City Club Apartment progress.

[Satiricalivory]

Is the Boulevard technically fully finished yet? Seems like on the ground floor about 50% of the ground level is leased, but the other half isn’t quite finished. Did manage to walk by Elton Park and the Corner and it also seems like a large portion of the Corner for the ground level isn’t finished. Elton Park seems worse since there is still dirt on the entire ground level.

Dirt on the ground? huh? What are you talking about? There are multiple buildings that were built as part of Elton Park.

[ShadowSoarer]

Dirt on the ground? huh? What are you talking about? There are multiple buildings that were built as part of Elton Park.

If you walk by the Robertson and Trumbull buildings [[forgot which ones), if you look through the windows on the ground floor you will notice that there are no interiors or even floors just dirt inside despite the buildings looking finished.

[JonWylie]

If you walk by the Robertson and Trumbull buildings [[forgot which ones), if you look through the windows on the ground floor you will notice that there are no interiors or even floors just dirt inside despite the buildings looking finished.

It's likely because they don't know the tenant yet and for plumbing purposes, they don't want to make any decisions without the tenant. Like if a coffee shop moved in, they would need bathroom plumbing as well as barista plumbing, but if a store moved in, they would probably only need plumbing for the bathroom. It's pretty standard in buildings without tenants if it's a new build. You'll see it in the Greektown parking garage first floor retail too.

[ShadowSoarer]

It's likely because they don't know the tenant yet and for plumbing purposes, they don't want to make any decisions without the tenant. Like if a coffee shop moved in, they would need bathroom plumbing as well as barista plumbing, but if a store moved in, they would probably only need plumbing for the bathroom. It's pretty standard in buildings without tenants if it's a new build. You'll see it in the Greektown parking garage first floor retail too.

I see thanks for the clarification. Hopefully they can find a tenant soon, but risky time for retailers.

[Gistok]

Yes... the Opera House Garage was the same way... the entire garage was finished... and yet the Broadway Ave. commercial space had dirt floors...

[JTburner]

It seems like this project has been 95% complete for the last couple months but hasn't appeared to progress past that. Does anyone know why this project seems like it is stuck?

[EGrant]

It seems like this project has been 95% complete for the last couple months but hasn't appeared to progress past that. Does anyone know why this project seems like it is stuck?

I don't have any inside info but it seems similar to The Griffin in Royal Oak, where COVID slowed it down a little last year, and a lot of the work is now on the inside which is slower and less visible.

[ShadowSoarer]

It seems like this project has been 95% complete for the last couple months but hasn't appeared to progress past that. Does anyone know why this project seems like it is stuck?

The Statler Bistro which is a restaurant on the first floor of the City Club Apartments was initially expecting to open in Jan 2021 based on some articles in Sept. 2020.

This is a little bit more of a recent article [[about 3 weeks ago), but the Statler Bistro is anticipating on opening Spring 2021. So hopefully we'll see the City Club Apartments finish in the coming months; we'll see though.
https://www.freep.com/story/entertai...ub/4671427001/

[NSortzi]

It seems like this project has been 95% complete for the last couple months but hasn't appeared to progress past that. Does anyone know why this project seems like it is stuck?

Probably because they’re working on the interiors which is obviously less visible to those outside the building. There’s workers there everyday. It’s definitely not “stuck”.

[KnnNike]

Probably because they’re working on the interiors which is obviously less visible to those outside the building. There’s workers there everyday. It’s definitely not “stuck”.

You gotta recognize, though, the extraordinarily slow pace with which this project has progressed. This building has been under construction for several years now, and didn't even require initial demolition. No way a properly managed 5-story wood-frame building should take this long.

[K-slice]

Contractors weren't able to get enough labor before Covid, now with expanded unemployment benefits even more "working class" people have left the labor force. Why go to work 50 hours per week for $3,000/month when the government will pay you just as much to sit around all day?

My home is constantly in a state of renovation and every contractor I've spoken to recently tells me the same story.

[Zacha341]

^ Unemployment eventually runs out. And most contracting jobs pay pretty well. Some are just not thinking about the future. Apparently.

[Satiricalivory]

It's pretty much done and about to open, I think it already is open actually.

It has taken insanely long every step of the way, like this was announced in 2013. It doesn't make any sense why this was the slowest project ever in Detroit history.

[gthomas]

It's pretty much done and about to open, I think it already is open actually.

It has taken insanely long every step of the way, like this was announced in 2013. It doesn't make any sense why this was the slowest project ever in Detroit history.

Exactly, that's the killer part for me. It took almost a decade in making, to finish product now. On top of falling short of building mass, aesthetic, planning and design.

In my opinion, two thumbs down on this development. But, wish nothing but the best, hope it succeed.

[Gistok]

I don't remember the whole story, but a few years back Village Green, the company that originally was developing the Statler block, it split into 2 entities, supposedly because Jonathan Holtzman, of the family that founded the firm over a century ago, was super difficult to get along with, and others in the company wanted to go their own way.

