Detroit Development News

Construction on the Dequindre Trail Extension, which will connect the first phase of the Dequindre Cut from Woodbridge south to Atwater, will begin in July and be complete by the end of the year.

The Dequindre Trail will look much the same as the Dequindre Cut in terms of  lighting, benches and landscaping -- but will be at-grade, rather than below. The trail is a mere 800 feet, but it will make it easier for roller bladers and cyclists going between the Cut and the RiverWalk. Now, they are forced to rumble over the East Riverfront district's often-rough roads.

Over at Tricentennial Park, work continues and a bike trail-RiverWalk extension also will be constructed this summer. This pathway will connect Rivard Plaza to the Dequindre Cut Trail Extension. The expansion of Tricentennial Park is nearly complete, but will not open until the fall to allow for the native landscaping to mature.

Construction contract approval that will allow this work to proceed was announced last week by the Economic Development Corp. of the City of Detroit and the Michigan Department of Resources.

Read more about the Dequindre Cut here and the expansion of Tricentennial Park here.

Source: Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

On Second Ave. just north of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., a remarkable transformation is occurring: two dilapidated homes are being transformed into five market-rate apartments through the efforts of owner Jeff Malmsten.

The vacant homes are being fully restored, inside and out. The first, located at 3525 Second, will have three units -- a studio; a two-bedroom, 2-bath unit; and a three-bedroom, two-bath, two-story apartment. Malmsten hopes to attain occupancy in July.

Exterior work has begun on the second home, located at 3531 Second, which was severely fire-damaged. The two-unit should be ready in about a year.

Malmsten caught the Midtown bug while helping his son rehab a home near the Detroit Science Center. "It doesn't matter about politics and the economy, this thing has been going like a steamroller since the Super Bowl," he says. "I'm excited to see what's going on, this transformation (has been) overdue."

Malmsten was awarded a low-interest loan from the Detroit Investment Fund for the project.

Source: Jeff Malmsten
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

A new restaurant featuring soups, sandwiches and salads -- cleverly named Salad 101 -- will open in Wayne State University's Atkinson Hall on Anthony Wayne Drive in July. The building's commercial spaces are now completely occupied

Nabelah Ghareeb, the university's associate vice-president of business and auxiliary operation, handles all of WSU's commercial leases. She attributes its success in the commercial realm to three primary reasons: "the reputation of the university," the fact that faculty, staff and students are a "captured audience," and that "we work at it -- we absolutely go out and recruit people."

Ghareeb says the family-owned restaurant will be one-of-a-kind.

Source: Nabelah Ghareeb, WSU
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

When Rick Ruffner founded greeting card company Avanti Press in 1980, the naysayers came from all corners. They told him Detroit was a bad idea, that photography and greeting cards didn't mix and that dogs wouldn't sell.

Almost 30 years later, it's clear that something worked right: Avanti cards, distinctive for their full-color photographs (many of dogs, natch) and humorous messages, can be found in 20,000 retail outlets in North America alone, in all 50 states and nearly 25 countries.

The company shuffled around a few downtown offices before settling into its current location in the Murphy-Telegraph Building on Congress in 2000. Avanti occupies the entire second floor -- Ruffner cites the bright, open floor plan designed by Gensler as a big selling point for employees, both current and prospective. "It's been a been a great place to recruit people, and Detroit is full of talent," he says. "(A lot of our people) really like being downtown."

Avanti employs 50 downtown, and also operates a distribution and storage facility in Taylor and creative offices in New York City and the United Kingdom.

Check out Avanti's work on the ground floor exterior of their offices, located at 155 W. Congress. Call 800-228-2684.

Source: Rick Ruffner, Avanti Press
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

A few tidbits to tide you over until Model D returns on July 14:

A pain in the you-know-what since February 2008 is about be rectified: I-75 between Rosa Parks Blvd. and Clark St. will re-open on July 2. Read more about the overall progress at the $240 million Gateway Project -- of which the freeway reconstruction is part -- here.

Compuware launched an Eastern Market AM Fresh Farm Stand in its building's atrium that will run every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through October. Expect locally-grown fruits and vegetables as well as those sourced from further away. Organic oatmeal, wheat and other grains, dried peas and beans, honey, and maple syrup, all from Michigan sources, will also be available.

Compuware is also working with Eastern Market to explore the possibility of opening up a small grocery store in the building. They are asking people that live and/or work downtown to take this survey to determine product mix and demographic information of potential customers. Do it today -- it goes off-line on July 1.

PJ's Lager House in Corktown has added food to its mix of booze and music. Gilmore's Grill operates from the back patio on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until close. The menu includes botanas, hamburgers and veggie burgers, chicken wings and hot dogs.

The Lager House is at 1254 Michigan Ave. Call 313-961-4668.

Sources: Michigan Department of Transportation, Compuware and PJ Ryder, PJ's Lager House
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation will invest $1 million annually for three years into the city's community development organizations. Its motivation? The current economic situation and its impact on the community development industry.

LISC wil offer $25,000 in operating support grants to over a dozen organizations. Several of the organizations will then receive additional financial support, technical organizational assistance and business planning assistance.

LISC hopes to help CDCs become recession-proof by strengthening, adapting, changing or merging -- whatever it takes.

For one of the grantees, Greater Corktown Development Corporation the grant has been a welcome infusion, but it has also meant they've had to evolve. "LISC offered up technical assistance, (helped us look at things in an) entrepreneurial approach to sustainability," says executive director Tim McKay. "We got included in their $3 million initiative to help us reorganize our office, to sustain us through this kind of difficult time, to give us a business plan and to strategize to develop a revenue stream -- which was much needed and much welcome."

