Detroit Development News

Dana Keaton's DivaGroove Fashion House is on the move -- from the 4731 Gallery down Grand River to the Michigan Building. Keaton hopes her new downtown location, which is set to open on August 1, will benefit from increased visibility and traffic.

She plans on streamlining her retail operation from a boutique to an appointment-only space that gives her room for clothing production.

On the other hand, Keaton's website will expand. She plans to send email blasts when one-of-a-kind items become available, starting bidding wars for these unique garments. She will also release two- and three-offs, also on a first-come, first-serve basis. "I plan on putting my B.A. in marketing to work," she says.

Out of the Michigan Building, Keaton wants to focus on customer satisfaction.  "I want to create a whole designer-customer satisfaction situation with a celebrity-type atmosphere," she says. "I want them to feel really good about coming to my space."

Source: Dana Keaton, DivaGroove
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

PIME Missionaries has been located in Detroit for six decades. Their facility, located just north of McNichols in the University District, was built in 1928 and it needs some work -- enough that the organization considered relocating, perhaps even to a new city.

Instead, PIME decided to undertake an extensive, multi-million dollar renovation of the four-story, 70,000-square-foot building. "It's an ideal location;  it's close to several communities we work with in the Detroit area," says Rick Schulte, PIME's communications director. "Sometimes our priests need to learn languages, and [University of Detroit Mercy] is right down the street -- it's nice to be next door to a great school like that."

PIME is a Roman Catholic missionary organization whose members dedicate their lives to service on five continents. It was founded in Italy in 1850, and established its United States regional headquarters in Detroit in 1947. The facility houses PIME's long-term residents, visitors and seminarians undergoing training.

The renovations will take about one year and will be extensive. "It's safe to say that it will be gutted down to bare studs and rebuilt," says Schulte.

The project is being supported by private donors as well as by the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Source: Rick Schulte, PIME
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The Riverfront East Alliance (REAL) came together a decade ago this month to fight the construction of the three permanent casinos in the East Riverfront district.

They won that battle, and are now focused on positive developments in the area like the Watermark, the Riverwalk and the Detroit Elevator and Globe Buildings. They are also working with entities interested in redeveloping structures like the Detroit Armory building and Shapiro Hall.

The organization plans to celebrate its first ten years with a community forum entitled Going for the Gold (20 Years). The forum will bring together organizations from within REAL's boundaries(I-75, Gratiot, E. Jefferson, and Van Dyke) to ultimately bring about positive changes in the community.

Organizations -- including Lafayette Park 50, Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan, the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, Eastern Market Corporation, The Villages and the Detroit Historic Preservation Coalition Task Force -- will also each have an opportunity to talk about their individual efforts as well as planning collaborations on areas of focus, such as security, that overlap.

The forum be held on Spetember 21 at Christ Church Detroit, located at 960 E. Jefferson Avenue near I-375. Regular REAL meetings are held at the same location on the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. Call 313-438-4143 for more information.

Source: REAL
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Old Redford's business district will add a coffee shop to its roster when Motor City Java House opens this fall. The shop will be located at 17336 Lahser in the Artist Village.

Owner Alicia Marion envisions the space as a mix of old and new: "It will feel like walking into your kitchen, your living area, the favorite place in your house."

There will be a tin ceiling, ceramic tile flooring and earth tones as well as educational plaques on the walls. The adjacent garden will provide ingredients for sandwiches as well as a useful home for coffee grounds.

Motor City Java House will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. six days a week and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. Expect later hours when the Redford Theatre has a show. "We want people to have a well-rounded experience when they come to this neighborhood," says Marion.

Source: Alicia Marion, Motor City Java House
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Writer Kristin Palm lived in the Detroit area for a decade -- she left for San Francisco in 2002 -- but she returned recently to celebrate the release of her Motor City-centric book The Straits. She took some time exploring her former stomping grounds and, as a blogger for Metropolis, she shared her views on the good -- Dequindre Cut and MOCAD -- and the not-so-good -- the music blared at the RiverWalk.

The Straits began as a graduate school exercise and evolved into something much more complex: an epic poem covering three centuries of Detroit spanning the French landing to the present day.

As a writer, her eye is tuned to esoteric planning details: Phil Collins playing from a speaker on an otherwise peaceful morning along the river, the gratifying fact that the powers-that-be are leaving the graffiti be on the Dequindre Cut and the welcome green respite that is Campus Martius.

"I used to work in the First National Building," she says. "I wished there was a park to go to -- I used to go to Kennedy Square and Hart Plaza -- that was a little bit more green."

Another positive is the Dequindre Cut, in particular the graffiti element. "Usually when something 'artistic' becomes part of redevelopment, the actual art gets whitewashed," she notes. "Globally, it's really exciting to see."

She sees the same architectural approach at MOCAD. "It's the same thing: 'Let's appreciate what's already here, not wipe it out and create a sanitized facsimile,' " she says.

She isn't all puppies and roses in her observations, in particular when it comes to the RiverWalk -- although she is "really glad it's there." She says it could use a bit more green in the design and also decries the programmed music. "Maybe it's from moving someplace where people are more crammed in that I'm more sensitive to being bombarded," she says. "But it's water and it's natural -- that’s all you need."

