledge that is talking about it, so who knows how that is going.

As for the Super Bowl moving, there is absolutely NO truth to that. When the NFL picked Detroit, the picked it based on the hotel rooms and amenities that were either already present, or were under construction at the time. Downtown Detroit might have a shortage of hotel rooms, but the metro region is one of the biggest in the country and has no shortage of rooms.

Any chance of the BC being completed before the game was lost at least a year ago. But for the superbowl, that doesn't matter, because the NFL didn't make any decisions based on that.

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Any chance of the BC being completed before the game was lost at least a year ago.  But for the superbowl, that doesn't matter, because the NFL didn't make any decisions based on that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think your wrong about that. If work is 24/7 they could toldly finish it in a year and still have time to spare. The one thing I have concern about is that not enough advertising will take place and the hotel won't even be used because everyone booked hotels before it opened, but its just a concern.

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Welcome to the forum, jsmyers! You probably know how the good old Detroit rumor mill works. You hear 100 things, half of which could be true, and only 10 of which are actually true. Haha.

You're right about the Book Cadillac though. Even if they did work on it 24/7 I don't think they'd finish in time. It is a huge building, and there is no way you could even get the hotel portion of it completed in 11 months.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I know that redevelopments take a long time, but some of these things are taking to long.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Get used to it. This is Detroit, the city of red tape. Inevitably, every single project gets held up by something.

As for the developments mentioned in this thread....

There isn't much new. Survey crews were on the Kennedy block earlier in the year locating the beams so that they don't screw up like they did with the Post Bar on Broadway.

Rumor has it that the Wurlitzer is being rehabbed into lofts. Then again, so are the Metropolitan, Lafer, Lafayette, and several other buildings downtown. Don't look for action anytime soon.

The Hudson Block was originally planned to be office space. Kwame wants it to be residential. It might change after a new mayor is elected in November. Who knows when we'll see anything happen with the block.

The Statler demolition is in question again. Read Maryann Mahaffey's memo here: http://igorfilms.com/FoBC/statlerhiltonhotel.html

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Re: Statler

Interesting. I was hoping there was one last effort to stop this or at least get a good reason from the administration. Even if there's no saving the Statler, I hate when people try to bypass the checks and balances of government. They're there for a reason.

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Re: Statler

Interesting. I was hoping there was one last effort to stop this or at least get a good reason from the administration. Even if there's no saving the Statler, I hate when people try to bypass the checks and balances of government. They're there for a reason.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Did they stop demolition?

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  • 4 months later...

Supposedly they're working on the financing for the Fort-Shelby renovation. I had heard that they'd received financing, but I doubt that, since that was several months ago, and there hasn't been a single newspaper article or any work since then.

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