Detroit Development News

The final windows have been installed in the Virgil Carr Cultural Center, marking the latest step forward in the renovation of The Arts League of Michigan's new home.

"This is the final phase of an effort that began a while ago," says Oliver Ragsdale, Jr., president of The Arts League of Michigan.

The African-American arts advocacy organization is renovating the former Harmonie Club in downtown Detroit's Paradise Valley District. The circa-1895 building originally served as the cultural hub for the German immigrant population that lived in the neighborhood, previously known as Harmonie Park, at the turn of the 20th Century. The Beaux-Arts-style structure is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The four-story building at 311 E Grand River Ave was largely vacant from the mid 1970s until the turn of the 21st Century when the basement became a bar. The Arts League of Michigan took control of the structure in 2009 and opened the Virgil Carr Cultural Center, named for the first African-American president & CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan, that summer.

The Arts League of Michigan has renovated the basement and first two floors into a cultural destination for downtown Detroit. The basement features COLORS restaurant, an eatery focused on serving locally source, sustainable food while providing workforce training for those interested in culinary careers. The first floor offers office space and art exhibit space. The second floor features a reception area and other art exhibit and office spaces that emphasis the building's architectural history instead of hiding it.

"Since we have opened the building to the public more than 71,000 people have been here," Ragsdale says. "We have also hosted 1,300 events and classes."

The new windows, the last of the replacements in the building, are going into the theater on the third and fourth floors. The Arts League of Michigan had the windows specially made to both match the shape and style of the original windows but also be energy efficient. The new windows replace boards, allowing natural light to flood into the theater for the first time in many years.

The Arts League of Michigan is working to restore the theater, which is surprisingly well preserved despite a large roof leak, to its original condition. The final restoration will cap a $14 million project that the organization is still raising money to finish. For information on helping make that happen, click here.

Source: Oliver Ragsdale, Jr., president of The Arts League of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

More modern housing is coming online in Highland Park with the latest offerings rising from and being renovated in the new Medbury Grove Lawn development.

Midtown-based Trivium Partners is building infill housing and renovating existing houses on Midland, Pilgrim and Puritan streets between Woodward Avenue and Second Street. Of those 22 homes, 18 will be new houses. The other four will be rehabs. All of them will be in the historic Arts & Crafts-style architecture that are ubiquitous in Highland Park's historic district.

"We want to celebrate the architectural style of Highland Park," says Scott Benson, principal member of Trivium Partners.

So far Trivium Parnters have dug 10 of the basements for the new houses. Of those house four frames are being built and two more have roofs. Each house will be built or renovated with the idea of making it as energy-efficient as possible, meaning each house will be insulated, have Energy Star appliances and high-efficiency furnaces, among other green features.

The federal stimulus-funded project will offer these houses for sale. Benson describes these houses as high-quality housing marketed toward people who are buying their second or third homes.

"We're building new houses and we're utilizing residents in these communities to build these properties," Benson says.

Source: Scott Benson, principal member of Trivium Partners
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Shirley Ross-Banks grew up in here little corner of Detroit's West Side near Renaissance High School, made it her home and based her janitorial business there. Now she is reinventing one of the community's hubs, The Friss Center, into a space for entertainment, education and entrepreneurship.

"This building used to be a neighborhood service building and I want it to continue as that," says Ross-Brooks, owner of The Friss Center.

The Friss Center is a 12,000 square foot, multi-use building at the corner of West McNichols and Hubbell Street. The one-story structure was built in the mid-20th Century but Ross-Brooks bought it in October 2010. Back then her business had recently lost a janitorial contract because her employees weren't properly trained. She bought The Friss Center partly as a place for workforce training for her employees and to help create a destination in her neighborhood.

"My dream is to have a nice place where people can have their events, like birthdays and bridal showers, here," Ross-Brooks says. "A place that is just as nice as anywhere in the suburbs."

Today The Friss Center hosts dance classes, conference rooms for small businesses, two churches and is working to complete a commercial kitchen. Ross-Brooks would like to continue building out the space so more small businesses and entrepreneurs take up residence there, along with a law firm and a notary public.

"I love everybody," Ross-Brooks says. "I want to be part of bringing my neighborhood back up."

