Bedrock goes back to work. 2 new renovations, 1 new construction all @ capitol park

119 State St and 45 W. grand river are going to see renovations begin now.. Both of these are in Capitol Park

There will be NEW construction on a parking lot at 28 Grand River. That is at the corner of Griswold and Grand River, across urban bean and kitty corner from the future home of DIME

ALL THREE will have ground floor retail, and looks like residential units above are planned for all three as well... [[trying to eliminate people's complaints before they come in)

Gilbert going HAM on downtown detroit...

but again he's doing this for greedy profits and he's a scumbag who kicks people out of buildings and doesn't actually care for the city of Detroit :cool:

http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi..._river_default

Honestly I think in a few years with all the renovations going on in Capitol Park.. I may consider moving there from Midtown... really looks like it's gonna be one of the best and nicest areas in the city

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Originally Posted by SpartanDawg

Honestly I think in a few years with all the renovations going on in Capitol Park.. I may consider moving there from Midtown... really looks like it's gonna be one of the best and nicest areas in the city

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I agree, although it is a pretty small area the surrounding buildings are interesting enough to give it a very nice feel. Now we need someone to rehab the Farwell building.

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Originally Posted by mwilbert

I agree, although it is a pretty small area the surrounding buildings are interesting enough to give it a very nice feel. Now we need someone to rehab the Farwell building.

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I'm fairly confident that is still a go to be renovated by Karp.

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Originally Posted by SpartanDawg

http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi..._river_default


119 State St and 45 W. grand river are going to see renovations begin now.. Both of these are in Capitol Park

There will be NEW construction on a parking lot at 28 Grand River. That is at the corner of Griswold and Grand River, across urban bean and kitty corner from the future home of DIME

ALL THREE will have ground floor retail, and looks like residential units above are planned for all three as well... [[trying to eliminate people's complaints before they come in)

Gilbert going HAM on downtown detroit...

but again he's doing this for greedy profits and he's a scumbag who kicks people out of buildings and doesn't actually care for the city of Detroit :cool:

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Really confusing...I mean, some people here said Gilbert had run out of money. :rolleyes:

That is the theory. I guess they are still working on 1212. I will be happier when I actually see them working on the Farwell.

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Originally Posted by mwilbert

That is the theory. I guess they are still working on 1212. I will be happier when I actually see them working on the Farwell.

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Agreed. Really excited for the Farwell coming back online. Everything I've heard seems to indicate it's still a green light...crossing my fingers...

New construction! Now that's always exciting.

I always thought Capitol Park had great potential, going to back when I first discovered it while working downtown in the 1980's. It has really great scale for a residential area.

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Originally Posted by SpartanDawg

but again he's doing this for greedy profits and he's a scumbag who kicks people out of buildings and doesn't actually care for the city of Detroit :cool:

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Gilbert is the Donald Trump of Downtown Detroit. Creating his Gilberttown projects to bring in pop-up stores and new tech jobs for hipsters. Yes he's kicking people out of their buildings for he sees them as do nothings. If he sees people are do somethings, he let them stay. Gentrification had its price. But at the end Downtown Detroit will be beautiful and thriving once again.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

I found Rome, a city of brick. Now I left it a city of marble.

I wonder what person who said that?

for Neda, George Stinney, Guy Fawkes, Rodney King, Trayvon Martin and 99 Percenters

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Originally Posted by DetroiterOnTheWestCoast

New construction! Now that's always exciting.

I always thought Capitol Park had great potential, going to back when I first discovered it while working downtown in the 1980's. It has really great scale for a residential area.

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Yes, Capital Park was a dirty park filled the stinky DEAD [[C) KRAK HEADS and Pigeon Rats and D-DOT buses. Now it's beautiful and all clean up.

Bedrock at work on 1265 Griswold, adjacent to the Farwell. Urban Bean in background right. Does this building have a name? Always loved it's rounded corner.

http://detroityes.com/webisodes/2014/1265-griswold.jpg

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Originally Posted by Lowell

Bedrock at work on 1265 Griswold, adjacent to the Farwell. Urban Bean in background right. Does this building have a name? Always loved it's rounded corner.

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Walked by last weekend and had the same thoughts. Those portholes on the top floor are pretty cool too.

