Every day, it seems like we hear new development or construction news. A new arena, more residential, and new initiatives in neighborhoods are in the works. Detroit’s landscape is changing every day, hopefully for the better, maybe not always. There are nine specific projects – either in progress or planned – that will be transformational to their neighborhoods at least, and possibly the city as a whole.
1 Little Caesars Arena
The future home of the Pistons, sorry, the Red Wings, is well on its way to being completed by next September. But it’s not just the arena, of course. The entire area around is is being built up, and Chris Ilitch has recently said they had more than 50 projects in the works. This should include residential, parking, retail, a hotel, the Mike Ilitch School of Business, and the Little Caesars Headquarters. That’s a lot of Hot ‘n Readys.
2 M-1 Rail
We’ll be seeing streetcars early next year along Woodward. The M-1 rail has been anticipated for years and now the cars are showing up and testing has started. Property prices have risen along the Woodward corridor in recent years – will people use the rail? Or will it be the People Mover 2.0?
3 Hudson’s Site
We’re hoping for clearer plans by the end of the year, but Bedrock should start building on the old Hudson’s site in spring 2017, and should be finished in 2020. This project will be a show stopper downtown, and will include “250 residential units (20% which will be affordable housing), 900 parking spaces, 24 retail locations, and a “programmed civic space,” to try to strengthen the sense of community downtown that the old Hudson’s had.”
4 Capitol Park
Blink and you miss another announcement in Capitol Park. In the upcoming years, look forward to the renovation of the Farwell Building and the David Stott Building. Micro apartments are rising and will be ready next year. Two new, very modern residential buildings are in the works in the coming years. It should be one of the most vibrant areas downtown soon.
5 Tiger Stadium/Corktown
Two big projects are happening in Corktown over the next few years. First, the old Tiger Stadium will be transformed into the PAL Headquarters, with a baseball field, and residential will be added at the Corner of Michigan and Trumbull. Across Trumbull, the Checker Cab building will be converted to lofts, and more residential will be built on the five blocks behind. Elton Park will add 150+ rental units plus retail to Corktown.
6 Brush Park Historic District
Clearly, this area is pretty fascinating to us. For so long, many thought the neighborhood was an afterthought, but mansions are being restored, property prices are rising, and so many more residential units will be built over the next few years. The Scott at Brush Park will be finished soon, adding a high end apartment building to the neighborhood. Bedrock is starting up on City Modern, adding different types of apartments, condos, and townhouses to vacant lots. We’ll see quite the mix of old and new in the coming years.
7 Gordie Howe International Bridge
More talk has been happening around the Gordie Howe Bridge lately, but the 2020 completion date doesn’t look realistic anymore. According to the Free Press, Windsor has done quite a bit to prepare for the bridge. Will Michigan catch up, and what will its impact be on the Delray neighborhood?
8 State Fair Grounds
Developers want to have plans early ready next year, and that could include more green space, including bike paths and urban gardens. There’s also a multiplex theater, band shell, and still-vague retail and residential. Don’t hold your breath; this one could take a while.
9 Live6 Initiatives
The area around Livernois and McNichols is going to see an awful lot of resources and planning pouring into it over the next few years. Greater effort is going into renovating houses and buildings, creating bike lanes and walkways, and planned green spaces. Anchored by the colleges and with historic neighborhoods bordering and nearby, the localized efforts in this area could extend outwards into other nearby neighborhoods.
http://detroit.curbed.com/maps/development-projects-transform-detroit
BY ROBIN RUNYAN, Curbed Detroit
