Downtown Detroit

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Downtown
Bordered by freeways on three sides and the Detroit River to the south, Downtown Detroit is home big name companies such as GM, Compuware and DTE Energy, law firms, government offices, restaurants, nightclubs, bars, cafes and hundreds of new residential units and two of the city's three casinos, Greektown, and MGM Grand. Downtown is also home to more pre-depression skyscrapers than any other city in the nation with the exception of New York City and Chicago. Gems such as the Broderick Tower, the Guardian Building, David Stott Tower, Book-Cadillac Hotel and the Penobscot Building grace the city's skyline. While downtown may be small in terms of physical size (one square mile), there are several distinct areas within its borders. Bricktown, A neighborhood of late 19th century buildings, mixed with early 20th industrial buildings and warehouses, is home to several popular Detroit bars and music venues. Campus Martius, the "town square" Detroit, is home to Campus Martius Park, Compuware World H.Q., Hard Rock Cafe, The Lofts at Merchant's Row and the downtown library. Finally, there is the Civic Center, which is home to Hart Plaza, Cobo Hall, Joe Louis Arena, the City-County Building and many other civic institutions. Greektown, several lively blocks along Monroe Street that are filled with Greek restaurants and bakeries, plus the Greektown Casino. There are also a number of bars and non-Greek restaurants and bakeries. Harmonie Park, originally a German neighborhood, Harmonie Park is one of the most lively areas in downtown Detroit and is home to several popular restaurants. The Stadia District, which sits on the north end of downtown, is home to Comerica Park and Ford Field, the respective homes of the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions. Finally, there is the Theatre District is home to the Fox Theatre, the nation's second largest seated theatre venue, The Detroit Opera House, home of the Michigan Opera Theatre, The State Theatre and smaller venues such as the Gem Theatre and Century Club. In addition to these districts, other attractions in downtown include Grand Circus Park, a semicircular park along Woodward that connects the Theatre District and Central Business District and Washington Boulevard, which recently underwent of major reconstruction to restore it to its 1920s grandeur.

Downtown Neighborhood Stats:
Population: 6,141
Racial Breakdown
White: (21.8%)
Black: (74%)
Native American: (0.2%)
Asian: (1.3%)
Other: (0.6%)
Multiracial: (1.8%)
Latino: (2%)
First developed: Early 1800s
Website: http://www.downtownpartnership.org

Office Development

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Guardian Building Parking Garage-The Sterling Group plans to demolish the 511 Woodward Ave. building and build a $12.7 million 340-space, automated garage with first-floor retail space. APPROVED

Mixed-Use Development

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Detroit Life Building Renovation-Illitch Holdings plans to renovate the Detroit Life Building into a mixed-use project. Illitch Holdings plans to use some of the office space for its growing business units. J.C. Beal Construction and Kraemer Design Group have been retained to develop renovation plans. PROPOSED

Cadillac Centre-The Northern Group of New York is proposing to build this $150 million mixed-use development on the Monroe Block. It would feature a 30,000 square-foot market, 100,000 square feet of major retail space, 84 apartments, a 14,400 square-foot health spa, 25,000 square feet of boutiques and specialty shops, a 40,000 square-foot public park with water features, and 800 parking spaces. Work would start in late 2009, with completion expected in 2011.
PROPOSED

Book Tower Condos-Northeast Commercial Services Corporation is planning a $35 million renovation of the Book Tower complex. Both the 13-story Book Building and 36-story Book Tower will be turned into a mix of 175 condos and 108,000 sq. ft. of commercial office space. The first two floors of both buildings will be converted into an atrium, fitness center and restaurant. PROPOSED

(River East) Ren Shore Condos- GM has chosen Hines Interests L.P. of Houston to develop luxury residential complexes on six acres of its riverfront property east of the Renaissance Center. The first building planned is an 80-unit luxury residential tower to be located on a one-acre site as of the Renaissance Center between Beaubien, St. Antoine and Atwater Streets. It would break ground in 2008. Eventually, the developers plan to build as many as 600 condos priced between $300,000 and $1 million. It will take 5 to 10 years to complete the entire project.
PROPOSED

