$1B devleopment in the works?

[Pcm]

Developer revives long-held dream

$1B plan would have waterway as linchpin

By Daniel Duggan

After Richard Baron built a career out of St. Louis as a national developer of blighted urban property, he longed to come back to his hometown of Detroit to take on the city's challenges.

So he tried in the 1980s, tried in the 1990s and tried in the early 2000s, but he was never able to find a project that would work with the city's politics.

He pitched an idea for Tiger Stadium, for the former J.L. Hudson Co. building on Campus Martius and for the redevelopment of vacant homes along Woodward.

He had all but given up, focusing instead on the 16,300 units and 1.29 million square feet of commercial space he has developed in 35 cities across the country at a value of $2.45 billion.

But Baron, co-founder of McCormack Baron Salazar Development Inc., is now closer than ever to his dream of building in Detroit.

If the final pieces of financing come together for a $15 million residential and commercial project in Detroit's Midtown, he could have the building under construction next year, with roughly 100 units of mixed-income residential space, able to accommodate disabled people.

The building at John R Street and Palmer Avenue, however, is the least ambitious of Baron's plans for Detroit.

He's also pushing on an almost 30-year-old plan to redevelop 3,000 acres of land from Jefferson Avenue to the General Motors Volt plant, north of I-94 near St. Aubin in an area on the border of Hamtramck and Detroit. The plan would re-create a creek that once flowed through that area and be the backbone for development.

And, Baron said, there are more projects in the planning stages that he can't disclose yet.

"For 20 years I've been trying to get a project going in my hometown," Baron said. "In 2012, I'll be spending a lot of time in Detroit, and I'm going to get these things moving."

"Daylighting' an urban creek

One of Baron's projects carries a history that's as old as the city itself.

And Baron's history with the project goes back to the 1980s when he hired architect Steven Vogel to design an urban housing development.

Vogel, now a professor of architecture at University of Detroit Mercy, told Baron about an unusual concept that he and his business partner came up with: Trace the route of the Bloody Run creek that was covered by concrete at the end of the 19th century. The creek was named Bloody Run after a 1763 battle in which Chief Pontiac and his allied Indian tribes fought the British and the creek was red with blood.

As the area developed with homes over time, creeks were being essentially used as sewers, Vogel said. As a sewer system was developed in Detroit -- to stop the spread of disease from open sewage flowing through the city -- the rainwater that fed many creeks was routed into the sewage system and caused creeks to dry up. Bloody Run, likewise, eventually dried up and disappeared in the developing city.

"Richard was very interested; I told him the story of how we discovered all of this, but nothing came of our discussion," Vogel said.

And then the phone rang two years ago -- roughly 15 years after their initial conversation.

"It was Richard and he said, "Hey, do you remember that plan you had for the creek in Detroit?'" Vogel said. "He said, "I'm interested in that, can you send me some information.' "

Stunned, Vogel made copies of a chapter he wrote for an urban planning book that detailed the project and then mailed it to Baron.

A year later, Baron called again and asked Vogel to come to a meeting.

"I didn't know why I was going to the meeting. I get there and find out that Richard had secured a half-million dollars for the preliminary planning," Vogel said.

That money came from Kresge Foundation to support the planning.

The plan to develop the land is still far off, Vogel said. It's a $1 billion project that would take more than 10 years. But the timing is good, he said, because half of the 3,000 acres is city-owned, and of the remaining 1,500 acres, roughly 80 percent of that is vacant.

Land near the creek route would be developed along a route that is similar to the original route, but adjusted to pass through vacant and city-owned land.

The project starts at the Detroit River, goes north through Elmwood Cemetery, then continues north along a former railroad corridor between Mt. Elliott Street and East Grand Boulevard. At Vernor Highway, the creek would cut west to Chene Street, turn to the north, go past Eastern Market and work its way north to the GM plant.

