Michigan Real Estate News Roundup

A roundup of interesting Michigan real estate news from the past week.

  • A franchisor of smoothie stores has signed a development agreement with the same franchisee who has opened 22 Planet Fitness franchises in Michigan to open up to 50 smoothie locations in Michigan.
  • Nonprofit agencies with offices in downtown Detroit are facing sticker shock over the increases in their rental rates proposed by landlords. The resurgence of the office market in Detroit is not without consequences.
  • The case of The Little House That Could(n’t be sold) continues in Detroit. The City is now discussing using condemnation to acquire the home. The condemnation being discussed is not eminent domain but acquiring the property for violation of blight ordinances. In other words, using the City’s police powers to acquire the property through administrative means. Some news reports have pointed out, however, that buildings owned by Ilitch-affiliated entities in the same area that are in a similar condition of disrepair have not received any blight violations.
  • Proposals to redevelop the former Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit are causing neighbors to worry about the lack of affordable housing plans as a component of the development.
  • Displays of flowers and mulch are leading to threats from Genoa Township to shut down outdoor storage at a local Lowe’s store.
  • Amid continuing rumors of Ford Motor establishing a campus in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, there was an acquisition of 12 vacant lots by a single unidentified buyer.
  • Detroit is establishing more bike lanes. These lanes will be “protected” lanes using bollards and will be along East Jefferson.
  • The controversies and violations swirling around Detroit’s demolition program continue to swirl, as nearly three dozen citations were issued in the past six months for violations of rules by contractors.
  • The Ann Arbor Planning Commission recommended approval of a $6M mixed-use development on a vacant site on Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor.
  • A once-desolate part of Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood will be the site of a seven-story mixed-use development, as development continues to spread beyond Woodward Avenue onto neighboring north-south arteries.
  • The State of Michigan is proposing to lease a portion of Cadillac Place in Detroit (the former General Motors Building) to retail tenants. The State believes it has about 110,000sf of space available for leasing. A new law lifts the requirement that space must be leased to the blind for the Cadillac Place location. (The requirement that governmental space must be leased to the blind is based upon the Randolph-Sheppard Act, a federal law giving preference to the blind as a result of many veterans returning from World War I blinded by chemical weapons.)
  • The third-generation owner of a 99-year-old farm in Canton Township makes the difficult decision to sell the remainder of the farm property to a residential developer, as land uses and property values have changed in the area.
  • As redevelopment continues along the Woodward corridor in Detroit, an entertainment complex known as the Majestic Theatre is receiving a $1M makeover.
  • Dan Gilbert receives final approval for a $618M tax incentive package to support $2B in development in downtown Detroit, including redevelopment on the site of the former Hudson’s department store.