Lee Plaza hotel to be redeveloped?

[innercitydoc]

Update Feb. 2019: Roxbury to Redevelop Lee Plaza >>

This is big news. This has to be one of the largest redevelopments outside of downtown and midtown in recent history. Maybe they can reclaim the stolen gargoyles from Chicago.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...oped/76038068/

[southen]

That is incredible, but the lack of details has me slightly concerned.

[Hypestyles]

Very cool news. On a side note, just what exactly is a "zero energy building"?

[Lowell]

Fabulous news for a fabulous ruin! [with respect to "Skipper's Rule"]. This is an incredibly beautiful building, particularly because it is freestanding and finished on all sides.



As you many recall, due to efforts by members of this forum many of the stolen architectural appointments were recovered. Hopefully they are still around.



View Recovery story here >>

It's getting difficult to keep up with all the Detroit development stories. What a great problem to have.

[mikeg19]

Being so far out of the loop, I didn't expect this to be on the redevelopment radar for some time, if ever. That's some serious news.

[401don]

Around the time the Whitney renovation began the was a lot of discussion of reducing or eliminating historic tax credits. Did that change?

[mwilbert]

Being so far out of the loop, I didn't expect this to be on the redevelopment radar for some time, if ever. That's some serious news.

Agreed. This and the Herman Kiefer redevelopment are substantially beyond the current expected redevelopment frontier. Now it just has to actually happen.

[mikeg19]

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...oped/76038068/


Holy crap. Update. $200M price tag.

[Hypestyles]

at least now I have a better understanding compared to the initial post, lol. Market rate apartments with a lean toward green-tech infrastructure throughout. Ah.

[iheartthed]

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...oped/76038068/


Holy crap. Update. $200M price tag.

I'm skeptical that this will actually happen. That would put it on par with the Book Cadillac renovation.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

I find all of these statements interesting:

“In real estate, it’s location, location, location,” he said. “This is right next to the booming areas of Detroit. Downtown and Midtown are minutes away.”
Sasser and his company are in the process of purchasing the building for $258,000 from the Detroit Housing Commission, he said. The sale should be completed next month.
The building renovation itself will cost around $34 million, with another $50 earmarked for adjacent lots. In total, approximately $200 million is expected to be spent redeveloping the hotel and surrounding area, Sasser said.
“One large energy investor” has committed to the entire bill, Sasser said.
Work on the project will begin in January with cleaning crews sweeping through the building, he said. Completed apartments are expected to retail for $1.75 to $2 per square foot, and will feature state-of-the-art technology including electronic artwork and music geared toward the individual resident."

My observations:

1. It seems most of us have been saying its location would keep the Lee Plaza from being redeveloped, because it was a bit too far away from New Center/Midtown/Downtown. Now it may be redeveloped because others see it as in fact close enough. Have even the DYes optimists been too pessimistic?
2. I am not sure how $34 million for the Lee and $50 million for the surrounding lots adds up to $200 total; I wonder what is missing?
3. Very interesting that "one large energy investor" has committed to funding the whole project. If the normal layers of financing do not need to be cobbled together, they could actually start sooner rather than later. They do claim the clean-out will start in January, after a December closing!

[MSUguy]

Development has always been in my heart,” Sasser said, adding his 88-year-old mother has been involved in around $5 billion worth of redevelopment projects nationwide. “When you see a good project, you know it.

Such as? There is no reporting in the article. Someone with no known real estate track record is going to redevelopment this building and they expect $1.75-2/ft in that neighborhood? I'm calling BS.

[Richard]

Such as? There is no reporting in the article. Someone with no know real estate track record is going redevelopment this building and they expect $1.75-2/ft in that neighborhood? I'm calling BS.

adding his 88-year-old mother has been involved in around $5 billion worth of redevelopment projects nationwide.

I would think that if one spends 5 billion in redevelopment they would pick up on a few pointers along the way.

Was it Henry Ford who said " I do not know anything about anything but with all these phones on my desk I can sure pick one up and call somebody that does" Or something along those lines.

[mtburb]

Fabulous news for a fabulous ruin! [with respect to "Skipper's Rule"]. This is an incredibly beautiful building, particularly because it is freestanding and finished on all sides.



