There was no no shortage of big announcements in Detroit's built environment in 2012, so Model D has expanded its Top 5 Development News Stories to its Top 5 Development News Subjects. This year's list includes:
The Gilbert Effect
Quicken Loans Chairman Dan Gilbert became the biggest power player in downtown Detroit this year. His team's accomplishments include
acquiring buildings left and right,
filling them with tech businesses, pushing for a
retail rebirth in the Central Business District and spearheading the
M-1 Rail plans for light rail up Woodward which now seems quite likely with the passage of a regional transit authority bill in the state legislature.
Palmer Park Rebirth
The Palmer Park area - ahem, Uptown - is enjoying a large amount investment these days as the quality of life improves with more community involvement. Shelborne Development is spearheading the renovation of a number of Palmer Park's Art Deco apartment buildings, including
La Vogue and
Palmer Lodge, and working to establish
mounted security patrols. Local residents are improving the area by planting
sunflowers along Woodward Avenue,
planting orchards in Palmer Park,
building trails through the park and rebranding the area
Uptown.
Downtown/Midtown Apt Blitz
Developers can't build new
living options in Detroit's downtown or Midtown neighborhoods fast enough these days to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Some big projects came online in 2012, including the
Broderick Tower,
The Auburn and
Newberry Hall. More are coming. Construction is in progress for the
Sherbrooke Apts and
Woodward Garden Block Apts and work is set to begin on the
Whitney Building in a few weeks.
Momentum in The Villages
The people working to improve the The Villages scored some big wins in 2012. Those wins include developing plans for more
greenways, sparking the
pop-up retial store
boom, Tashmoo Beirgarten's
return, and landing a number of
new businesses to take those spots in West Village. Look for The Villages to keep the momentum going in 2013.
Wayne County Tax Foreclosure Auction
This year set the
record for the Wayne County Tax Foreclosure Auction. This
fall's auction featured more than 20,000 properties and sold more than 12,000. Local officials are working to turn these empty houses into
new homes. What happens next to the thousands of unsold properties
is becoming a bigger question that needs to be dealt with. Oh, and
next year's auction is set to break all of those records again.
Honorable-mention projects include,
Avalon's expansion plans,
Buffalo Wild Wings moving downtown, the groundbreaking of
WholeFoods,
Reclaim Detroit's deconstruction efforts and the
GAR Building rehab.
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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