Did that strip club ever open back up after that fire?

Not that I'm hoping it did, I just think it'd be cool if Gilbert had the empty lot and that building.

Great news. Just wondering though. How it is that Dan Gilbert has been able to buy up so many properties relatively quickly, when some properties languished for years during the 90s and 00s because property owners were holding out for a big paycheck? Has Gilbert been paying top dollar or has he found another way to get these property owners to sell their property?

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Originally Posted by Danny

Gilbert is the Donald Trump of Downtown Detroit.

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Except for the fact they both work in the general field of real estate, there are very few discernible similarities between them. Among other things, Trump is largely a promoter of himself [[that is not a criticism; he has successfully turned himself into a brand). Dan Gilbert is largely a promoter of Detroit. I'm glad it's Gilbert here, and not Trump.

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Originally Posted by royce

Great news. Just wondering though. How it is that Dan Gilbert has been able to buy up so many properties relatively quickly, when some properties languished for years during the 90s and 00s because property owners were holding out for a big paycheck? Has Gilbert been paying top dollar or has he found another way to get these property owners to sell their property?

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I suspect his purchases are not as quick as you imagine; he just stays completely off the radar until he's ready to pounce. Also, I bet he completely ignores any property with a crazy "hold out for millions" owner.

Isn't this the one I've seen called the Bamlet Building.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lowell

Bedrock at work on 1265 Griswold, adjacent to the Farwell. Urban Bean in background right. Does this building have a name? Always loved it's rounded corner.

http://detroityes.com/webisodes/2014/1265-griswold.jpg

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Originally Posted by stinkytofu

I'm fairly confident that is still a go to be renovated by Karp.

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United Way Building will be complete in a few months, then the Capitol Park Building will begin renovation later this summer. Farwell to begin 4th quarter 2014. It'll be the last big piece in the park.

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Originally Posted by gumby

Isn't this the one I've seen called the Bamlet Building.

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Yes, that's correct.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by eliboyer

United Way Building will be complete in a few months, then the Capitol Park Building will begin renovation later this summer. Farwell to begin 4th quarter 2014. It'll be the last big piece in the park.

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Cool - thanks for the update. Just to clarify - while they will wait to being on Capitol Park Building until UW is done, they will work on Capital Park Building and Farwell at the same time [[with different start dates)?

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Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Did that strip club ever open back up after that fire?

Not that I'm hoping it did, I just think it'd be cool if Gilbert had the empty lot and that building.

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He will be keeping the liq licence and opening it as the first floor retail! :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gumby

Isn't this the one I've seen called the Bamlet Building.

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Curbed referred to it as the Bamlet when they had a story about the rehab. I think the curved corner and the "porthole" windows at the top really set this building apart.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

Except for the fact they both work in the general field of real estate, there are very few discernible similarities between them. Among other things, Trump is largely a promoter of himself [[that is not a criticism; he has successfully turned himself into a brand). Dan Gilbert is largely a promoter of Detroit. I'm glad it's Gilbert here, and not Trump.

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If Trump was to built his real estate empire in Detroit, poor folks will be gone in 10 years. And a 100 year story Trump Tower will be in place where Hudson's Building used to stood.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Did that strip club ever open back up after that fire?

Not that I'm hoping it did, I just think it'd be cool if Gilbert had the empty lot and that building.

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No, that building is a total loss! The entire third floor loss its roof. Whoever set it on fire, don't want any riff-raffs in Gilbert Park! [[Capital Park). Good riddance to the porn club. Soon Gilbert will put that land and make some building met for hipster/yuppie folks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by eliboyer

United Way Building will be complete in a few months, then the Capitol Park Building will begin renovation later this summer. Farwell to begin 4th quarter 2014. It'll be the last big piece in the park.

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Gilbert Park [[Capitol Park) we will beautiful filled with yuppies-hipsters instead of DEAD [[C)KRAK HEADS and Pigeon Rats.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by royce

Great news. Just wondering though. How it is that Dan Gilbert has been able to buy up so many properties relatively quickly, when some properties languished for years during the 90s and 00s because property owners were holding out for a big paycheck? Has Gilbert been paying top dollar or has he found another way to get these property owners to sell their property?

