Crain's: Kefallinos puts 30 Detroit properties up for sale

[Neilr]

Crain's is reporting this today:
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...es-up-for-sale

It'll be interesting to see how many he actually sells.

[hybridy]

haven't many of these been for sale for some time?

• The Michigan Building and former Michigan Theatre, 220 Bagley St.
• Harvard Square Centre, 1346 Broadway St.
• 227 Adelaide St.
• Shapero Hall, 1401 Rivard St.
• Roosevelt Hotel, 2250 14th St.
• Former Burton International School/Franklin Elementary School, 1333 Pine St.
• Former Caesar Chavez school, 1548 Porter St.
• 1.5 acres of vacant riverfront property, 1801 W. Fort St.
• Industrial building, 1221 Rosa Parks Blvd.
• Former distribution building, 1982 W. Jefferson Ave.
• Former southwest Detroit hospital, 2401 20th St.
• Topor's Pickle and Food Service building, 2850 Standish St.
• Fairmont Creamery building, 600 E. Milwaukee Ave.
• Perlex building, 2821 E. Grand Blvd.
• Russell Street industrial building, 5845 Russell St.
• Hamtramck office building, 10201 Joseph Campau
• Southern Fires restaurant building, 575 Bellevue St.
• Goeschel Building, 3230 Gratiot Ave.
• Former Pfeiffer Brewing Co. building, 3700 Beaufait St.
• Bellevue industrial property, 2425 Bellevue St.
• Former Joe's Marine buidling, 547 Lycaste St.
• Former Midwest Cabinet and Counter property, 630 Lycaste St.
• Former Anna M. Joyce Elementary School, 8411 Sylvester St.
• Former southwest Detroit YMCA, 1601 Clark St.
• Former Roberts Brass Co. building, 5435 W. Fort St.
• Former Wayne Foundry and Stamping Co. building, 3100 Hubbard St.
• Property at 3944, 3948 and 3950 Michigan Ave.
• Former Thorn Apple Valley slaughterhouse, 2902 Orleans St.
• Land, 1825 Division St.
• Former Hoban Cold Storage Co. property, 1599 E. Warren Ave.

[Shai_Hulud]

Some of those [[Corktown, New Center, Downtown) are probably close enough to the action to see some interest. Depending on price. But it seems like several have been on and off the market before.

[southen]

Harvard Square, Shapero Hall, Michigan Theater and Roosevelt Hotel all seem like they would be of interest to Gilbert.

I would not be surprised if Gilbert bought Shapero as well as the Woodward Academy building so that he could control both sides of 375. I appreciate Shapero for what it is, but it might not be an ideal conversion for residential, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it go for new construction.

[Lowell]

Hmm... if I step into Kefallinos' shoes I could me see thinking, "I bought all these for peanuts, put just enough in them to keep them legal [or whatever] . And now, thank you, that Dan Gilbert has driven up prices and got everybody excited and diving in, why not take my sudden millions and move on to something less stressful?

[Hermod]

Hmm... if I step into Kefallinos' shoes I could me see thinking, "I bought all these for peanuts, put just enough in them to keep them legal [or whatever] . And now, thank you, that Dan Gilbert has driven up prices and got everybody excited and diving in, why not take my sudden millions and move on to something less stressful?

That is the idea of investing in real estate. Sell it for more than you paid for it.

[ABetterDetroit]

It could be that Dennis has a reason to do some proactive estate planning. The IRS sure doesn't use SEVs or what he paid for these properties when it comes to their math.

Trump tax reform looks a lot less like the slam dunk it did 6 months ago and might not be able to be waited out.

Just a theory. Not a prediction or a political position.

[Hypestyles]

so who's going to actually do something with the properties and not just sit on them.

[Richard]

It kinda gives the impression that one is actually doing something,instead of just sitting on the property in the cities eyes.

I wonder what the impact of the new blight rules the city is starting to inforce has on a large portfolio like this,between that and no more lost tax collections due to misplaced paperwork,it has to be starting to become expensive to buy and hold.