Source: Shirley Ross-Brooks, owner of The Friss Center
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The word "hub" gets thrown around a lot when developers talk about their projects, especially in commercial real-estate. So obligatory grains of salt were set aside when Dan Gilbert's family of companies began touting the newly refurbished M@dison Building as a hub of tech and entrepreneurial activity. Please refrain from passing the salt.

The M@dison Building is a sight to behold when it comes to an entrepreneurial-oriented office environment. It's made for the 21st Century with its available technology, edgy loft-style design and quality-of-life amenities, such as big windows overlooking Grand Circus Park and a rooftop deck practically looking into Comerica Park.

"This is very much a launchpad for new start-up companies," says Josh Linkner, CEO of Detroit Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on early stage tech start-ups. He adds that the creative atmosphere that is enabled by the buildng's design and housing of multiple firms both big and small make it an attractive place for creatives and entrepreneurs. "This is a commitment to entrepreneurship in Detroit," Linkner adds.

The M@dison Building is home to a handful of venture capital firms, led by Detroit Venture Partners. These VCs use the two floors of the building to house a number of their portfolio companies, such as start-ups Are You a Human (its software reinvents CAPTCHA technology) and Detroit Labs (an mobile app maker). Also sharing the M@dison Building is longtime marketing staple Skidmore Studio, which moved its headquarters from downtown Royal Oak to the building. Quicken Loans, which Gilbert founded and chairs, also utilizes the building from time to time.

Detroit Labs leveraged these sorts of synergies, the momentum Gilbert has been building downtown and the proximity to General Motors headquarters to develop an app for Chevrolet's Super Bowl campaign. The 9-month-old start-up was able to pivot and put together the app on the fly, partly thanks to its location and the connections it enables.

"I'm not sure Detroit Labs gets the Chevy ad being in another office building," Gilbert says. "It's all about connectivity and the environment."

Source: Josh Linkner, CEO of Detroit Venture Partners and Dan Gilbert, chairman of Quicken Loans
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Public art in Detroit is becoming more visible now that a billboard project by a group of local artists and entrepreneurs is standing vigil over I-94 in Midtown.

The painting, titled "The Rebuild," features a trio of futuristic sibling laborers inspired by Ford, Chrysler & GM triangulated around the globe working in unison. The logos for the automakers have been blocked intellectual property issues, but the spirit of the piece is to draw attention to the Big Three's place as a leader in Metro Detroit. The painting, created by Miguel "BeloZro" Yeoman, also displays the phrase "Imagine, Detroit working together?"

"It's a bold statement of the three major stakeholders of Detroit that don't normally collaborate working together for the city," says James Feagin, project manager for Imagine Detroit Together.

Feagin is the head of Marketing & Strategic Management for BeloZro Visual Energy, a creative firm based on the Yeoman’s artwork. He and LOVELAND Technologies co-founder Jerry Paffendorf, who raised $67,000 to build a statue of Robocop last year, raised $3,500 to purchase the billboard through loudsauce.com.

The painting went onto the billboard, located at Second Avenue and I-94, on Jan 14 and will remain there for four weeks. It is visible to motorists driving on both I-94 and the Lodge Freeway.

"The message is the project itself," Feagin says. "We have a lot of talented people coming together to make this happen. What you have here is a model of how you tackle problems in the city."

Source: James Feagin, project manager for Imagine Detroit Together
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Dan Gilbert downtown Detroit Monopoly board is getting bigger now that the chairman of Quicken Loans has purchased his ninth building in the central business district. The real-estate arm of Gilbert's family of companies, Rock Ventures, has purchased the historic Federal Reserve Building just west of Campus Martius.

"It's a unique building that does need some work," Gilbert says. "It's sort of like the Chase (Tower)."

The Chase Tower, the building just south of Campus Martius that looks like a cheese grater, is one of nine buildings Rock Ventures have bought along the Woodward Corridor between Grand Circus Park and Campus Martius. Gilbert's companies rehabbed the Chase Tower so several of its floors house Quicken Loans employees. Rock Ventures has also purchased three parking garages and one parking lot downtown. In total, Gilbert controls nearly 2.1 million square feet of office space and 3,500 parking space.

The Federal Reserve Building is located at 160 W Fort St. The classic revival-style structure was originally built in 1927 and received an 8-story glass and marble addition in 1951. The Federal Reserve moved out of the building in 2004 and it has been vacant ever since. Rock Ventures plans to renovate the 176,000-square-foot structure and keep it as office space.
 