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If I recall correctly, the DDA had acquired a good amount of that property [[the corner building everyone loves is definitely in that category) and cleared title relatively recently [[as in the past couple of years) - and that was the point in time where the area was put out to RFPs.

HB

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Danny

If Trump was to built his real estate empire in Detroit, poor folks will be gone in 10 years. And a 100 year story Trump Tower will be in place where Hudson's Building used to stood.

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Yep, Trump's style doesn't fit Detroit.

Detroit is perfect for the Gilbert style, just take a bunch of smaller steps, minus the hype and glitz.

Detroit is better off with 15 Gilbert buildings than one huge skyscraper...

Capitol Park's redevelopment is going crazy now. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I count seven buildings either currently redeveloped or with imminent plans to begin...plus the new construction on strip club parking lot...

1) United Way Building - currently being renovated
2) The Albert - currently being renovated
3) Bamlet Building - currently being renovated
4) Capitol Park Building - renovation to begin end of summer
5) Farwell Building - renovation to begin 4Q of 2014
6) 45 W. Grand River - not sure timetable, but Gilbert building so expect soon
7) 119 State Street - not sure timetable, but Gilbert building so expect soon
8) Empty parking lot at 28 W. Grand River

I walked through at lunch today and the construction going on between the three buildings currently being rehabbed very exciting. Seeing those wrap up then spreading to the other four buildings...whoa. Talk about a complete and utter transformation of a neighborhood within a 18-24 month period.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lowell

Bedrock at work on 1265 Griswold, adjacent to the Farwell. Urban Bean in background right. Does this building have a name? Always loved it's rounded corner.

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I used to hear it referred to as the "Blue Building," but that was before they sandblasted all that paint off of it. I guess Bamlet Building sounds classier than "Formerly Blue Building."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Huggybear

If I recall correctly, the DDA had acquired a good amount of that property [[the corner building everyone loves is definitely in that category) and cleared title relatively recently [[as in the past couple of years) - and that was the point in time where the area was put out to RFPs.
HB

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Those building weren't bought by Gilbert those went to a Lansing area developer Karp and Associates.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkytofu

Capitol Park's redevelopment is going crazy now. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I count seven buildings either currently redeveloped or with imminent plans to begin...plus the new construction on strip club parking lot...

1) United Way Building - currently being renovated
2) The Albert - currently being renovated
3) Bamlet Building - currently being renovated
4) Capitol Park Building - renovation to begin end of summer
5) Farwell Building - renovation to begin 4Q of 2014
6) 45 W. Grand River - not sure timetable, but Gilbert building so expect soon
7) 119 State Street - not sure timetable, but Gilbert building so expect soon
8) Empty parking lot at 28 W. Grand River

I walked through at lunch today and the construction going on between the three buildings currently being rehabbed very exciting. Seeing those wrap up then spreading to the other four buildings...whoa. Talk about a complete and utter transformation of a neighborhood within a 18-24 month period.

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Folks in Detroit [[at least those concerned about downtown Detroit and Midtown) should learn to tune out the naysayers be it here [[won't mention posters by name; everyone knows who they are) or in the media.

The only reason folks might be downcast about downtown Detroit is that it had SO FAR to come back to be the 'Comeback City.'

Another 5 or 10 years of this will be totally transformative.

I wish we had a list of parking lots as of today and we start crossing them off as they become buildings.

28 W. Grand River.
We've discussed surface parking lot behind the Park Tavern [[probable parking garage for the new arena)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by emu steve

Folks in Detroit [[at least those concerned about downtown Detroit and Midtown) should learn to tune out the naysayers be it here [[won't mention posters by name; everyone knows who they are) or in the media.

The only reason folks might be downcast about downtown Detroit is that it had SO FAR to come back to be the 'Comeback City.'

Another 5 or 10 years of this will be totally transformative.

I wish we had a list of parking lots as of today and we start crossing them off as they become buildings.

28 W. Grand River.
We've discussed surface parking lot behind the Park Tavern [[probable parking garage for the new arena)

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I was pleasantly surprised that in the MLive article regarding the new construction at 28 W. Grand River the spokesman said it would contain residential with ground floor retail...and not a parking garage. I have to imagine a parking garage will be a must at some point given all the new folks who will be there?