Other community development organizations awarded operational funds are Bagley Housing Association, Southwest Detroit Business Association and Urban Neighborhood Initiatives (formerly Neighborhood Centers, Inc.) in Mexicantown and Southwest Detroit; Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation; Creekside CDC and Jefferson East Business Association on the lower Eastside; Messiah Housing Corporation in The Villages; Warren Conner Development Coalition and U SNAP BAC on the East Side; Vanguard CDC, Central Detroit Christian CDC and New Center Council in the New Center/Central Woodward area; Detroit Community Initiative in the Van Dyke/Eight Mile area and citywide agencies Focus: HOPE and Wayne County Child Care Coordinating Council.

Source: LISC and Tim McKay, GCDC
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The Detroit Economic Growth Association approved up to $283,000 in grants for three businesses -- Tim Hortons, Passport Pizza and office headquarters for Shelborne Development -- under the auspices of its Jefferson Avenue Retail Readiness Program. The grants are expected to leverage more than $600,000 in new private investment along E. Jefferson Ave.

Tim Hortons will open this August at 7201 E. Jefferson Ave. at East Grand Boulevard in the former Starbuck's Coffee across from the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle. It will create approximately 25 new jobs and will be Tim Hortons' second location in Detroit. The grant funds will defray half of the cost of remodeling the interior, installing awnings and making other exterior improvements.

Passport Pizza will open its second franchise in the city at 2636 E. Jefferson Ave., just east of Chene. The grant funds will be used for an interior build-out for the 1,500-square-foot restaurant. The pizzeria is expected to hire 10.

Last but not least, the Book House Building at 8443-45 E. Jefferson Ave. will be rehabbed for the offices of Shelborne Development. The DEGA monies will fund half the cost of making interior and exterior repairs to the vacant building; parking lot and site improvements are also part of the project. Shelborne plans to relocate to the ground floor of the building in late 2009 and rent second floor office space out to an additional tenant.

Read more about the Jefferson Avenue Retail Readiness Program here and previous program grantees here and here.

Source: Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

University Cultural Center Association has teamed with Lovio George to create a comprehensive district brand for Midtown.

Meeting with stakeholders, visitors and business owners led the branding team down a path that works to emphasize the cohesiveness of the neighborhood -- and what makes it unique. "We got a sense of what core values [are here], what makes Midtown different that anywhere in the region, or anywhere in Detroit, for that matter," says Jim Boyle, vice president of integrated marketing for Lovio George. "We are developing a language for how Midtown talks about itself -- the major message is 'Where Life is Art.'"

The branding package will include brochures, area guides, window stickers and information packages to give to perspective and new investors in the area.

A major aspect to the campaign is getting individual stakeholders to look at the neighborhood assets as a whole, rather than their own individual characteristics. He cites the Detroit Institute of Arts, where he worked until recently, as an example. "There is value to the DIA to market themselves within the context of a vibrant neighborhood," he says. "This way, we all kind of rise."

Source: Jim Boyle, Lovio George
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Tuffy Auto Service Center on Eight Mile just west of Livernois is many "onlies." It's the only African-American-owned Tuffy in the state of Michigan. It's the only Tuffy in the city of Detroit. And its owners, Nicole and Gerald Huffman, might be the only auto shop owners looking to give away free service.

The couple is offering two free tune-ups -- up to $500 in value -- to Detroiters that need work done on their car but just can't afford it at the moment. "We have a lot of people supporting us, and this is our way of giving back to the community," says Nicole. "We've been noticing a lot of people haven't been able to get their car repaired and, before we purchased this facility, we were in the same boat."

Anyone in need of car repair that they cannot afford should send a letter to Tuffy's at 7411 W. Eight Mile Rd. explaining their current situation and naming the year, make and model of the vehicle needing repair, an outline of any concerns with the vehicle and any previously written estimates. Two letters will be drawn at random on June 30, 2009.

The Huffmans were offered the Detroit Tuffy franchise in 2007 after Gerald, who has been a mechanic and technician for 26 years, had worked there six months. Nicole, who has a background in customer services, says, "It was such a blessing, of course. It was a perfect fit for us." Their purchase was financed in part by ShoreBank Enterprise Detroit, a nonprofit affiliate of ShoreBank Corporation.

Tuffy Auto Service Center can be reached at 313-862-2886.

Source: Nicole Huffman, Tuffy Auto Service Center Detroit
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Weather permitting, artist and College for Creative Studies instructor Jennifer Quigley will begin painting a mural on the side of the Carola Building -- in which she resides -- on June 28. Quigley, in partnership with the building's  association, recently completed the permit approval process through the city and is ready to get started.

The mural is 50 feet tall by about 8 feet wide -- and, because of the large size, Quigley decided to keep the design relatively simple. "I wanted to paint something that I know, within myself, that I can paint in a week," she says. It will consist of colorful squares in a geometric pattern that resembles a "D."

The Carola building association is funding the mural, but Quigley hopes to make that money back with an ambitious unveiling party later this summer that will also benefit nonprofit organizations. "We actually are hopeful that this mural becomes this template of how to go about this ... how much fun it can be ... how much money we raised for everyone," she says. "We want to show other neighborhood associations, other businesses that say, 'I don't know if we should really do art right now,' that this is how art will make money."

The Carola is located at 78 Watson in Brush Park. Read more about Quigley here.

Source: Jennifer Quigley
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh