Dan Gilbert Expected To Announce Brush Park Development

[emu steve]

Might be announced today, Wednesday?

"Billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert plans a major housing development in Detroit's Brush Park, a sparsely-populated district next to downtown that thrived in the 19th Century but has defied recent attempts at revival, people familiar with the development told the Free Press."

http://www.freep.com/story/money/real-estate/2015/05/05/dan-gilbert-brush-park-detroit-development/26942979/

Need some big developments ala the 6 acre plan discussed a few weeks ago + this one.

My guess that redeveloping Brush Park isn't as difficult as trying to redevelop say major parts of downtown.

It doesn't cost as much to put up housing as hotels, office buildings, etc. and it eats up a lot of vacant land. Plus the demand for housing is stronger than the demand for more office space or more hotel rooms. Right?

[Danny]

Gilberttown plans to annex Brush Park! What a wonderful time to it. Soon that one by 1 and a half mile historic block will be filled with Gilbert's family and friends.

[emu steve]

Danny, one good thing about much of Brush Park [[aka "Gilberttown Annex"):

Much of that area is uninhabited [[with the obvious exception of CrossWinds, etc.) which means no displacement of low income people, etc.

The idea for Detroit is to build new housing in the most desirable locations. Rehab housing in other neighborhoods. [It isn't either / or, but both.]. Or rehab shells in Brush Park.

After all who is going to build a new house [[which is expense to do) in an area where the neighborhood does not support the price [[to build) that house?

[mikeg19]

If only someone had the foresight 10 years ago and said, "hey, lets save these historic, yet crumbling structures, as this may make for a beautiful rehabilitated neighborhood someday."

What a waste. I hope Gilbert's plan fits in with the historic nature of the structures in the area. We all know his design taste can be, well, questionable at times. But either way, great to see any kind of major developments outside of the core CBD.

[Dbest]

If only someone had the foresight 10 years ago and said, "hey, lets save these historic, yet crumbling structures, as this may make for a beautiful rehabilitated neighborhood someday."

What a waste. I hope Gilbert's plan fits in with the historic nature of the structures in the area. We all know his design taste can be, well, questionable at times. But either way, great to see any kind of major developments outside of the core CBD.

Yeah, the image of "slumpy" will always be engrained in my mind. Like with war though, the worst acts must be seen and remembered to avoid a repeat of history.

It's better late than never for Brush Park. I'm hoping this coincides with the rumor of an upscale hotel being built. Also, I wonder what he means by houses that compliment the area? Brick? Should be interesting.

[emu steve]

Couple points:

1). Yes, it will be challenging to put up new construction which blends with the historic structures which can be rehabbed.

2). This area doesn't necessarily need high density. It is okay, IMO, to have historic structures which take up significant land area blended with new construction allowing a blended neighborhood with moderate density.

[noggin]

I don't like to say anything good about Kwame but he did get some of the old mansions stabilized [[maybe Bobby Ferguson got a cut) so it is at least possible to rehab those today.

[SpartanDawg]

looks like the announcement is coming at noon today

[Dbest]

looks like the announcement is coming at noon today

Thanks for the heads up SpartanDawg.... I feel spoiled lately with the stream of redevelopment announcements by the City/Developers. If the majority of these projects live up to their potential, Detroit will look much healthier in 5 years.

[Armin]

Couple points:
1). Yes, it will be challenging to put up new construction which blends with the historic structures which can be rehabbed.

Challenging, yes. Not impossible, though. Gistok provided this link a few years ago showing examples of neo-traditional architecture. I love fresh modern looking buildings, but I would love to see more stuff like the examples on this site built here in Detroit. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1479484

[SpartanDawg]

renderings released. this is very exciting stuff

[Danny]

I can't wait to see what happens to Gilberttown Brush Park sub-division class with the folks in Brewster Projects. It will be like Chicago's Cabrini-Green Housing Projects class with the Gold Coast area.

[bailey]

renderings released. this is very exciting stuff

Great stuff. sort of meh on the very contemporary style...but it's dense and it's not like anyone was ever going to rebuild the old places brick for brick.

Also... I get these folks want to drop some people into the renderings to give a visual scale reference and make the developments look lively....but sometimes, less is more. It looks like chaos there.

