Eastern Market says more than 300 housing units in the works

**Airforceguy** · May-10-23, 02:35 PM

Earlier this year, Eastern Market Partnership hired Dietrich Knoer, formerly of The Platform LLC, to run Eastern Market Development Corp., the partnership's development arm.

"From Midtown to downtown to Corktown, there is a market push for those three general areas and Eastern Market has been sort of left behind in that," said Craig Willian, vice president of real estate for Develop Detroit Inc., one of the developers working on Eastern Market area residential buildings.

Among the projects in the works, according to the Detroit City Council document:

• Cincinnati-based Pivotal is working on a two-phase, 100-unit project consisting of both workforce and senior housing, with affordability levels at 30% to 70% of the federally-designated Area Median Income, a federally designated figure that is controversial because it includes suburban incomes and therefore skews upward what is considered affordable to residents of a city that is one of the poorest in the nation. Crain's has previously reported that at least some of the housing would go on St. Aubin St.

• Harper Woods-based American Community Developers is working on an affordable and workforce housing project aimed at households earning 40% to 120% of AMI. The project would also include 4,000 square feet of commercial space. Half of that would be reserved for minority-owned businesses. ACD declined comment.

• Economic Growth Corp., a Rock Island, Ill.-based developer, also is working on another project several years out. The conceptual vision is for housing for refugee farmers.

• Develop Detroit, a nonprofit developer, continues to work on a housing project aimed at residents earning 30% to 80% of AMI. Willian said the project in the district's south end along Gratiot Avenue would include 78 units as part of an approximately $20 million first phase, and another $35 million to $40 million would be spent on a second phase with 136 units. Construction on the first phase could start early next year, contingent on solidifying financing.

• Firm Real Estate, run by Sanford Nelson, continues to work on a 25-unit redevelopment of the Atlas building on Gratiot Avenue. That project was announced in September 2020 but has not yet started. Crain's emailed Nelson seeking details.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...-housing-units

**Danny** · May-10-23, 04:18 PM

When I see high-scrapers in Eastern Market without demolishing the historical building there. I believe it.

**kuuma** · May-10-23, 04:41 PM

all great news, bring on the juicy renders!!

there has been a bit of reno motion on the Atlas building, but maybe it's just internal stuff. iirc a bunch of windows were replaced last year. the ground floor facade on Gratiot is a potential stunner.

Develop Detroit's project mentioned I believe is the "eastern market gateway" which is fugly as hell and fully ignores the standing brick buildings there which should be saved. hopefully there's a design revision coming after 5 years of silence.

**stasu1213** · May-10-23, 07:21 PM

Leave the sheds alone including the market space. Renovate the building's along Gratiot from Russell northbound to Jay

**gratiotfaced** · May-10-23, 09:48 PM

I've been hearing about new residential coming to Eastern Market for years now. The area seems to have a lot of potential, but very little actually gets built.

BTW, what's the status on the food hall renovation? As far as I know it was supposed to break ground late last year, but never did.

**1953** · May-11-23, 11:37 AM

The headline is appealing, but the meat of the article is disappointing - several projects long standing projects, including no market rate housing, which are likely to detract from the character of the market - are coming to the area. Yay!

1953

**K-slice** · May-11-23, 01:22 PM

Apparently EM isn't vibrant enough to sustain market rate housing developments yet... That's unfortunate.

**ABetterDetroit** · May-11-23, 05:50 PM

What Eastern Market could really use is a new to town experienced urban residential developer with some deep pockets to stake a claim on it. Something similar to what Gilbert did in Brush Park. Multiple projects that fit multiple income levels and different tastes going in simultaneously. So much potential for someone who really knows what they are doing and can afford to do it and complete projects with timing.

**royce** · May-12-23, 04:26 AM

"From Midtown to downtown to Corktown, there is a market push for those three general areas and Eastern Market has been sort of left behind in that," said Craig Willian, vice president of real estate for Develop Detroit Inc., one of the developers working on Eastern Market area residential buildings.

Well, last time I checked, Corktown, Midtown, and downtown weren't doing a whole lot of projects for workforce/low-income and senior citizens. There are a few, but most of the development is market-rate. St. Aubin is on the periphery of Eastern Market [[EM)so I wouldn't say that development is going to do anything to enhance EM. Also, where would a development go along the South end of EM along Gratiot?

I was in New Orleans back in April and then went to an event at Eastern Market a week later an said to myself that Eastern Market has the potential to be Detroit's "French Quarter." I know it's a stretch. Greektown is more "Bourbon Street" but it's small compared to the French Quarter and EM. However, Eastern Market has a few things similar to the French Quarter: narrow streets, outside of Russell Street, especially those that head East and West, and the fact that it is a "gathering spot" for large crowds reminds me of a lot of what I saw in the French Quarter in New Orleans. All EM needs now is some residential that is dense and close to the streets; no lawns and mainly townhouses. This would be great along the streets heading towards Chene Street. However, that's not the plan for those streets.

Also, if EM would build a few more parking decks and build residential on some of the surface lots, it could really become a mixed-use community. There is some land along Russell Street just north of the Fire Department Lofts that would be ideal for some townhouses.

At any rate, developing Eastern Market has got to be bigger than what's being proposed in this article. I thought I'd give a different vision.

**casscorridor** · May-12-23, 05:58 AM

It would be great to see some market rate units as well, so as to avoid clustering subsidized units in one area.

**stasu1213** · May-12-23, 11:17 AM

I once was surfing the channels a few years back and stumbled on this 910 superstation. Horace Sheffield was on the air trying to make a claim that contaminated water was running beneath the Eastern Market. I was think was this his way of land grabbing by having the Eastern Market to closed down and having a developer to build something in its spot. The produce that are sold above are brought in from farms and other places. They haven't anything to do with what's underneath