Companies applauded for keeping integrity of neighborhood
Two Detroit-based companies, Bedrock Detroit and Hamilton Anderson Associates, on Thursday evening were named winners of the 24th Annual Congress for New Urbanism’s grand prize for the design of their Brush Park project.
The honor was awarded at the CNU conference in Detroit, which runs through Saturday.
The $70 million Brush Park Development Partners revitalization project took the prize based on how its plan preserves existing historic houses while filling in with new housing that will be appropriate to the neighborhood’s size and scale.
“With our particular team, everyone involved was passionate in rebuilding a neighborhood and not proposing a development,” said Amy Chesterton, director of planning for Hamilton Anderson, master planners for the project. “Many on the team have been trying to get Brush Park off the ground (after many false starts).
“The project is about rebuilding a whole block. We understand what the density is now — 11 people per acre — and best practices tell us it needs to be beyond that.”
Hamilton Anderson took a specific approach: North and south streets will most likely be apartments with commercial development on the first floor while the east and west streets, such as Alfred where the old mansions are, will feature townhomes with the same setbacks as the mansions.
Dan Gilbert-owned Bedrock is the project developer. “We are thrilled to be honored by CNU with their Charter Award Grand Prize and to be part of one of the most significant residential projects in Detroit in decades,” Steve Rosenthal, principal, Brush Park Development Partners and Bedrock, said in an email.
Other partners in the development are:
Marvin Beatty, chief community officer for Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit and an investor in the planned $160 million redevelopment of the former Michigan State Fairgrounds site;
Sam Thomas, president of Benton Harbor-based Star Development Co.;
Darrell Burks, former senior partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and a member of the Detroit Financial Review Commission;
former Detroit mayoral candidate Freman Hendrix, president and CEO of Detroit-based Advanced Security & Investigative Solutions;
Pamela Rodgers, owner and president of Rodgers Chevrolet and a member of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy board.
In addition to Hamilton Anderson, architectural firms working on the project include:
Grosse Pointe Park-based Christian Hurttienne Architects,
Los Angeles-based Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects,
Boston-based Merge Architects and
Chicago-based Studio Dwell.
The firms will design nearly 400 new contemporary residential units that will include townhomes, duplexes, carriage homes and apartments.
In total, CNU recognized for achievements in architecture, planning, development, and urban design 17 projects and teams ranging from South Carolina to South Africa. Also among the 11 winners and six runners-up were a jazz cultural center in New Orleans, a military barracks turned into an urban neighborhood in Calgary, a new village in Nanhu, China, and a South Florida plan that engaged more than a million residents.
“This year’s winners demonstrate that excellence in New Urbanist design is becoming standard,” Hank Dittmar, charter awards jury chair, said in a news release. “These amazing projects are contextual, reflecting local traditions, climate, and setting, while moving tradition forward to reflect contemporary demands.”
Lynn Richards, president and CEO of CNU, said each project was chosen by the jury for its contribution to sustainability, equity, health or prosperity.
By: MARTI BENEDETTI, Crain’s Detroit Business