Source: Dan Gilbert, chairman of Quicken Loans
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The steel skeleton of the Auburn apartment building is starting to rise up from the project's newly finished footings in Midtown.

The apartment project at the corner of Cass Avenue and Canfield Street will bring 58 new apartments to the Wayne State University area by this fall. The $12 million project will also bring spaces for up to 11 businesses on the ground floor of the three-story building.

"The steel will be erected throughout the next two weeks," Peter Van Dyke, a spokesman for the Auburn, wrote in an email. "The Auburn is still on schedule, with the estimated completion date as the end of this October."

Downtown Detroit-based The Roxbury Group is developing the building. The 58 living spaces will feature both studio and one-bedroom apartments with rents starting at $675. They will feature French balconies, individual parking spaces and two shared outdoor common spaces; one with glass garage doors and a built-in outdoor fireplace.

The Auburn will also feature groundfloor retail spaces. A grant from the Ford Foundation will allow the developers to offer them to would-be entrepreneurs a lower point of financial entry. The 11 first-floor spaces will be reserved for  independent retail only.

Source: Peter Van Dyke, a spokesman for the Auburn
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Crowd sourcing has become a double-edge sword in Detroit. The innovative funding tool can be both beneficial (Hatch Detroit and The Detroit Institute of Bagels) and controversial (Robocop and Jack Detroit). Rachel Lutz believes crowd funding projects need more transparency, and she's following that up with the renovation/historic preservation of the space for The Peacock Room.
 
"I have some strong ideas about crowd sourcing to come up with start-up funds," Lutz says. "If you are having a hard time pitching an investor for a small amount of money, maybe you should rethink what you're doing."

Midtown-based The Peacock Room is a boutique in the Park Shelton that features apparel, accessories and gifts, along with upscale consignment and resale items. While she was preparing her space last year, Lutz stumbled upon the details of the Crystal Dinning Room for the building's original occupant, the Wardell Hotel.

Lutz has since worked with the city and Preservation Wayne to preserve the details of the historic space. She coordinated a crowd sourcing campaign with Preservation Wayne so the nonprofit makes sure whatever money is raised goes toward the preservation of the room, and not toward building her business.

"This space will be here long after the PR ends," Lutz says. "I wanted to make sure people who were contributing were contributing toward the neighborhood."

Lutz describes The Peacock Room's innovative partnership with Preservation Wayne as a way to bring order and expectations to crowd sourcing. In turn, it makes investors feel more invested in the venture and the social entrepreneurial aspect of it.

"How are you going to be accountable to how that money is spent?" Lutz says. "If you raised $5,000 from Aunt Bertha you have to look her in the eye on Thanksgiving."

Source: Rachel Lutz, owner of The Peacock Room
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

LED streetlights are going up in six neighborhoods throughout Detroit thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Last week work crews began installing the LED streetlights on Telegraph Road from Fullerton to Eight Mile Road; Fullerton Road from Ewald Circle to Schaefer; Greenfield Road from Paul to Eight Mile Road; Hamilton, Fairway and Curtis between McNichols and Seven Mile; 14th Street from Grand Boulevard to Lawrence; and Waterman from N. Lafayette to West Vernor, Dix west of Vernor to Woodmere and Woodmere from Dix to Vernor. The project is expected to be done by June.

The 580 new energy efficient LED lights are expected to save 60 percent of the energy costs of the mercury vapor streetlights they are replacing. "They're extremely energy efficient," says Tim Shireman, grant manager for city of Detroit's LED streetlight project. "LED lighting lasts much longer and results in significant maintenance savings."

The LED streetlights should lesson the pressure on Detroit's aging electrical grid, helping prevent more brownouts during times of peak electrical usage. The LEDs will also have a more natural tint to the light, more like daylight compared to the yellow or pink tints to traditional streetlights.

"The quality of the lighting is going to stand out," Shireman says. "The mercury vapor lights spread light out everywhere, including the sky. The LED lighting is focused and directed on the street where you want it."

