The inside story behind the redevelopment project of the Vinton Building reveals a story of multicultural cooperation.
The 1917 Albert Kahn original — located on the northeast corner of Woodward and Congress — has recently found itself in the hands of a unique development team.
After owning the building for several years, the City of Detroit opened up bidding determine which group would be awarded the Vinton redevelopment project. The city received nine bids, and then narrowed it down to two groups, with neither being superior to the other. The city suggested they work together, so the groups merged to form the Vinton Building LLC redevelopment team.
The team consists of RP3 Developments LLC, Robert Porcher’s new development company, and another group headed by Scott Martin, executive director of the Greater Corktown Development Corp. “Both groups fill the gaps for each other,” says Aaron Alston, co-manager of Vinton Building LLC and co-owner of RP3 Developments.
Alston says that it is not typical for two groups come together, and it is “symbolic of what the renaissance of Detroit is all about.”
The team is multicultural, too, which makes it “a good first step on how people from different backgrounds can come together for a common cause and collaborate on something positive for the city,” Alston says.
This is Porcher’s and Alston’s first major real estate venture. “You don’t have to be a huge, long time developer to make a change,” says Alston, adding that you learn through trial and error.
The 12-story building will be converted into two floors of restaurant and commercial space with the top ten floors serving as residential units. Each of the 10 remaining floors will be converted into a single residential unit, with about 3,600-square-feet of living space.
These will be the first Downtown units to range from $500,000 to $1 million. All of them have been committed to, and three will house families with children. The project is expected to be finished by next summer.
Source: Aaron Alston, co-manager of Vinton Building LLC and co-owner RP3 Developments LLC