Round-Up: Spring brings yoga, coffee, senior housing

With spring in the air, lots of new businesses and developments are being whispered about around town. Here are more than a few that we've heard recently; look for more detailed coverage in the future.

Vixen Fitness is set to open Feb. 26 in Eastern Market. The studio will offer female-centric pole dancing, Zumba and belly dancing classes.

Movement celebrated its grand opening on Feb. 19 inside the N'Namdi Center for Contemporary Art on E. Forest. Expect yoga, dance, Tai Chi, Capoeira and bodywork classes.

On the same note, word is that another yoga studio is headed to the site of the ill-fated Sunflower Market and, speaking of markets, May is the month that we understand that Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe hopes to be open in Brush Park.

Onto caffeine: Bottom Line Coffee Shop at the Beethoven is in build-out mode, as is Astro Coffee in Corktown. Signs are up for two more in Midtown: one across the street from the Bronx Bar on Second Ave. and another at the Park-Shelton on Woodward just north of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Again, we'll keep you posted when we know more.

Finally, three senior housing projects, all along the E. Jefferson corridor, have been announced (in addition to Dickerson Manor, which Model D reported on last week!):
  • The former Omni Hotel will become Roberts Riverwalk Hotel and Residence. Half of the facility will remain hotel accommodations, but half will become senior housing. Read more about the plans at Crain's Detroit Business.
  • Two vacant industrial buildings just north of the GM-UAW Center for Human Resources will be converted into a senior citizen complex courtesy of Henry Ford Health System, Presbyterian Villages of Michigan and United Methodist Retirement Communities.
  • The former Riverview Hospital on E. Jefferson near W. Village was sold by St. John Providence to a group of investors that plan to develop the facility into a full-service senior center that includes a nursing home, urgent care center and even a barber shop and beauty salon. Read more at the Detroit Free Press.
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

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