A new gateway for the Gratiot corridor: Mixed-use development announced for old Joe Muer site

There's an odd-shaped 4.3 acre patch of land that greets those traveling southwest down Gratiot Avenue, toward downtown Detroit. This, the former location of the original Joe Muer seafood restaurant, has been announced as the future site of a new mixed-use development that features retail, commercial, and residential units.

Real-estate firm The Platform is pitching the development as the Gratiot corridor's gateway to downtown Detroit, and they say that they're approaching the project with the sort of reverence that befits a downtown landmark. The site is bounded by the Dequindre Cut, E. Vernor Highway, and Gratiot and St. Aubin avenues.

"We look at the site as one of the most prominent gateways to downtown that remain available," says Dietrich Knoer, co-founder, president, and CEO of The Platform. "We're excited to have it."

Map indicating the location of the oddly-shaped development - Gensler Detroit

Not only is the site located just outside of downtown, but the future development counts both the Dequindre Cut and Eastern Market as its neighbors—two of Detroit's most democratic spaces, says Knoer. The Platform asserts that their development will adhere to the principles of inclusion and equitable development to create a community that serves and welcomes all.

[Read Model D's article about The Platform's inclusive approach to development]

While too far away for specifics, Knoer says that a mix of both bigger and hyper-local commercial and retail tenants could anchor the site. The residential unit count is still a way's away, too, but The Platform knows in which direction they're headed.

"It's hard to put a number [on the amount of units]," says Knoer. "But because of the size of the site and the nature of the site, it's going to require a high-density development to make it worthy of the site and to make the neighborhood proud and excited about it."

Construction could start as soon as October 2018.

Knoer says that The Platform has teamed with a number of firms to ensure that the new development best serves its prominent location and neighboring communities. Gensler Detroit has been tapped as the lead architectural firm, and they've assembled a team of partners that includes LAAVU, Hood Design Studio, Mass Economics, and Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants.

DVP LLC, the most recent owner of the site, will now co-own the site with The Platform, which is serving as the developer of the project. DVP itself is owned by Charlie Edwards, who is developing the velodrome project at Tolan Playfield.

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