Source: Tim Shireman, grant manager for city of Detroit's LED streetlight project
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Evidence of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's move to downtown is starting to pile up as the nonprofit begins moving 1,200 more workers into the Renaissance Center today and aims to renovate the exterior of its office building across Jefferson Avenue.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan took over most of the office space in Towers 500 and 600 of the Ren Cen (the smaller ones just east of the main structure) last year as part of its plan to consolidate much of its Metro Detroit workforce in downtown Detroit. The health-insurance provider is creating an urban campus between its new offices in the Ren Cen its headquarters a few blocks away. More than 6,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield employees will be working on its campus by the time the move is finished later this year.

"One of the things we're really excited about is our employees are really happy to be here," says Tricia Keith, vice president, corporate secretary & services for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has been renovating the offices on its new urban campus to create a vibrant, walkable area between Greektown and the Detroit River it's branding the Blue Path. The non-profit has rebuilt the Jefferson entrance to Ren Cen Towers 500 and 600, making it more aesthetically pleasing and pedestrian friendly.

The health-insurance provider is also renovating the exterior of its smaller office buildings at the corner of Jefferson and Beaubien Street next to the DuMouchelle Auction Gallery. The building that serves as a base for 800 of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's IT and business-intelligence workers. The plan calls for renovating the ground floor exterior, installing more windows and adding lighting. The idea is to make put more eyes on the street, making it pedestrian friendly and to turn it into a gathering place for employees.

"We think it is the linchpin of our united campus downtown," Keith says. "We're trying to get our employees to embrace the city and our architecture is helping us do that."

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan expects to finish moving its employees into the Ren Cen and renovating the ground floor of its IT building by this summer.

Source: Tricia Keith, vice president, corporate secretary & services for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Eastern Market has begun renovating Shed 5 with an eye for not only improving customer experience but also creating a dynamic space for culinary entrepreneurs.

"It's a pivotal project for us because because it allows us to improve three critical areas of the market," says Dan Carmody, president of Eastern Market Corp, which manages Eastern Market.

Shed 5, the northernmost enclosed shed in the market, will undergo a complete renovation from its concrete floors to its roof. The new shed will have radiant heat in the floors, energy efficient windows and doors, new bathrooms and a new roof. The core systems of the building (electric, plumbing, etc) will also be replaced.

Eastern Market will also create a plaza in the area between Russell Street and Shed 5 and a community kitchen inside the shed. The shared-use Community Kitchen will expand the market’s role in providing food and nutrition information, and encourage greater use of the market as a place for civic and community events. It will also serve as an incubator for specialty food businesses. Today Eastern Market provides space for about 50 niche food businesses, which is up from none a few years ago.

Eastern Market has been extensively renovating its infrastructure over the last few years. It recently spent $9.3 million renovating Shed 2 (the open air shed on the southern end of the market) in 2008 and Shed 3 (the enclosed shed between Sheds 2 and 5) in 2010. Carmody says Eastern Market Corp will next look to renovate other sections of the market away from the main sheds when the Shed 5 project is complete.

"We have a couple of different ways we could go," Carmody says. "The next step is to strengthen the Gratiot end of the market."

Source: Dan Carmody, president of Eastern Market Corp
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Two new restaurants, Seva and COLORS, have opened in Detroit's Midtown and downtown neighborhoods, both bringing unique characteristics that promise to raise the culinary bar in the Motor City.

Seva, the staple of vegetarian eating in downtown Ann Arbor since 1973, has opened a Detroit location in the G.R. N'Namdi Gallery in Midtown at 66 E Forest Ave, between Woodward Avenue and John R Street. The restaurant and bar will feature a full vegetarian menu and enough seating for just under 100 people.

"We saw an opportunity in a great community," says Lauren Trendler, general manager of Seva Detroit. "Midtown is very central to the arts, Wayne State and the DMC. We are also in a community that is turning around and we want to be a part of that."

COLORS restaurant has also opened in downtown Detroit's Paradise Valley district, formerly Harmonie Park. COLORS is in the basement of the Virgil Carr Building, 311 E Grand River Ave, where it serves traditional American fare for lunch and dinner.

COLORS is focused on sustainability, using local ingredients and products. The restaurant also is a training ground for people interested in joining the food service industry. It provides job training for those who want to become cooks, chefs, waitstaff or management.

Source: Lauren Trendler, general manager of Seva Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

A new redevelopment project in Eastern Market plans to bring a variety of uses together, including restaurant/retail, office space and fish farm.