The sale of 45 W. Grand River, owned by historic preservationist Dennis Keffallinos and a beautiful gem of a restoration that he sandblasted to within an inch of its life, is particularly disappointing. Bedrock is certain to banish the helpful young men constantly stationed outside the building's party store entrance for the past few years. Now, where are downtown residents and workers supposed to go for their weed and rock purchases? With the old set up, you didn't even have to get out of your car. Heck, they were so nice, they even worked when it rained.

I have a few photos of the Bedrock owned properties including some shot during the Keffallinos renovations.

http://fadeddetroit.blogspot.com/2014/05/capital-park-on-rise.html

I wished the City of Detroit would had sold Lafayette Towers to Gilbert instead of Greg Jackson whom hasn't done any renovations to the buildings and they are steadily declining while he raise the rent

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Originally Posted by stasu1213

I wished the City of Detroit would had sold Lafayette Towers to Gilbert instead of Greg Jackson whom hasn't done any renovations to the buildings and they are steadily declining while he raise the rent

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Gilbert didn't want them. Presumably because with as many layers of historic protections as those buildings have, he wouldn't have been able to paint anything inside lime green. But seriously, those buildings were way out of code.

HB

Quote:

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Originally Posted by emu steve

I wish we had a list of parking lots as of today and we start crossing them off as they become buildings.

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It might shock you, but the Downtown Synagogue has some old Fire Dept maps that show some of those have been parking lots basically since the beginning.

HB

Quote:

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Originally Posted by emu steve

The only reason folks might be downcast about downtown Detroit is that it had SO FAR to come back to be the 'Comeback City.'

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Or perhaps because their vision of a positive outcome is more nuanced than "lots of development happening."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Huggybear

Gilbert didn't want them. Presumably because with as many layers of historic protections as those buildings have, he wouldn't have been able to paint anything inside lime green. But seriously, those buildings were way out of code.

HB

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Mr Jackson probably knew about the layers of historic protections. He could hide behind that to keep from doing something to those buildings

I hear Gilbert is going to turn one of those cesspools into the house of blues and the other one a cheesecake factory and the kids from Glee are going to open them up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stasu1213

Mr Jackson probably knew about the layers of historic protections. He could hide behind that to keep from doing something to those buildings

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I think you would find that despite the architectural cache, Lafayette Towers were cheaply constructed and not well maintained over the past 50 years. For as much as people want to complain about rents in Lafayette Park, they're not high enough yet to attract the capital needed to bring places like this into the 21st century [[stating with the massively energy-inefficient original exterior glass panes that make up 85%+ of the exterior of the two buildings). And if we have learned one thing about the Gilbert acquisitions, it is that the organization specializes in distressed properties that are functional without major work [[unless, of course, the major work is required to make the property "cool," like the Federal Reserve Building that now unintentionally looks like Skeletor).

HB

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Huggybear

I think you would find that despite the architectural cache, Lafayette Towers were cheaply constructed and not well maintained over the past 50 years. For as much as people want to complain about rents in Lafayette Park, they're not high enough yet to attract the capital needed to bring places like this into the 21st century [[stating with the massively energy-inefficient original exterior glass panes that make up 85%+ of the exterior of the two buildings). And if we have learned one thing about the Gilbert acquisitions, it is that the organization specializes in distressed properties that are functional without major work [[unless, of course, the major work is required to make the property "cool," like the Federal Reserve Building that now unintentionally looks like Skeletor).

HB

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Wasn't the Pavilion made with a similar design and was renovated a few years back? Lafayette Towers could also be renovated. No excuses. My friend was told by management that it would cost thousands to put a fence around the property. Spend the money being that the property was only purchased for only $5 million. I believe that the owner knew about the historical preservation of the property before buying it. It could be use as an excuse not to put any money into the property due to not having money to bring it back to the condition it was 50 plus years ago

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

I hear Gilbert is going to turn one of those cesspools into the house of blues and the other one a cheesecake factory and the kids from Glee are going to open them up.

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Is he finally going to bring the long-rumored URBAN OUTFITTERS to downtown too?!