Runoff from the GM plant roof could start the creek, which would be fed by rainwater and snow melt. That water would not need to be processed in the wastewater treatment plants, Vogel said, instead being cleaned naturally by the soil before finding the Detroit River.

"We'll have 2.7 billion gallons of water cleaned in a natural way, recreating a natural system," he said.

Some commercial uses would be built along the river, as well as some solar power installations and residential development.

Baron said a small phase of the plan could start early next year north of Eastern Market if funding can be raised. Money will be sought from foundations, the federal government and private investors.

"This is something that can take advantage of vacant land and become a transformative effort in an American city," Baron said. "It's something that will really capture the imagination of folks."

Projects with impact

The Bloody Run project is more ambitious than one of Baron's typical projects, said Ronald Ratner, an executive vice president with Cleveland-based developer Forest City Enterprises Inc. overseeing its residential development.

Ratner, who has competed against Baron for projects in cities across the country, said he has a strong reputation for doing projects that impact communities.

"I wish that more people in this industry would follow his example," he said. "He's done well for himself by doing good things."

Ratner also helped pay Baron a compliment in 2004 when he was part of the selection committee to give Baron the Urban Land Institute's J.C. Nichols Prize, among the highest awards the national body gives to a person.

Baron has done the largest portion of his work in St. Louis, but it hasn't been easy, said Michael Roberts, CEO of St. Louis-based Roberts Cos., a development firm that recently bought and renovated the former Omni Hotel into the Roberts
Riverwalk Hotel & Residence in Detroit.

"He's a leading developer; he went into St. Louis at a time when most developers wouldn't," Roberts said. "And not only that, he's been very successful at what he's done."

It's that reputation that is a great boon to the city of Detroit with the current development at John R and Palmer, said Sue Mosey, president of Midtown Detroit Inc., which is a partner in the Palmer project with Baron.

Mosey worked with Baron 20 years ago on his first attempt in Midtown. He had planned to build an urban housing development east of Woodward Avenue, south of Forest Avenue, where the Sugar Hill Arts District is now being built.

The project never happened, but Mosey continued to follow Baron's career.

"He's passionate about this kind of work," Mosey said. "And the breadth of the portfolio he's built over the years really speaks for itself."

Problems with past mayors

Baron was turned away from Detroit developments by former mayors Coleman Young and Dennis Archer. He skipped Kwame Kilpatrick, saying, "I wasn't very excited about his administration."

He responded to an early request for proposals on Tiger Stadium, pitching the idea of a YMCA on the ground level with residential housing built into the upper levels.

He approached the city with a plan for the old Hudson's department store on Woodward, with a hotel and housing, anchored by the University of Detroit Mercy law school. There was never a response from the city on either one.

"After a while, I just gave up," Baron said. "I had so many plans, but nobody wanted to hear them. I was tired, I moved on."

Overall, Baron's projects require participation from all levels of local and state government because of the high level of community impact. Where past administrations have been unwilling to work with him, Baron said, the Dave Bing administration, the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. and Midtown Detroit have been helpful.

"I'm a Detroit guy, I grew up in Palmer Park, I'm from the neighborhoods," Baron said. "At this point, I'm very excited with the idea of working with the city and creating a new community."

Daniel Duggan: [[313) 446-0414, dduggan@crain.com. Twitter: @d_duggan

[SaintMe]

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ong-held-dream

If the final pieces of financing come together for a $15 million residential and commercial project in Detroit's Midtown, he could have the building under construction next year, with roughly 100 units of mixed-income residential space, able to accommodate disabled people.

The building at John R Street and Palmer Avenue, however, is the least ambitious of Baron's plans for Detroit.

He's also pushing on an almost 30-year-old plan to redevelop 3,000 acres of land from Jefferson Avenue to the General Motors Volt plant, north of I-94 near St. Aubin in an area on the border of Hamtramck and Detroit. The plan would re-create a creek that once flowed through that area and be the backbone for development.

[Detroitnerd]

Detroiters keep pinning their hopes on silver-bullet bonanzas. I am not impressed...

[Pcm]

Looks like we posted the same thing at the same time. May the best thread win!!

[Detroitnerd]

I sent Lowell a message. he should be combining them soon ...

[Hamtragedy]

"Daylighting" any buried creek in Detroit, be it Bloody Run or Conner Creek, is one of those "thinking outside the box" projects that can actually reinvent Detroit, the city by the huge river that no one uses or has limited access to.

Unearthing a creek at the river, running it thru Elmwood, along Beaufait/Belleville, over to Chene, and then north to Hamtrarmck, and greenspacing it would make my houses in Hamtramck actually worth more than the combined $48.37 they are currently worth.

Not to mention, this route is 90% uninhabited, save for the stretch along Vernor, which is clearing out at its own pace thanks to the firebugs.

If someone has deep pockets and the ambition to do this, which apparently this Detroit Native does, give him a key to the city, an employment office, and throw in a couple of back-hoes.

Please, Please, Please, Please.

[Hypestyles]

... I'd still be interested in the YMCA and apts., on the Tiger stadium site..

[LeannaM]

I'm somewhat familiar with St. Louis developments, but I did have to look up who he is.

His developments are listed here:
http://www.mccormackbaron.com/properties

He seems to do good work.

[DetroitPlanner]

My first reading of this I was wondering why would a guy want to recover a creek thats been uncovered?? Daylighting is a very usefull tool. It not only gives an area some character, but helps aid in mitigating urban runoff and supplying wetlands for wildlife.

I am calling for Skipper's rule though

[Richard]

I am not to sure about the creek aspect ,other then the tracks are staying there for a reason, the concept is to supply the creek with run off from the plant so what happens when there is a dry season or a sudden downpour what will control the flash flood down stream ? What will happen to the water tables along the path where basements are concerned?

It will not be spring fed so what happens when the water becomes stagnant from sitting and will it be a trash collector dumping even more pollutants into an already polluted river.

What happens in the future when water does become expensive and scarce and the plant decides it is cost effective to collect their own roof run off for the plant use and maybe sell the rest does the creek become a ditch then ?

Interesting concept but what is the catch? spend millions to build a ditch/creek by a private company where is the profit? Creek front property is expensive? or maybe use taxpayer funding for the concept for the land acquisition then say opps cannot do it,what then happens to the land and why were the final resting places moved in the process ?

So many questions so little time.

[Gianni]

Sounds cool at first but where will all the water come from? I'm also calling Skipper's rule on this one. On the other hand, you can go in the cemetery and the creek is still there, almost like time travel.

[detroitsgwenivere]

We've already talked about this...

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...ers-in-detroit

[detroitsgwenivere]

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...ers-in-detroit

[royce]

Instead of recouping an old forgotten creek, how about taking that money and building some man-made lakes on all of that vacant land in the proposed development and then sell lakefront property? Solves the issue of what to do with vacant lots in the city and makes Detroit attractive again by offering folks a place on a lake for recreation and leisure.

[royce]

Didn't know this thread existed. If I had known, I would have written my post there. Wow, Detgwen, your timing was uncanny.

[Detroitnerd]

Oh, I know. Everybody gets excited when a developer lays his eyes on Detroit. And the news article, which reads like a press release, is certainly glowing enough. [[What it doesn't mention, though, is that you can't make an omelet that big without breaking some eggs. And those eggs would be people, their homes and their property.)

The fact is, the places in Detroit that have been doing the best have taken advantage of the small-scale, human-scale development that was already there. Those "good bones" urban planners speak of. Places with low costs to get going, rehabs, repurposing, all in walkable, bikable, livable environments. Places like the mid-city area, or southwest Detroit.

For instance, look at what his plans were for Sugar Hill, which is now doing nicely, combining a local entrepreneur [[N'namdi) with another local restaurateur [[Seva) to create a little area that is dense and walkable, reclaiming one of the few pockets of that which remain in the Medicalopolis. You can bet he would have [[with the generous help of tax credits, secured with perhaps a few donations to nonprofit groups) cleared the area and built some mammoth structure with lots and lots of parking.

And yet we keep cheering these big-ticket, multimillion-dollar visions, even though the places that have the best track records are when small-time, mom-and-pop entrepreneurs open up a myriad of little spaces that promote something more organic and reclaim the city's urban heritage -- without begging for tax breaks, without greasing politicians' palms, without obliterating streets and buildings and history.

So, that's my point. Not to say that Detroit isn't big enough for some people to try big things, but I would caution everybody to look at things a bit more thoughtfully. Big bonanzas excite politicians and businesspeople, but it's the little businesses that, in my opinion, are leading the best examples of "redevelopment."

[j to the jeremy]

Daylighting creeks is different than razing buildings and evicting people.

I think the article wanted to make it sound more appealing to Republicans and Dan Gilbert lol. "Development" in this case probably wouldn't be more than a trail and some benches in many of the stretches. And I agree with you, DNerd, about the human-scale potential abundant in our city. Hopefully projects like this can keep that intact. I think they will- if you look at the case studies for daylighting, it usually impacts the community in a positive way, and only makes $$ for corporates if it's done in a downtown area.

[Detroitnerd]

Mmmmmaybe. Do you really think that a developer is coming to town to daylight a creek and build a path? It's a $1 billion project spanning 4,500 acres.

Now, check out what the article lays between the lines. Of half of the 3,000 acres, half of it is not owned by the city. How will those deals go down?

Of the other 1,500 acres, 20 percent of it is OCCUPIED.

The creek is just a little "gimmie" to get people excited. Along it would be development, LOTS OF development. And no word on what kind of development that would be, except that some will be commercial and residential. And he wants lots of nonprofits to kick in on HIS private, profitable development.

Make no mistake, this is a sweetheart deal for this developer. And people would have to be induced to leave a neighborhood. Chances are the street grid would be replatted. And, again, no say on what kind of stuff would be built or how durable it would be.

At this point, the only thing I can say with any certainty is that this guy sure has a good PR person, as I didn't see one hard question in that piece. It made him sound like a selfless philanthropist.

All of this should raise doubts in your minds...

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

The article does not mention the fact that they developed the Manchester Apartments in Highland Park.

While this seems like a huge project that I cannot imagine coming together, perhaps portions could. Daylighting Bloody Run, which has been discussed before, would be wonderful to see and I would be interested to see what development it would spur. You might want to take a look at their website for dismissing them.

http://www.mccormackbaron.com/what-we-do

[Detroitnerd]

The article does not mention the fact that they developed the Manchester Apartments in Highland Park.

Not exactly a pedestrian-friendly development. Lots and lots of parking. Very little connectivity with the neighborhood. In Highland Park, that may be a selling point, but this is precisely the kind of development I worry about proliferating in Detroit. No use of the "good bones" already there. The neighborhood is swept away, the street is renamed a "parkway" and the development is closed off almost completely, with little reason to walk or bike and every reason to drive. In fact, there's almost more parking lot than building here.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=manche...48203&t=h&z=18

While this seems like a huge project that I cannot imagine coming together, perhaps portions could. Daylighting Bloody Run, which has been discussed before, would be wonderful to see and I would be interested to see what development it would spur.

That's precisely what I'd like to learn more about. But that article is really just a lot of PR for the developer. What would he build? Is the "daylighting" idea just a lot of "greenwashing" for another drive-in, parking-lot-laden megadevelopment that will be troubled 30 years down the line after everybody has made their money and moved on?

You might want to take a look at their website for dismissing them.

http://www.mccormackbaron.com/what-we-do

Don't put words in my mouth. I'm not dismissing anything. I'm looking at a beaming, bright, over-the-top positive PR piece disguised as objective news and pointing out that Detroit generally has a poor record when it comes to pinning hopes on big-ticket developments. Call it a corrective.