Residential Development

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Elliot/Pepper Loft project-Developers from Cleveland-based 5M Group and Lansing-based Sixty North LLC are planning to turn these two buildings into 70 high-end rental units and 10,000 square-feet of ground floor retail space. If everything goes as planned, work could begin in by fall 2008 and wrap up by spring 2010.
APPROVED

Lafer Building Lofts-Mercier Development Lafer is planning a $2.8 million renovation of the Lafer Building into apartments and ground floor retail space. The second through ninth floors will house 16 apartments, while the first floor and mezzanine will offer 3,500 square feet of retail space. UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Broderick Tower Renovation-Motown Construction, Inc. is planning to renovate the Broderick Tower. Under the current plan floors 5-34 would be turned into 127 lofts, while the first 4 floors would be renovated for retail, entertainment and office uses. Kraemer Design Group is the architect for the renovation. PROPOSED

Federal Reserve Building Lofts-Developers plan to turn the historic Federal Reserve Building located at 160 W. Fort Street into 84 one and two-bedroom apartments with retail and commercial space. PROPOSED

Twelve-25-This new loft development in the former Fowler Building will feature 32 lofts and one commerical tenant on the ground floor. The lofts will range from 760 to 1,800 square feet and from $190,000 to $490,000.
APPROVED

Hotel Development

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Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel/Residences -The Ferchill Group of Cleveland is planning to renovate the vacant Book-Cadillac into a 455-room Westin Hotel, meeting space for 2,000 people, three restaurants, including a high-end steakhouse and a Detroit sports themed bar and 66 luxury condominiums that will sell for $300,000. It will reopen as the Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel. The project started in Summer 2006 and will be complete by Summer 2008. UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Fort Shelby Hotel Renovation- RSC & Associates of Chicago is planning a $80 million renovation of the Fort Shelby Hotel into a 204-room Hilton Doubletree Suites hotel, 38,000 square feet of convention space, shops and 63 apartments. The hotel will also feature an upscale Hilton restaurant called Finn & Porters. Work started in summer 2007 and be complete by early 2009. When complete the hotel will be called the Fort Shelby Hotel and Convention Center. UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Casino Development

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Greektown Casino- Instead of building the hotel on property of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral as originally planned, Greektown Casino is planning to build its 20-to-22-story, 400-room hotel atop the 13-story parking garage that will replace the city's Foster-Winter Garage on Monroe Street. The plans changed because a tentative agreement with the church fell through. In addition to the hotel and 3,100-space garage, restaurants, shops, a 1,200-seat auditorium and the expansion of the gambling space from 75,000 to 100,000 square feet are included in the $275 million project.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Transportation Development

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Downtown Transit Center-DDOT is planning to construct a 25,000 square-foot transit center on two blocks between Grand River and Michigan Avenues. The center will be named after the late Rosa Parks and will feature a climate-controlled waiting area, taxi stands and retail services. Work on the $15 million center will be complete by 2009
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority Passenger Terminal-The Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority plans to build a two-story passenger terminal at Bates and Atwater. The 30,000 sq ft complex would include port offices, public viewing areas and customs facilities to process cruise ship passengers. PROPOSED

Convention Development

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Cobo Hall Expansion-Wayne County executive Robert Ficano is proposing a 120,000 square-foot expansion to Cobo Hall. To help pay for the expansion, Ficano is proposing to extend the hotel and liquor tax by 7 years. Legislation is also being introduced that would make Cobo and other convention centers across the state tax-free zones.
PROPOSED

Park Development

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Hart Plaza Renovation-The Detroit Economic Growth Corp. is planning a $35 million to $50 million makeover of Hart Plaza. The plan would involve tearing down Ford Auditorium to make way for a new outdoor amphitheater and adding green space. PROPOSED

DTE Campus redevelopment-DTE Energy is spending $50 million to turn several acres of surface parking into an urban park featuring walking paths, a reflecting pool, an amphitheater and peace park. The entire project should wrap up by the end of 2008. UNDER CONSTRUCTION