[leland_palmer]

In an interview with Crain’s last month, Kefallinos discussed the status of his redevelopment of a former Thorn Apple Valley slaughterhouse at 2902 Orleans St. on the edge of Eastern Market. Kefallinos had windows installed on the first two floors of one side of the abandoned meat processing plant that face the Dequindre Cut greenway walking path.
“I’ve got the windows for the other half, I just haven’t had time to get to it,” Kefallinos told Crain’s. “Sometime this summer I’m sure we’ll come back in for the windows.”How long has it been, two years? Is he doing the work himself?

[ParisianLesion]

In an interview with Crain’s last month, Kefallinos discussed the status of his redevelopment of a former Thorn Apple Valley slaughterhouse at 2902 Orleans St. on the edge of Eastern Market. Kefallinos had windows installed on the first two floors of one side of the abandoned meat processing plant that face the Dequindre Cut greenway walking path.
“I’ve got the windows for the other half, I just haven’t had time to get to it,” Kefallinos told Crain’s. “Sometime this summer I’m sure we’ll come back in for the windows.”How long has it been, two years? Is he doing the work himself?

Shoot, from the last time I was down on the cut, he's going to be re-replacing the doors and windows that were put in long ago... he left it sitting so long that some of it has been vandalized. Definitely homeless sleeping inside.

This guy is such a dirtbag. That property has so much potential, literally ANYONE else would have had tenants in there by now.

[Richard]

Shoot, from the last time I was down on the cut, he's going to be re-replacing the doors and windows that were put in long ago... he left it sitting so long that some of it has been vandalized. Definitely homeless sleeping inside.

This guy is such a dirtbag. That property has so much potential, literally ANYONE else would have had tenants in there by now.

That goes to show that unless one has a tenant lined up or in a build to suit situation,it is pointless to even put an effort in time and money to even try to renovate.

If one were to buy and renovate a building today,with it being empty,how long would it last before being vandalized?

If it is gutted and empty the worse that could happen is it gets burnt to the ground and insurance payoff.

If it is renovated and empty,carrying costs become triple.

It is a catch 22.

[Bigdd]

That goes to show that unless one has a tenant lined up or in a build to suit situation,it is pointless to even put an effort in time and money to even try to renovate.

If one were to buy and renovate a building today,with it being empty,how long would it last before being vandalized?

If it is gutted and empty the worse that could happen is it gets burnt to the ground and insurance payoff.

Agree,.. except for that last part. Ever try to insure an empty structure in Detroit? Virtually impossible unless it's is highly occupied.

I have a fully occupied business in Detroit that is profitable, and had round-the-clock staff on site. Fire alarm systems, cameras, sprinklers etc,. and NONE of the regular carriers will touch it.

Every few years whomever we are insured through drops out of the market. We had to go with some fly-by-nite company I've never heard of this last time around for big dollars,.. because they were the only company that would touch it.

Even then,. it is contingent on occupancy. If we were 60% occupied or less,.. they wouldn't have insured us.

I highly doubt most of these buildings are insured for fire or vandalism. Probably not liability either. They are likely held in some shell corp or trust so that if the place burns down, the owner can just walk away.

This is one of the big issues facing Detroit's rebuild. Security is hard to do,.. police response times are long, usually too long to catch the perp [[not to knock the Police,.. they're under-manned and under-paid),. vandalism is super-high,.. and it's very expensive to insure against [[if you can even GET coverage).

[Richard]

Good info on the insurance aspect,it adds a bit of clarity.

When I was renovating or building new,I used to take out builders insurance through Lloyds of London it would carry through the term of construction and up to the point of occupation by a tenant,then at that time it would have been required to obtain regular insurance.It was not pricey because I also had business insurance,it mainly covered theft,fire,and anything over and above the corporation insurance coverage.

If that is not advailable there, then I can see the deterrent,which seems to be a systematic one.