Whole Foods Developer to Add 230 Units in New Center

[Gistok]

One thing that Curbed could have done better was the article name. Whole Foods, while a great addition to Midtown, pales in comparison to Peter Cummings major contributions to Detroit.

He is the son-in-law of the late great Max Fisher. He was the head of the DSO from 1998-2003. He is largely responsible for the concept of Midtown's Orchestra Place... the area of Midtown that includes the DMC HQ building of that name, as well as the expansion of Orchestra Hall as THE MAX. That whole vibrant section of Midtown was largely due to his vision.

When Max Fisher died in 2005 [[worth about $800 million), his daughter and her husband Peter Cummings and family moved to Florida to take care of real estate developments there. But now he's back in Detroit [[he sold much of his Florida holdings to his son) and started the development for the Whole Foods store.

That was just small potatoes compared to his previous development work in Midtown, and pales by comparison to his current development plans in New Center, he's part of the consortium that bought the 500 ft. tall Fisher Building and 170 ft. tall Albert Kahn Building in New Center. As a part owner of that complex his plans are to bring back the former glory of the Fisher Arcade within the 30 story Fisher Building... as a destination that people will want to shop in, as well as refurbish both buildings, and to grow the neighborhood.

The current plans to add the 230 unit midrise building are to tie the Henry Ford Hospital complex/expansion to the heart of New Center. Those acres of parking offer a lot of future development possibilities.

Cummings also owns some of the land along the riverfront between Joe Louis and Riverfront Towers. He's planning something there as well.

Although he still has a residence in Florida, his major home is now an apartment in the upper reaches of the David Whitney Building.

So whatever you want to give Peter Cummings credit for... calling him "the Whole Foods developer" is an underwhelming moniker.