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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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.

Construction is wrapping up on a couple of key projects in downtown Ypsilanti.

Excerpt:

The finishing touches are being put on two major projects in downtown Ypsilanti, both of which are set to open soon - almost in time to ring in the New Year.

Maurer Management & Properties, a local family owned firm, has done all of the heaving lifting for Ann Arbor SPARK's new East Incubator and the retail space in the old Kresge building. The workers are painting the walls and getting ready to roll down the carpeting for SPARK in the Mack & Mack building. They are also moving in the last pieces of the kitchen for the J Neil’s Mongolian Grille and Keystone Martini Bar in the Kresge.

"We're in the last two weeks of it," says Eric Maurer, co-owner of Maurer Management & Properties. "They should be in by January."

Read the rest of the story here.

The Madison is making a comeback in downtown Ann Arbor.

Excerpt:

Back again for the first time, it's The Madison. But the downtown development isn't bigger and better. This time it's a bit leaner and meaner.

Jeff Helminski, the developer, has cut the plans down from 14 stories to four after the Ann Arbor Planning Commission recommended rejecting the original plans. That means the number of rental apartments has been chopped from 161 to about 60.

Read the rest of the story here.

DTE Energy's has completed $52 million in campus improvements, spurred, in large part, by the construction of the MGM Casino complex.

Excerpt:

It all got started in 2005, when the construction of the casino parking garage on Third Street took care of employee parking needs -- which then created an opportunity for green space. Acres of unsightly surface parking lots were traded for nine acres of pathways, parks and water features. A striking new main entrance and lobby was also added, as well as conference space and a central main-floor dining area.

The southwest quadrant of the campus at the corner of Bagley and Third is open to the public and will serve as the main visitors' entrance. Here, water flows from three arches that frame the main driveway into an intricate 26,000-square-foot reflecting pond. The water feature will be retired in cold months, but the striped rock bed will continue to add visual interest.

Read the entire article here.

Lincoln Park's Mellus Newspapers Building is about to take one more step toward restoration.

An architectural graduate class at Lawrence Technological University's College of Architecture & Design will use the historic structure for an adaptive reuse class next semester. The students will create a feasibility study for the building that the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance will then use to advocate for its renovation.

The alliance has been the main proponent behind saving what is now a vacant structure at 1661 Fort St. in downtown Lincoln Park. The 1940s building originally housed the local community newspaper the Lincoln Parker. It's named after William S. Mellus who owned a number of community newspapers in the Downriver area.

The front of the single-story building is wrapped in porcelain enamel, giving it is a mid-20th Century feel. It earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

The alliance is working to preserve the building, collecting in-kind and monetary donations so it can acquire and restore it. One of the ideas being floated for the building is to turn it into a retail incubator for businesses like a coffee house, art gallery and or deli.

Another adjacent structure, Pollak Building, is often lumped together with the The Mellus Newspapers Building. It originally housed Pollak Jewelers before becoming part of the newspapers offices. It's also a typical mid-20th Century retail building with a terrazzo entrance sidewalk. 

Source: Leslie Lynch-Wilson, president of the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance
Writer: Jon Zemke

Ferndale is often lumped in as one of Michigan's most enviable downtowns, filled with lots of things to do and a vibrant night life.

Although there isn't just one reason for its stunning rebirth, preservation is a big part of what makes Ferndale, Ferndale. Three recent redevelopment projects sum this up: The new Loving Touch pool hall, the Breckenridge Apartments rehabilitation and the offices of Foley Mansfield.

All three projects are either right in the middle of Ferndale's downtown or close to the city's center. The entrepreneurs and companies behind all three also took three historic structures and turned them into character-defining jewels for the Metro Detroit burb.

The Loving Touch was just an old, single-story commercial building next to the Woodward Avenue Brewers. It housed a popular book store for years but didn't have much else in the way of the history or defining architectural features.

Today the owners of the WAB have turned it into a stunning space that provides yet another vibrant downtown amenity. It also lets them resurrect the name of an infamous massage parlor that used to be the scourge of downtown. It's a tongue-in-cheek affectation that helps build the city's hip reputation.

Royal Oak-based Urbane Apartments is in the midst of restoring the Breckenridge Apartments building just northwest of the center of downtown. The 1930s-era building will provide more luxury rental spaces in the downtown, catering to young professionals and creative class types. Construction is expected to wrap up this spring.

The Foley Mansfield Building is the most impressive of them all. The law firm just held its grand opening this week for its new offices after relocating from Southfield.

The Ferndale Schools Administration building had birds nesting in it when the developer transformed the historic structure just west of Woodward on 9 Mile. It now offers some of the best views of downtown Ferndale and an authentic loft-like Class A office space.

Source: Urbane Apartments, Woodward Avenue Brewery and Foley Mansfield
Writer: Jon Zemke

Downtown Birmingham is known for its stately-yet-conservative architecture. Historic buildings from the early 20th Century grace just about every corner. What it's not known for is the factories-turned-hip-lofts that give Detroit so much of its gritty urban feel.

Sensing this lack, one developer plans to build something a bit more nouveau urban - the Aloft Hotel. Think of a loft-style W Hotel and you're starting to get the picture of what Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide have in mind.

Starwood plans to build the Aloft at 255 S. Old Woodward Ave. a short distance south of Maple Road. The 115-room hotel is expected to open in the spring of 2011. Developers are touting its location in the center of the ritzy downtown and proximity to things like the Oakland, Oakland Tory and Metro airports.

