WSJ: Gilbert & Shinola teaming up for new boutique hotel in downtown detroit

More great Detroit News. From the Crains Article:
"Shinola/Detroit LLC and Dan Gilbert's Bedrock Real Estate Services LLC are teaming up on an independent boutique hotel in downtown Detroit.

The red eight-story building downtown at 1400 Woodward Ave., which began life as a hardware store and most recently housed Eastern Wig & Hair Co. LLC, will be renovated into a hotel meshing the craftsmanship Shinola is known for with Bedrock's urban development experience, the developers say. The four-story building two doors down at 1416 Woodward Ave. is also part of the project. It was designed by Smith Hinchman & Grylls in 1936 for Singer Sewing Machine Co.

Developing a hotel is a step well outside Shinola's previous retail focus, which encompasses watches, bicycles and other items, assembled in Detroit.

Renovations on the building are set to begin in November and wrap up in time for a fall 2018 opening of the 130-room Shinola Hotel."

Very nice. I hope it happens. I love the thought of new residential and retail space coming to the area. Like that some of the parking would be underground. As much as possible, please. And the variety of new outdoor/green spaces -- both public and private.

I do wish they'd preserve and restore the entire National Theater though, not just the facade. With the talk of Aretha still wanting to open a club wouldn't it be great if those stars could align?

And I hope they design those sloped roofs with Detroit snow, ice, and wind in mind. I'm reminded of the problems they have of snow and ice falling from the similarly sloped roof of the Bank of America building in NYC. It's a great benefit to be able to learn from other people's mistakes. :)

http://www.businessinsider.com/ice-f...ilding-2013-12

I'm not sure exactly what goes on up there, but you can see an image of the Bank of America building in NYC and its similarly sloped roof here.

The city needs a better revenue stream in 2019

- Just because it's """balanced"""" a budget don't mean much
Hardly any in = hardly anything out,
but it's balanced, is a piss poor attitude for the future.

All those tax breaks for PoleTown worked soooo wonderfully

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/...utdown/577678/

The plant is only 33 years old,
and GM spent $121 million to renovate it less than five years ago

STILL want to bet on Auto for Detroit - you are a FOOL !!!!!!!!!!

Edward Hotel in Dearborn has abruptly closed

Joins the ranks of Northfield Hilton + Southfield Holiday Inn

"Once a jewel in the city of Dearborn, the former Hyatt Regency, renamed in 2016 the Edward Hotel & Convention Center, was shuttered Friday after inspectors found several fire code violations and maintenance issues. "

Much has been said about the decline of inner-ring suburbs in Detroit. Most of it is true- Eastpointe, Melvindale, Harper Woods, Garden City, etc. just aren't what they used to be. Outside of Dearborn and GP, nearly every inner ring suburb is declining. Allen Park might be a notable exception. It's not doing bad or great- it's doing fine.

Allen Park's stable position is best viewed when compared with its neighbor, Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park has two leveled shopping centers, dying retail corridors, and dilapidated housing in the northern sections. LP, it's worth mentioning, has a school district that's fallen off a cliff in the past few years. Carr and Hoover schools, which are closer to Wyandotte, remain fine; the rest are looking worse by the day.

It's also worth mentioning that Allen Park, while not bordering the city of Detroit, has a lot in common with other 1950s built inner ring communities such as Lincoln Park, Redford, and Eastpointe. It probably has more in common with these communities than Melvindale, which has its roots in housing Rouge plant workers in sided bungalows.

Allen Park is not a growing or thriving suburb by any means (as much of the population is getting older and dying out), but there isn't much evidence to say it's declining. The city remains composed of small, well-kept brick homes on tree lined streets. Shopping options on "The Hill" are plentiful and are growing. Ford and other engineering companies maintain white-collar offices in the city. Perhaps the most interesting part of Allen Park's relative stability is its school district. Allen Park High School is second-best to only Woodhaven High School in mainland Downriver.

Allen Park also remains stubbornly white. The city has gone from 95% white in 2000, to 92% in 2010, to 87% now. Melvindale has dropped from 87% to 57% in that time, and LP from 93% to 70%. The school district, which in inner ring suburbs is usually less white than the city itself, is 87% white. Even the hispanic population, which is surging in Melvindale and LP, is just 9%.

Overall, AP has resisted the downward trend of other inner-ring communities. The question, of course, is why?

While I am confident that some significant redevelopment will come to the Eastland Center area in Harper Woods (there are successful retailers in the area -- Lowes, Home Depot, Target) the rapid deterioration of the mall itself is having the inevitable effect on the surrounding area/outlots. Prior to the closure of Macy's, Chili's (fronting on Vernier) closed (less than a year after a full-scale renovation) as did the Bank of America branch at 8 Mile and Kelly. Since the closure of Macy's, Applebee's has closed in the outlot as has Walgreen's (across 8 Mile) and Citizens Bank (across Vernier). Notably this Applebee's is the location where, a few years ago, I came out of the restaurant with my wife to find the occupant of the car parked next to us draining his bladder beside my truck leaving a pool of urine beside my driver's door. Last time I went there. Another minor curiosity, Eastland has finally removed the 'macy*s' signage from the large signs surrounding the property -- however the sign next to the side entrance on Kelly still says Marshall Field's.