March Development News round-up

It's been another busy month for development news in the city. Let's catch up on some of the biggest stories from the past four weeks.

March hit the ground running as an unexpected leak of the Hudson's site rendering forced Dan Gilbert and company's hand. Rather than issue a statement declaring the leak was nothing more than an outdated conceptual design and moving on from the chatter, Gilbert's Rock Ventures released an actual high-quality conceptual rendering for the site. Though it's nothing close to final, it does acknowledge their desire for an architectural 'statement,' one that would attract attention world-wide--something the rendering re-enforces.

At the end of the month, John Gallagher of the Free Press reported that not only will Gilbert's Hudson development include 250 residential units, a separate development would bring an additional 71 residential units downtown. The historic Metropolitan Building, assumed by many to remain forever-derelict and destined for demolition, will apparently be saved and receive a $23.3 million renovation as it's converted to apartments.

The Detroit City Council approved yet another 235 apartments for downtown by giving the nod to Village Green as it seeks to build its $35 million Statler City development on the old Statler Hotel site on Grand Circus Park. That development includes a Zen garden among its many amenities.

Downtown isn't the only neighborhood to receive the mega-residential development treatment as the east riverfront witnesses the construction of Water's Edge. Triton Properties is building a 143-unit luxury apartment building in the Harbortown neighborhood.

And now for something completely different . . . the city of Detroit is playing hardball with Sequoia Property Partners, the New York-based owners of the CPA Building in Corktown. Open to the elements and long-easily accessible to anyone on the street, the city announced plans to demolish the building as Sequoia showed no progress in developing the historic but neglected building. Sequoia is now trying to delay the city as it promises to follow through on securing and developing the building across from Michigan Central Station--for real this time.