Read Palm's full blog post about her most recent visit here and find out more about her book here.

Source: Kristin Palm
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Looks like the Book-Cadillac won't be the only address of note on Washington Boulevard. The public is invited to see the extensive renovations and improvements at Trolley Plaza Apartments from 5 to 7 p.m. on July 31. There's also a name change, Trolley Plaza will now be called Washington Square Apartments.

Renovations include an all-new lobby that will feature a new waterfall, artwork, granite elevator trim and furniture. The second, or "club" level will get an overhaul: there will be a new leasing office and business and fitness centers.  And the terrace will boast a new tennis court, BBQ area, pool and landscaping.

 

After the open house, the building will continue to be updated with fresh signage, facade work, and new elevator equipment and security system.

The property's new owner, Chicago-based The Habitat Co., has a history of focusing its portfolio on market-rate rentals: They also own the Riverfront Apartments and Lafayette Pavilion and Towers.

At the open house, refreshments will be served, future plans will be shared  and three brand-new model units can be toured.

Washington Square Apartments is located at 1431 Washington Blvd. There are one and two-bedroom or penthouse apartments in a variety of floor plans. Call 313-961-5820.

Source: Theresa George, Washington Square
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The Detroit Kroc Center, one of 40 planned for across the country, is moving forward with its plans to put a $98 million, 100,000-square-foot community center in Chandler Park.

The center has taken a big step in its fund-raising by creating a four-person Campaign Management Volunteer Team. The group includes community leaders Errol Service, Kurt Tech, David Thoms and Carolyn Patrick-Wanzo.

Joan Kroc selected The Salvation Army as her steward of "trust" to construct Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers. The Detroit facility will include a recreation center, an aquatic center, athletic fields, classrooms, computer labs, performing arts training and rehearsal classrooms, a chapel, a community events hall, a food service area and administrative space.

Patrick-Wanzo is the director of planning for the state of Michigan's Department of Human Services. She is also the co-founder of the Carolyn & Mel Wanzo Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit created with her late husband, jazz musician Mel Wanzo, which provides scholarships in music and social work at Wayne State University, so she is keyed into many aspects of the Kroc Center.

Although the Campaign Management Volunteer Team is tasked with raising the daunting figure of $48 million, she is confident. "Who knows who we might be able to approach?" she says. "And if there are challenges to completion, then we at least we can do some brainstorming and make it a win-win for [the Salvation Army] and the Kroc Center. "We are going to make this happen."

Source: Carolyn Patrick-Wanzo, Detroit Kroc Center Campaign Management Volunteer Team
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The Near East Side will see 20 single-family, affordable, green homes developed on Charlevoix between Chene and Jos. Campau.

The homes will include down payment assistance of up to $60,000 and are in a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ).
 
Five styles of homes are available, including the Michigan, with 2,100 square feet, four bedrooms and 3-1/2 baths. After all the incentives are factored in, the monthly mortgage payment could add up to less than $1,000 based on a $126,000 mortgage at 6-1/2% interest.

The other styles include one and two-story options. The selling prices range from $92,000 to $122,000.

The homes are certified as Green Built Michigan and include highly insulated windows, R-40 ceiling and R-19 wall insulation ratings (as opposed to industry standards of 30 and 13, respectively) and high efficiency water heaters, furnaces, lighting systems and plumbing fixtures. Community First Development, who is building the project in cooperation with McDougall United CDC, estimates that the green aspects of the homes will save buyers 20 to 30% in utility costs.

The homes all include landscaping, a full basement and garage, brick exterior finishes, covered porches, a complete appliance package and fiberglass tubs and showers.

The homes will break ground in September; Community First is currently working with potential buyers and has already secured HOME and other city, state and federal funding necessary to proceed. After ground-breaking, things will move quickly. "We can literally have the home ready for occupancy two to three weeks after we get the home set up on site," says Community First owner Mark Lewis.

For more information, call 866-802-6465 or visit www.comm1dev.com.

Source: Shawn Torrence and Mark Lewis, Community First
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The East Warren Farmers Market kicked off in East English Village last Saturday, and will continue weekly until the end of October. The market is run by Growing & Retailing Opportunities in Wayne County and will feature produce exclusively grown in the state of Michigan, sold by both urban and rural growers.

GROW is an initiative of the Wayne County Food Systems Project and is designed to support community farming and the development of food related businesses on Detroit’s East Side and in Highland Park. It provides participants with assistance in growing food and trains participants to develop and run food-related businesses.
 
"Rising fuel costs are beginning to impact the price of food and food access," Ryan Hertz of GROW said in a statement. "Communities are becoming increasingly aware of the value in buying locally grown produce at retail establishments closer to home.  Neighborhood farmers' markets meet this economic need, while allowing consumers to build direct personal relationships with the people who grow their food."

The market is located at the northeast corner of Bishop and Warren across from the Reemployment Transition Center. It will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday until Oct. 25.

For more information about the East Warren Avenue Farmers Market -- including information on vending or volunteering -- contact Ryan Hertz, GROW Project Coordinator, at 313-571-2800 ext. 1136.

Source: Ryan Hertz, GROW
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh