Illitch secretly buying up properties, again.

[gthomas]

I went to visit my friend who lives in one of those apartment buildings near Cass Tech High School, he was sad that he and many others who live the apartment building will be displaced. He handed me this pink slip...[[I can't say much on what was on there) but Ilitch bought the building and more and likely to be demolished for his $600 million development plans. I was shock to read it, he has til August to move...this will make the News soon.

I believe his development plans will be between Third Ave to the west, Masonic Temple to the north, Woodward to the east and Adam st. to the south [[behind the fox). That's a pretty impressive plot of land to be redevelop, the liquor store and those historic apartment buildings [[just north of I-75) on Cass and Second will be demolished [[probably). Harry's will be the only one standing in the area, [[assuming)?

[gthomas]

Here the facts!!! http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2.../BIZ/304220419

Additional properties change hands in Detroit's Cass Corridor

• By Louis Aguilar
• The Detroit News
• 9 Comments

Low-income residents of three apartment buildings on Henry Street in Detroit's Cass Corridor were abruptly notified Friday the buildings are being sold and the unknown buyer wants everyone out by May 20.
Residents were still in disbelief on Monday.
"This is so wrong, it's just so wrong," said Cathy Griffeth, a resident of the Berwin apartment at 489 Henry, north of the Fisher Freeway service drive. "We had no clue this was going to happen," Griffeth said. "I'm on disability like a lot of other people who live here. Do they really think we can find some other place just like that?"
The three apartment buildings are on the 400 block of Henry, just west of Cass Avenue. In addition to the Berwin, the other two buildings are the Claridge at 459 Henry and the Bretton at 439 Henry. All are owned by Peter Mercier of Grosse Pointe Farms.
Residents in each building, a total of 96 units, received a three-sentence letter in their mailboxes Friday informing them that Mercier has signed an agreement to sell. It doesn't name the new owner. "And the new owner has requested that all of the apartments be vacated," states the letter.
Along with the letters, the residents were given a state of Michigan document to vacate, which is the step prior to eviction.
Residents also received a copy of a hand-written written note apologizing for the short notice. The note over Mercier's signature explains he signed an option to sell the buildings a year ago. He explains he asked the new owner to extend the time for the residents to leave but that request was declined. Mercier could not be reached for comment Monday.
Tenant Glenn Chinchilla said and many others tenants lived in one of the buildings for more than a decade. "I am still in shock," Chinchilla. "Now I'm getting really worried. I don't know if I should try to fight this, or work something out with the new owner, or I should just somehow find a new place in time," Chinchilla said, who works in the housekeeping department of a nearby hospital.
Meanwhile, around the block, two buildings near Cass Technical High School and the Masonic Temple were bought in January by entities that have created opaque paper trails. One of the buildings was a vacant nursing home on Ledyard. The other was owned by the Baptist State Convention of Michigan that was being used by Cass Park Baptist Church congregation, which has moved out. Both were sold in January, according to public records. Both purchases are linked to a limited liability company that doesn't provide a telephone number on the public document; both list a registered agent as the sole representative for the company.
The deals are similar to the nearly two dozen property deals of blighted buildings and vacant parcels that have taken place in the neighborhood since September 2008. Most sellers have signed confidentiality agreements. So far, none of the purchased properties has been renovated or put back to use.
The latest deals expand the boundaries several blocks west and south where the previous mysterious deals have taken place.
Cass Corridor is just north of downtown and many residents believe at least some of the area is the site of a new hockey arena and entertainment district. Officials of the Detroit Red Wings, owned by Michael Ilitch, haven't publicly revealed where the arena and district may be located. The envisioned entertainment district, announced in December by Ilitch's Olympia Development, is described as being "strategically located to serve some of the most underutilized areas in Detroit's downtown core."
In addition to a possible new hockey arena and entertainment district, a streetcar line called M-1 Rail is expected to begin construction this year for a 3.3-mile line that would run from downtown Woodward to the New Center.
The Federal Transit Administration has given the environmental clearance for the $137 million project, as the nonprofit group Monday named eight new directors and a chief financial officer.
The FTA's clearance allows the 3.3-mile, fixed-rail streetcar system to move forward to the next phases of design, right-of-way acquisition and construction. This is the last approval step under the National Environmental Policy Act process, said M-1 Rail President and CEO Matthew Cullen.
The project is scheduled to begin operations in late 2015.








From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2RF2YkF4h

[downtownguy]

Nice scoop on the news gthomas.

If it looks like Ilitch, walks like Ilitch and quacks like Ilitch, it must be Ilitch. Too bad they didn't show more compassion for the residents, that by all accounts were paying their rents faithfully, yet are given only 30 days to vacate.

[jt1]

Nice scoop on the news gthomas.

If it looks like Ilitch, walks like Ilitch and quacks like Ilitch, it must be Ilitch. Too bad they didn't show more compassion for the residents, that by all accounts were paying their rents faithfully, yet are given only 30 days to vacate.

The truly sad thing is that Ilitch will put these people out on their asses with 30 day notice then let properties sit vacant for at least a year [[if not more).

If that happens, I will never spend a penny on anything related to Ilitch ever again [[Tigers, Wings, Tigers or Wings clothing, hats, whatever is eventually put on this site.

[casscorridor]

More pieces of urban fabric likely to be destroyed, therefore decreasing the urban vitality of a city that is more and more resembling a suburb... parking lots, massive blocks, gigantic fortress-like developments, etc. This has to stop. A city needs its small buildings, like I just mentioned in another thread. Without them, the city is no longer a city, but rather a disparate collection of landmarks. And without residents, who exactly will patron the supposedly-proposed retail developments beyond game-day/show-night?

Not to mention the displacement of low-income residents... could gentrification be any more clear? Or can this even be called gentrification if all that is taking their place is parking lots and sports stadiums? Do we need another name for this type of gentrification?

[Shollin]

More pieces of urban fabric likely to be destroyed, therefore decreasing the urban vitality of a city that is more and more resembling a suburb... parking lots, massive blocks, gigantic fortress-like developments, etc. This has to stop. A city needs its small buildings, like I just mentioned in another thread. Without them, the city is no longer a city, but rather a disparate collection of landmarks. And without residents, who exactly will patron the supposedly-proposed retail developments beyond game-day/show-night?

Not to mention the displacement of low-income residents... could gentrification be any more clear? Or can this even be called gentrification if all that is taking their place is parking lots and sports stadiums? Do we need another name for this type of gentrification?

Yea because the area was just so vibrant and had such great urban fabric. We all know the city of Detroit lacks low income housing.

[casscorridor]

Yea because the area was just so vibrant and had such great urban fabric. We all know the city of Detroit lacks low income housing.

So the solution to Lower-Cass urban degeneration is demolishing what is left and replacing it with developments that are fundamentally opposed to the urban? [[i.e. what I just described based on Illitch's track record... parking lots, superblocks, fortress-like developments, no retail or residential .. and I'm not talking about what he did in the 30 years ago with the Fox Theatre).

[Shollin]

I'm holding out hope that the development will be as planned. I guess slums and abandonment is a better option to surround downtown. I drove down Cass on opening day and I'm surprised there are people actually living there. It sure didn't look it like it.

[casscorridor]

I'm holding out hope that the development will be as planned. I guess slums and abandonment is a better option to surround downtown. I drove down Cass on opening day and I'm surprised there are people actually living there. It sure didn't look it like it.

Do you really trust Illitch to keep his word? [[think about his once-proposed Agora) The current proposal is super vague mind you... no details on amount of residential or retail space. Either way, it doesn't excuse demolishing historic buildings that can easily be incorporated into the new district.

[Shollin]

This is what I don't get. People want development and want to fancy themselves to Chicago or New York, but any building that is old, even if it doesn't have a grand history or any use, they want to save. It's not like the buildings even look good. We're not proposing to tear down the Penobscot or Guardian, but rather a slum. I'll give Illitch another chance. I don't see anyone else lining up to develop Detroit, Gilbert included.

[casscorridor]

This is what I don't get. People want development and want to fancy themselves to Chicago or New York, but any building that is old, even if it doesn't have a grand history or any use, they want to save. It's not like the buildings even look good. We're not proposing to tear down the Penobscot or Guardian, but rather a slum. I'll give Illitch another chance. I don't see anyone else lining up to develop Detroit, Gilbert included.

What an incredibly naive statement. This has been the policy of Detroit for over half a century, to demolish any and everything deemed blight/slum... it has been an utter failure. These small buildings are what make a city. Penobscot building doesn't make a city, unless your idea of a city is a skyscraper skyline... something that has only existed for a little over a century. Please tell me what you know about real cities beyond their skyline and landmark buildings.

I'm also confused on how Illitch stadium = development, but Gilbert retail, residential, office development does not.

[Shollin]

What an incredibly naive statement. This has been the policy of Detroit for over half a century, to demolish any and everything deemed blight/slum... it has been an utter failure. These small buildings are what make a city. Penobscot building doesn't make a city, unless your idea of a city is a skyscraper skyline... something that has only existed for a little over a century. Please tell me what you know about real cities beyond their skyline and landmark buildings.

I'm also confused on how Illitch stadium = development, but Gilbert retail, residential, office development does not.

I didn't say Gilbert development didn't count. What I meant was that people aren't lining up even after Dan Gilbert has made major investment. Kind of ironic though that all these great historic small buildings in the city of Detroit, Gilbert choses to locate his main company, Quicken, in a couple floors of the nice new Compuware building. What I do know about real cities is they don't let buildings sit vacant for 30-40-50 years. Just go down any residential street in Wrigleyville or Lincoln Park and you'll seem some new 3 story condo building shoehorned into a lot that once hed some flat. Not too mention the gold coast and up the northern lake shore is chock full of new highrises. I don't know of much areas in Chicago where random old buildings are renovated and reused. Everything I have seen has been new condo development. The problem is Chicago in certain neighborhoods has a demand for the housing, Detroit does not.

[casscorridor]

I didn't say Gilbert development didn't count. What I meant was that people aren't lining up even after Dan Gilbert has made major investment. Kind of ironic though that all these great historic small buildings in the city of Detroit, Gilbert choses to locate his main company, Quicken, in a couple floors of the nice new Compuware building. What I do know about real cities is they don't let buildings sit vacant for 30-40-50 years. Just go down any residential street in Wrigleyville or Lincoln Park and you'll seem some new 3 story condo building shoehorned into a lot that once hed some flat. Not too mention the gold coast and up the northern lake shore is chock full of new highrises. I don't know of much areas in Chicago where random old buildings are renovated and reused. Everything I have seen has been new condo development. The problem is Chicago in certain neighborhoods has a demand for the housing, Detroit does not.

Yeah, they demolish old buildings to build something bigger, in a dense area with no vacant land. In Detroit, we demolish what few buildings are left, in a high-vacancy area, to build something that doesn't even have the same function [[residential).

I don't know much about Chicago, but I do know in Brooklyn there is a renovation boom going on in Bushwick and BedStuy areas, along with the condo boom closer in to Manhattan.

Still, point is... those cities, even with clearing the old to make way for the new... still have URBAN FABRIC... Detroit just demolishes shit and doesn't replace it with something denser. Instead, we replace with something more resembling a suburb than a city.

Not to mention the fact that sports stadiums are not good urban developers. Sure they can bring in some businesses on game day, but that is nothing compared to the business restaurants would be getting if there was a dense residential population.

Detroit does have demand for housing Downtown also. You should read the recent reports stating this as fact... why else would there be several new residential developments announced in the last few weeks?

[rb336]

I'm guessing that another set of apartments/shops across Woodward, with the arena behind them

[Blueidone]

About 8 years ago, these three buildings were rehabbed using State of Michigan Energy Efficiency grant funds. Can't remember exactly, but at minimum they got all new windows, and possibly insulation, boilers/furnaces, and other measures. Sad to see it all go down with the wrecking ball.

[Shollin]

Funny you mention Brooklyn because when they built the Barclays Center they used eminent domain to tear down houses and historic buildings.

The area is a high vacancy area because no one wants to live there. I don't understand how a high vacancy area means we need more residential? Detroit doesn't replace it with denser housing because their isn't demand. Detroit is the fastest shrinking major city in the US. Detroit can't fill the housing it has. This isn't Sim City where if you build it the Sim people will come. People just feel they can manufacture urban fabric.

Downtown has a demand for housing but lets put it in perspective. Downtown's population is less than 10,000. According to the 2010 census tracts, parts of downtown actually lost population. The Cass corridor doesn't have a demand for housing.

[Chinman]

how else is he going to get land for a new redwings stadium?

[Tonynace]

And just who is going to build or refurbish those "small building?" There's not much of anything there at the moment and developing this area will stabilize it and prevent further decline of the surrounding neighborhoods. Be thankful somebody wants to invest in Detroit. Yea it's tough on the people living there and I hope somebody helps them resettle, but what Ilitch is doing is much better than the alternative of doing nothing.

[gthomas]

Nice scoop on the news gthomas.

If it looks like Ilitch, walks like Ilitch and quacks like Ilitch, it must be Ilitch. Too bad they didn't show more compassion for the residents, that by all accounts were paying their rents faithfully, yet are given only 30 days to vacate.

My friend just moved here from Las Vegas several months ago, he is sad about this and might end up back in Las Vegas if he can't find a place quick enough...this is wrong on many levels.

[emu steve]

It is sad whenever low income people are displaced. They have limited options.

As to what I see happening from the updated map in today's Detroit News is exciting from a redevelopment view.

It appears that the land Ilitch is acquiring is becoming a larger and larger foot print.

What should make folks happy is that he is acquiring land west of Cass and approaching Cass Park.

It appears that his grand design could revitalize Woodward to Temple, behind the Fox, and the area north of the Fisher and extend to the Masonic.

That is an impressive swath of land for one person to control.

It make take time to get a new arena built and the rest of the planned development.

History buffs might want to take photographs of all of these areas now and revisit in say 10 years and see if the entire area looks 100% different.

[emu steve]

This quote from the article is very interesting:

Along with the letters, the residents were given a state document to vacate, the step prior to eviction.
Residents also received a copy of a hand-written note apologizing for the short notice. The note over what appears to be Mercier's signature explains he signed an option to sell the buildings a year ago. He explains he asked the new owner to extend the time for the residents to leave but that request was declined. Mercier could not be reached for comment Monday.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2RHpdG3g2

I'm wondering why the urgency?

Demo to begin within months?

If so, why do those parcels need to be demolished now????

I don't see those parcels as being central to a new arena, whenever that might start...

I would assume those parcels would be used for 'spin off' development, after the arena has been built.

Any ideas?????

[chicagoforlife]

This is what I don't get. People want development and want to fancy themselves to Chicago or New York, but any building that is old, even if it doesn't have a grand history or any use, they want to save. It's not like the buildings even look good. We're not proposing to tear down the Penobscot or Guardian, but rather a slum. I'll give Illitch another chance. I don't see anyone else lining up to develop Detroit, Gilbert included.

My thoughts exactly.

[chicagoforlife]

What people here don't understand is that this happens in real cities all the time. Why is it that everyone is complaining about losing some building? Unless you actually live in the building who cares? You're losing an ugly building to build something bigger and better and people are actually complaining?

Detroit's never going to get better with the attitudes some people have, some people think that they need to save every single building simply because it's a historic building. Look, Detroit has let these buildings sit empty and crumble for the last 50 or so years, nothing has been done in these buildings for that long. If I had a vote on this I'd say knock it down and build something better, it happens in my hometown of Chicago, Illinois all the time.

[Blueidone]

What people here don't understand is that this happens in real cities all the time. Why is it that everyone is complaining about losing some building? Unless you actually live in the building who cares? You're losing an ugly building to build something bigger and better and people are actually complaining?

Detroit's never going to get better with the attitudes some people have, some people think that they need to save every single building simply because it's a historic building. Look, Detroit has let these buildings sit empty and crumble for the last 50 or so years, nothing has been done in these buildings for that long. If I had a vote on this I'd say knock it down and build something better, it happens in my hometown of Chicago, Illinois all the time.

What people from Chicago don't understand is, the Detroit area does not have the large amount of low income housing that Chicago does. These people have very limited resources and very few choices of where they are going to live. Many of them work at the theatres and arenas making minimum wage. They only work a few hours a week most of the time. Some are elderly, some are handicapped. Unless Mr. Ilitch and his companies are going to build some similar housing [[which I doubt), they will not be able to find a place they can afford. And, if new housing is coming, then let them build it FIRST, move the people and THEN tear down the old buildings.

At a minimum, the new owner should set up a service to help these folks find another affordable place to live, and help get them moved. But my guess is, this isn't going to happen.

[TexasT]

What people here don't understand is that this happens in real cities all the time. Why is it that everyone is complaining about losing some building? Unless you actually live in the building who cares? You're losing an ugly building to build something bigger and better and people are actually complaining?

Detroit's never going to get better with the attitudes some people have, some people think that they need to save every single building simply because it's a historic building. Look, Detroit has let these buildings sit empty and crumble for the last 50 or so years, nothing has been done in these buildings for that long. If I had a vote on this I'd say knock it down and build something better, it happens in my hometown of Chicago, Illinois all the time.

If you read the comments, people are more worried about Illitch's proclivity to tear down buildings and replace them with surface lots. No, that doesn't happen in cities all the time.