Urban Life Development, the Eastern Market-based development firm behind the FD Lofts at Eastern Market, plans to transform the vacant Detroit Waterboard Building into a mixed-use development features space for a restaurant/retail businesses, creative office space and a fish farm focused on raising tilapia.

"Eastern Market is a food district," says Robert Heide, president of Urban Life Development. "This just seems like an interesting mix of uses to bring under one roof. We will continue to be a leader in showing how old buildings can be reused so they are an assett to the neighborhood."

The 104,000-square-foot building at 1565 Erksine is "very unoccupied" in Heide's words. His firm hopes to spend about $7 million to completely renovate the structure. The first order of business will focus on bringing 45,000 square feet of commercial space online for the fish farm, which will feature a closed-loop water system so the tilapia can be raised in a controlled environment.

Heide also plans to turn 30,000 square feet of the building into a creative office space that stresses loft-like features and flexibility. Another 20,000 square feet will be focused on space for restaurant and retail businesses. Heide also hopes to make the structure as green as possible.

"We hope to incorporate some renewable energy aspects, like wind turbines," Heide says.

Construction is set to begin in the second quarter of this year.  It will take 12-24 months to complete the project.

Source: Robert Heide, president of Urban Life Development
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Dan Gilbert's entrepreneurial empire continues to grow in Downtown Detroit, helping the central business district evolve with the purchase and planned renovation of three more buildings on Woodward Avenue just south of Grand Circus Park.

Gilbert is moving Quicken Loans headquarters and a variety of his other businesses to downtown Detroit, while recruiting other firms to move or open up offices downtown. The most recent achievement is the opening of the Madison Theatre Building, an incubator-like building that serves as the home of a number of growing start-ups and established creative-based businesses.

Gilbert has now acquired most of the line of buildings on the east side of Woodward between John R and Grand Circus Park. The most recent acquisition include the Lane Bryant, Arts League of Michigan and Wright-Kay buildings. His commercial real-estate firm, Bedrock Management, plans to turn them into a combination of retail, loft and office space that will mirror the style of the Madison Theatre Building redevelopment.

"It's an open office environment," says Jim Ketai, managing partner of Bedrock Management. "It's very collaborative. It's a great open office feel."

The Wright-Kay Building, at the corner of John R and Woodward, is the signature structure of the block. The circa 1891-structure will be transformed into ground floor retail below a combination of office spaces and lofts. The 45,000-square-foot Lane Bryant Building, 1520 Woodward, will become primarily office space above retail. The Arts League of Michigan Building, six stories with 43,000 square foot at 1528 Woodward, will also offer a mix of retail and office space.

Bedrock plans to emphasize the retail-portion of the redevelopment as part of its overall plan to reinvigorate downtown with more foot traffic and human energy. The office space-part of the redevelopment will also play a similar role.

"We figure its a great place to start the revitalization with retail and office space," Ketai says.

Gilbert's companies now control 1.8 million square feet of space and nearly 2,750 parking spaces in Detroit's Central Business District. He plans to turn the section of Woodward between Campus Martius and Grand Circus Park into a Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurial district that is now being branded as Webward Avenue.

Source: Jim Ketai, managing partner of Bedrock Management
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Most of the headlines featuring the Beal Group focus on its big downtown projects, such as the Broderick Tower redevelopment. But the Ann Arbor-based firm is also making a big impact renovating dozens of houses in Hamtramck, Brightmor and Highland Park.

Beal Group is renovating a dozen homes in Detroit's Brightmor neighborhood, 11 more houses in Hamtramck and eight single-family homes in Highland Park. The projects, paid for with neighborhood stabilization funds from the federal government, will turn the houses into energy-efficient affordable housing that will be sold to local residents.

"Our product is high-end but we're not selling them to high-end buyers," says Stewart Beal, president of Beal Properties, a subsidiary of the Beal Group that is handling the renovations. "We're selling them to people in the community, often someone who is going from a renter to a homeowner."

These homes are foreclosed properties that have reverted to the Michigan Land Bank. Beal Properties renovates these historic structures, the ones in Highland Park are craftsman-style bungalows in the city's historic district, into buildings with a 5-star energy efficiency rating. That includes Energy Star appliances, insulation and energy-efficient core systems. Between $50,000 and $100,000 goes into each home.

Beal expects to wrap up the renovations by March and have them all sold before the end of the year.

Source: Stewart Beal, president of Beal Properties
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.