The new hotel will offer 650 square feet of meeting space, fitness facilities and a rooftop pool covered in glass. Starwood is going after the younger creative class with this urban offering. It will also offer high-tech amenities like Wi-Fi and 42-inch LCD TVs.

Source: Brad Minor, Spokesman for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Writer: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor SPARK has just nailed down the second of two anchor tenants for its Life Science and Innovation Center, aka the old Pfizer facility in Plymouth.

Lycera joins Esperion Therapeutics as the second major tenant in the space. Both companies will take up about 11,000 square feet in the center. They will also serve as magnets for other smaller life sciences-based firms SPARK hopes to attract to the facility after they move in.

"They will both begin moving in over the next 30-60 days or so," says Michael Finney, CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK.

Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund provided $1.5 million to buy the complex earlier this year. The idea is to help connect entrepreneurs, business accelerator organizations and local start-ups.

The center is backed with $3.5 million from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Ann Arbor SPARK, Greater Wayne Economic Development and a private foundation. It will feature state-of-the-art lab facilities, along with business building services such as peer-to-peer mentoring and funding support.

There is still about 35,000 square feet left for lease in the center. Finney sees small start-ups rooted in the life sciences industry occupying it.

Source: Michael Finney, CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK
Writer: Jon Zemke

The Henry Ford Estate is one of the most historic sites in Dearborn, and a new $10,000 kiosk will help visitors better appreciate it.

The estate is a historic landmark on the University of Michigan-Dearborn's campus. It served as the home for the legendary automotive pioneer and his wife Clara from its construction in 1915 until they died more than 30 years later.

The kiosk is under a shelter near the entrance to the estate. There visitors will be able to learn about how the Fords lived their lives, the history behind the estate and what tours or special events are being held. The idea is to enhance the viability of the estate as a tourist location by making its history more tangible.

The MotorCities National Heritage Area, part of the National Park Service, funded the $10,000 grant that made building the kiosk possible. The organization is dedicated to preserving and promoting Michigan's automotive and labor heritage, The Estate matched the grant with contributions from donors as well as staff and volunteer labor.

Source: University of Michigan-Dearborn
Writer: Jon Zemke

Metro Detroit's Big 4 just did something regional leaders haven't been able to do for generations – agree on a plan to improve mass transit.

The leaders of Oakland, Wayne, Macomb counties and the city of Detroit signed off on the master plan for regional transit championed by Metro Detroit Transit Czar John Hertel.

The plan will allow Hertel's team to streamline local service and pursue federal money for mass transit improvement projects. Among the first orders of business is getting the ball moving on the proposed Woodward streetcar line and the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line. Both projects are expected to either be online or close to completion by late 2010.

The state legislature is also passing a number of bills that will allow these projects to move forward. They will basically allow for the establishment of a regional mass transit authority and funding mechanisms.

Both projects are expected to lead to billions of dollars of economic development in the neighborhoods surrounding the rail and streetcar stations.

Source: Megan Owens, director of Transportation Riders United
Writer: Jon Zemke

Even non-profits with practically the same name can learn how to share. That's what the Detroit and Oakland chapters of Habitats for Humanity are doing more of these days.

For years the two non-profits that rehabilitated and built new affordable housing did pretty much the same thing, but on different sides of 8 Mile Road. That includes everything from organizing volunteers to running their respective ReStore shop.

Today the two aren't merging but they are becoming much more regionally focused. The two decided to make the one-year pilot program of running each ReStore (one in Northwest Detroit and the other in Pontiac) as one business permanent. They are also sharing a centralized calling center.

"It makes so much sense," says Sally LePla, executive director of Oakland Habitat for Humanity. We can run them much more efficiently now."

The non-profits are investigating other ways they can share resources and work with a more regional focus.

Now if only our local governments would follow their lead.

Source: Sally LePla, executive director of Oakland Habitat for Humanity
Writer: Jon Zemke

It looks like new affordable housing in Ann Arbor is starting to take the shape of a couple of mid-rise buildings.

Excerpt:

More mid-rise buildings are planned for Ann Arbor, this time along Main Street a few blocks north of downtown and west of the Amtrak train station

Three Oaks Development and Avalon Housing want to build a couple of 5-story buildings on the east side of North Main between Felch and Summit streets called North Main. Plans for the structures presented to the city show a suburban-style layout with modern buildings flanked by large surface parking lots.

The developers want to bulldoze seven single-family homes and a small corner store to make way for the project. These buildings have served in a traditional urban neighborhood on Ann Arbor's near north side for about a century.

Read the rest of the story here.

One of Ypsilanti's rising young stars is playing more of a role in restoring the college town's rich stock of historic homes.

Excerpt:

One can tell how much the residents of Ypsilanti care about their historic architecture by how hard they work to preserve it. Just walk through the downtown, Depot Town or the city’s historic district, the second largest in Michigan.

A lot of that preservation is thanks to businessmen like Stewart Beal. The budding entrepreneur has saved a number of historic buildings, renovating them into student housing. And now he plans to add five more to his portfolio of rental properties.

The buildings -- 605 Emmet, 421 Emmet, 417 Emmet, 414 Washtenaw and 417 North Adams -- were previously owned by Romain Realty. They are within easy walking distance of downtown and Eastern Michigan University. They had fallen into foreclosure and disrepair when Beal bought them.

Read the rest of the story here.