Auburn Apts fills up retail spaces with new businesses

The retail space for the Auburn apartment building in Midtown is nearly leased out with a combination coffee bar/ice cream shop close to taking final space.

“Ice cream is something that has been lacking in the neighborhood,” says James Van Dyke, vice president of development at The Roxbury Group, the developer behind the Auburn.

The 3-story mixed-use development at Canfield and Cass avenues consists of 58 apartments above a ground floor dedicated for retail stores. The original plans could accommodate as many as 11 shops but it appears that eight retailers will occupy the ground floor when the building opens in November with a few of the businesses taking up larger spaces.

Among the businesses that are set to open in the space are:

HUGH, the men’s accessory store that won last year’s Hatch Detroit contest;
NORA, a sister store for HUGH dedicated to contemporary design and housewares;
Topsoil, a vegetarian eatery brought to you from the folks behind the Russell Street Deli;
GoCycle, the Royal Oak-based spinning business is bringing its indoor cycling studio to Midtown;
Sy Thai, the popular Birmingham-based Thai food restaurant is opening a location in Detroit;
Center Street Properties, the leasing company for the Auburn will also have a ground floor office;
Source Booksellers, the independent book store is moving across Cass to the Auburn.

All but four of the 58 apartments are one-bedroom units. The other four are studios. Prices range from $700 for a studio apartment to $900 for a one-bedroom apartment. The first residents are set to move in during the first few days of November. The retail spaces will be turned over to the businesses shortly afterward. Van Dyke expects the businesses to begin opening a few weeks after that.

Source: James Van Dyke, vice president of development at The Roxbury Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

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