Economic stars fall out of alignment for multiuse developments

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April-28-11, 10:11 PM
begingri

Economic stars fall out of alignment for multiuse developments

This article is from last March [[2010), but I still found it to be interesting. It talks about some failed projects around our area.

Quote:

Properties:
PAVILIONS OF TROY
• What was planned: $320 million redevelopment of the former Kmart headquarters, with 440,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, 132 residential units, a public ice rink, a 3,000-seat theater, restaurants and a grocery store.
• Now: The Kmart building [[shown) remains on the site.
• Status: The property was sold to Forbes Frankel Troy Ventures L.L.C., owner of Somerset Collection in Troy. No plans have been announced.

HIGHWOOD
• What was planned: $800 million residential, retail and office project on the site of a former state psychiatric facility [[shown).
• Now: Of the 414 acres purchased, 200 acres have been sold to Northville Township government for public recreation.
• Status: Eighty developable acres are still owned by the joint venture of Real Estate Interests Group Inc. and Schostak Bros. & Co., which bought the site. The land is being marketed to tenants, but nothing is imminent.

BLOOMFIELD PARK
• What was planned: $350 million mixed-use development of residential, retail and entertainment.
• Now: After stalling in the planning stages, funding was pulled from the project. Owner Coventry Real Estate Fund L.L.C. is now in default with lender Wells Fargo.
• Status: Several structures built but most uncompleted. No construction is happening.

Quote:

Projects such as Bloomfield Park and Pavilions of Troy sought to create density in suburban areas.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-developments#

[[Google the headline to view the entire article)
April-28-11, 10:50 PM
Bham1982

I can tell you what's happening with the proposed "Pavillions of Troy" site.

It was purchased by the Somerset owners, and they will sit on it for a while. No plans at the moment.

But Fortbes pretty much only does retail, so I imagine retail will be a large component of what eventually gets built. It will almost certainly complement Somerset.
April-28-11, 10:53 PM
1KielsonDrive

Good post. Thanks. Some smaller scale multi-use projects are going forward in A2 around the campus. Upscale student housing with retail spaces. This seems to be a pretty good market for these types of projects. One opened on Woodward at WSU recently, but I'm not sure if any others are planned for mid-town.
April-28-11, 11:16 PM
BrushStart

These projects make the most sense when built in an urban or at least semi-urban area, i.e. Detroit, Royal Oak, Birmingham, etc. Who wants to live above a K-Mart in Troy with a view of a giant parking lot? These development are further evidence that Metro Detroit doesn't grasp the concept of walkable, urban environments. If you want to do mixed use, pick an area where there are at least A FEW things in walking distance. Mixed use in Troy makes absolutely no sense. Sometimes I think this region is schizophrenic with the city trying to be more suburban and the suburbs trying futilely to be kind of urban. Just stop. Suburbs should focus on being good "suburbs" and the city should work on being a better "city."
April-28-11, 11:35 PM
wolverine

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrushStart

These projects make the most sense when built in an urban or at least semi-urban area, i.e. Detroit, Royal Oak, Birmingham, etc. Who wants to live above a K-Mart in Troy with a view of a giant parking lot? These development are further evidence that Metro Detroit doesn't grasp the concept of walkable, urban environments. If you want to do mixed use, pick an area where there are at least A FEW things in walking distance. Mixed use in Troy makes absolutely no sense. Sometimes I think this region is schizophrenic with the city trying to be more suburban and the suburbs trying futilely to be kind of urban. Just stop. Suburbs should focus on being good "suburbs" and the city should work on being a better "city."

I agree. These development seem strange to me. I've seen some of these developments work in suburbs where there was just a general lack of retail, but there was much more effort to tie it into the surroundings. It is nothing more than a vertical strip mall. And thinking into the future, can you imagine how awful it would be when these things start to age, and the mall starts losing its primary tenants? Awful.

I don't even think Troy has much of an option to try walkable urban communities. The majority of their city is built with large traffic corridors, connected to smaller feeder streets, and then subdivisions. Any attempt would still be "episodic" in nature rather than fully integrated into whatever urban fabric they can manage to string together. Even if you do pick a place close to alot of single family homes, residents will oppose the development out of existence because it will bring traffic.

The only location I could identify for a higher density district is along Coolidge, just south Big Beaver. I'm not entirely sure how well occupied that apartment complex is, and yeah I realize it's right across form Birmingham....so it's right at the edge. My friend stayed at that complex for a summer, it was in excellent condition, but seemed to have alot of vacancy. Offer a good deal, tear it down, build a downtown, and develop higher density from there. You got plenty of retail along Maple that's ready for a refresh, and an Amtrak station nearby.
April-29-11, 12:09 AM
English

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

Good post. Thanks. Some smaller scale multi-use projects are going forward in A2 around the campus. Upscale student housing with retail spaces. This seems to be a pretty good market for these types of projects. One opened on Woodward at WSU recently, but I'm not sure if any others are planned for mid-town.

http://www.unionmidtown.com/

Construction isn't even finished and it's nearly sold out.