There's a Crain's article on this, but I can't get past the paywall anymore to refresh my memory...
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/articl...-village-green

Here's a lawsuit that Jonathan Holtzman filed against his former business partners... not very amicable...
https://casetext.com/case/holtzman-v-vill-green-mgmt-co

Not sure how much all of this drama slowed down the building of City Club Apartments, but i'm sure it all didn't help.

[cmubryan]

I don't remember the whole story, but a few years back Village Green, the company that originally was developing the Statler block, it split into 2 entities, supposedly because Jonathan Holtzman, of the family that founded the firm over a century ago, was super difficult to get along with, and others in the company wanted to go their own way.

There's a Crain's article on this, but I can't get past the paywall anymore to refresh my memory...
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/articl...-village-green

Here's a lawsuit that Jonathan Holtzman filed against his former business partners... not very amicable...
https://casetext.com/case/holtzman-v-vill-green-mgmt-co

Not sure how much all of this drama slowed down the building of City Club Apartments, but i'm sure it all didn't help.

Whole I have not been involved with this development, I worked at Village Green [[VG) for many years and managed properties for VG/Holtzman. VG itself doesn't own/hasn't owned any properties as they are simply the management company that Holtzman had an interest in and was the CEO for. Holtzman also had an ownership share in many of the assets that VG managed. The original plan was for this development to be managed by VG under their "City" brand.

Due to many reasons and changes in ownership of VG Management, Holtzman left VG as CEO. After he left, he retained ownership in many of the entities that VG continued to manage. He then decided to start his own management company, City Club which would naturally manage all of his assets where he had an ownership share. Therefore he terminated the management contract with VG and anything that was once a VG apartment community was renamed Village Club. All of the former VG City brand buildings became City Club. Hence why this was originally to be named Statler City Apartments and is now City Club Apartments CBD.

[KnnNike]

Whole I have not been involved with this development, I worked at Village Green [[VG) for many years and managed properties for VG/Holtzman. VG itself doesn't own/hasn't owned any properties as they are simply the management company that Holtzman had an interest in and was the CEO for. Holtzman also had an ownership share in many of the assets that VG managed. The original plan was for this development to be managed by VG under their "City" brand.

Due to many reasons and changes in ownership of VG Management, Holtzman left VG as CEO. After he left, he retained ownership in many of the entities that VG continued to manage. He then decided to start his own management company, City Club which would naturally manage all of his assets where he had an ownership share. Therefore he terminated the management contract with VG and anything that was once a VG apartment community was renamed Village Club. All of the former VG City brand buildings became City Club. Hence why this was originally to be named Statler City Apartments and is now City Club Apartments CBD.

I'm glad the name changed; to name this matchstick building as an homage to the grand concrete and steel structure that once stood here would be pretty shitty.

[Satiricalivory]

I'm glad the name changed; to name this matchstick building...

Urgh get over this already, every apartment midrise built in the united states is wood frame. There's nothing special about steel and concrete.

[Gistok]

Urgh get over this already, every apartment midrise built in the united states is wood frame. There's nothing special about steel and concrete.

This building has been discussed as "stick built" for 4 years before you joined the group... [name coined by our late member 3WC who once owned part of the block]. I don't think that will change...

[KnnNike]

Urgh get over this already, every apartment midrise built in the united states is wood frame. There's nothing special about steel and concrete.

Okay pal...you've clearly either never lived in a wood frame apartment or you've never lived in a concrete and steel frame apartment...or both. The different from a noise and quality perspective is night and day.

Yes, every midrise building is built like this now. And they're all crap that won't be around 50 years from now...

[ShadowSoarer]

Seems like City Club Apartments CBD is finally open:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQjHI_s_NVY

[ShadowSoarer]

Posting this article so we can reference it in the future.

Basically Statler Bistro plans for a fall opening and Premier Pet Supply plans for this summer.

https://rejournals.com/city-club-apa...ntown-detroit/

[SaintMe]

It bothers me, maybe more than it probably should, that their website makes repeated references to their "sexy" bathrooms. It's odd. And the opposite of sexy. And I don't think they saw all the bathrooms.

[NSortzi]

Seems like City Club Apartments CBD is finally open:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQjHI_s_NVY

It seems like they kind of randomly "decided" it was now open, rather than the traditional opening where the building is complete and operating. The apartments were occupied last fall, and the retail isn't supposed to open for months. They're also doing some final facade installation on the GCP side, so the exterior still isn't 100% complete. Extremely close though. But its like they just decided "alright we're open now" without any real reason for being so.

[Dexlin]

"Open" and "completed" can very much be different things [[but also the same thing). Plenty of buildings can get their occupancy certificates before they are "completed." Many jurisdictions hand out temporary occupancy certificates. Opening before completion is even more common in commercial construction where a company needs the space by a certain date.