[Jimaz]

This must be a big story since it displaced the traditional sports items from the top of the Free Press front page. I don't remember that ever happening before.

[emu steve]

Good stuff.

One tangent point, and 'no big deal': This will slow down development west of Cass in Ilitchville because if one is given a choice of living in Brush Park or out west of the [[Masonic) Temple, I'd guess the vast majority would choose Brush Park.

That said, I've always felt that Brush Park is residential. West of Cass, whatever wants to come there. Could be commercial. Could be a soccer stadium [[thou I doubt it). Maybe some residential.

[emu steve]

Watching the webcast: 8.4 acres. $70M. No tax credits. Had nine serious proposals. Drawings are concepts, not architectural. Has four mansions and work will begin very soon on them. Development will be a mix of rentals and for sale. This project needs to go to the city council.

Mayor says work is beginning in areas where the city controls the land [[e.g., Brewster). Some land in Brush Park [[obviously) is privately owned.

[tkelly1986]

The renderings, though I understand are only conceptual, do not look anything like the period homes already there. Was this not touted as part of the RFP? It's the same modern architecture that is going along Woodward, which I do not mind, but seems to go against what was said.

[emu steve]

The renderings, though I understand are only conceptual, do not look anything like the period homes already there. Was this not touted as part of the RFP? It's the same modern architecture that is going along Woodward, which I do not mind, but seems to go against what was said.

Well he talked briefly about things like carriage homes, etc.

I wouldn't pay any attention now to the drawings. Maybe it is kind of 'stock' which could be used for concept with any number of different projects.

[emu steve]

My guess: anyone who privately owns one of those old abandoned mansion homes is sitting on something which has a lot of potential as development ramps up. The right house at the right location at the right time [[e.g., 2016 or 17).

[TTime]

I lived just north of Cabrini Green while the changes occurred and if this development moves forward it won't have many similarities. Cabrini Green was a pocket of poverty mostly surrounded by wealth and any Brush Park development would be a pocket of relative wealth next to mostly poverty and a half mile by half mile pocket of relative wealth.

[emu steve]

One prediction with getting land to develop in Brush Park.

With the arena we saw the problems of getting all of the needed land.

Here [[Brush Park) the city controls a lot of land and will do a RFPs and pick the development plans.

But what about the privately held land?

Will a number of the private land owners play "Land Lotto" and try to get rich on their land? Will that cause areas which are developed and areas which will look as bad as they do today?

EDIT: Of course, the big difference is if someone owns a 1/2 city block and wants to 'hold up' a developer for it, the developer say, "Nope" and lets the 1/2 block sit there undeveloped... Can't do that with a very large sports facility. D.C. had to go through eminent domain to get the land where 2nd base is at Nationals Park...

[Hypestyles]

... how involved will Detroit's new "city planning czar" be involved with this? Is the DEGC involved with this at all [[hopefully not?) what are the most progressive plans for housing formats and/or commercial development on those lots? How expensive would it be to try and "recreate" some of the vintage housing still left there? What about new formats?

[Wheels]

I lived just north of Cabrini Green while the changes occurred and if this development moves forward it won't have many similarities. Cabrini Green was a pocket of poverty mostly surrounded by wealth and any Brush Park development would be a pocket of relative wealth next to mostly poverty and a half mile by half mile pocket of relative wealth.

Brush Park was a pocket of poverty before Cabrini Green was ever built.

[casscorridor]

This is a great development all around. Good use of space, very dense, with three-floor walk-up/townhouses in the middle of the blocks and 4-5 floor apartment buildings on Brush and John R, with what I am assuming to be commercial space on the ground level. The architecture is rather boring but it's honestly much better than the "Crosswinds" townhouses built along Woodward, and Detroit needs more contemporary architecture. And let's not forget about walking distance to Whole Foods and Eastern Market! My only concern for the whole area is stadium traffic and sports fans taking up all the street parking.

[Zads07]

I'm surprised that nothing was mentioned about Nicole Curtis and the Ransom Gillis House or that no questions were asked about that. She had stated probably a month ago that the Gillis house was going to be her next project. I wonder if that's still the case with this new development. It clearly shows a redeveloped Gillis house in the rendering above, but will it be Gilbert or Curtis that will be doing it?