As you many recall, due to efforts by members of this forum many of the stolen architectural appointments were recovered. Hopefully they are still around.



View Recovery story here >>

It's getting difficult to keep up with all the Detroit development stories. What a great problem to have.

Unfortunately, it's too late to recover six of the never-recovered ones. They have already been embedded into a townhouse in uptown Chicago for years.

[Gistok]

I'm as skeptical as any of you are... although if that $5 billion in developments by his mother turns out to be true.... WOW!!

Now if we can also steer him towards the Statler block!! That lame $35 million, 5 story "underwhelming" DEGC and Duggan promoted middling project with the giant flat screen TV out front.... that block could use a developer [[with vision) like this...

If he can actually make a go of the Lee Plaza area in a relatively bad location... imagine what he could do with a "good" location, such as the Statler!!

[Chicago48]

I'm as skeptical as any of you are... although if that $5 billion in developments by his mother turns out to be true.... WOW!!

Now if we can also steer him towards the Statler block!! That lame $35 million, 5 story "underwhelming" DEGC and Duggan promoted middling project with the giant flat screen TV out front.... that block could use a developer [[with vision) like this...

If he can actually make a go of the Lee Plaza area in a relatively bad location... imagine what he could do with a "good" location, such as the Statler!!

If you build it will they come? Hmmm.....luxury means high-rent. Will you have enough "workers" and rich folk to fill it?

[Gistok]

Chicago48.... you're preaching to the choir....

[iheartthed]

1. It seems most of us have been saying its location would keep the Lee Plaza from being redeveloped, because it was a bit too far away from New Center/Midtown/Downtown. Now it may be redeveloped because others see it as in fact close enough. Have even the DYes optimists been too pessimistic?

The cost just doesn't make sense... Unless I'm missing something. We're talking about a third of what they're projecting to spend on the new hockey arena... For an apartment building. The building isn't located in a part of the city that is being heavily invested in. It's not located on a proposed transit line. There is nothing to suggest that any building on that location would be worth $200M in the foreseeable future. Even the Fisher Building, just a mile or so away, currently occupied, and in a lot more favorable location, could not sell for that much right now.

[mwilbert]

The cost just doesn't make sense... Unless I'm missing something. We're talking about a third of what they're projecting to spend on the new hockey arena... For an apartment building. The building isn't located in a part of the city that is being heavily invested in. It's not located on a proposed transit line. There is nothing to suggest that any building on that location would be worth $200M in the foreseeable future. Even the Fisher Building, just a mile or so away, currently occupied, and in a lot more favorable location, could not sell for that much right now.

This may well be bogus, but the renovation cost of the Lee itself is only being projected at $34 million. It isn't clear how they get to the $200 million total, which is certainly a reason to have some suspicions..

[Richard]

The cost just doesn't make sense... Unless I'm missing something. We're talking about a third of what they're projecting to spend on the new hockey arena... For an apartment building. The building isn't located in a part of the city that is being heavily invested in. It's not located on a proposed transit line. There is nothing to suggest that any building on that location would be worth $200M in the foreseeable future. Even the Fisher Building, just a mile or so away, currently occupied, and in a lot more favorable location, could not sell for that much right now.

include redevelopments to two adjacent lots as well as the addition of moderate, low and very low-income housing,

which translates into HUD funding so in theory not quite the 200 mil out of pocket,my guess would be they have funding for the whole project and leveraged the HUD funds in advance to do that in order to speed things up as the HUD funding is a time consuming process.

Nothing wrong with that process and it is a common way to leverage.

Seems like they are not just doing Lee but also adjoin lots so that adds to the price because they would be new build?

[1953]

I'm just going to go ahead and say this won't happen this decade...but I sure hope it does!

1953

[warsaw7]

I was in this building a few weeks ago and it is in great shape. Ornate wood panels in what looks like an old recreational room. As we ventured through the building a lot of the floors were in relatively good condition, definitely feasible.

[SDCC]

The Now Detroit [[channel 7) just ran a story on this building and it's new owner. The owner stated he hopes to close next week, and expects to start renovations in January. He also stated that the new Lee Plaza will be a luxurious facility - sparing no expense [[not a quote).

[R.B.J]

I hope it happens, but something's just not quite right.

[KJ5]

I would like to see it, but count me among the skeptics