Uniroyal Redevelopment Opportunity

**K-slice** · October-24-24, 09:49 AM

I don't remember reading about the deal with Bettis they talk about in this story, or evern seeing any renders of what they planned to do [[which ususally stick in my mind and return when they fail). Seeing as how this deal dated back to 2005 I'm guessing any plans they had were pretty underwhelming, and considering 2005 was the heart of the Kwame years I'm guerssing there was plenty of graft involved.

We need to stop thinking that athleats and rappers will make good developers and giving them these sweetheart deals because "they're from Detroit". Magic Johnson and the fairgrounds, Big Sean and the Emagine Theater, and Bettis and the Uniroyal Site all go to show that personal wealth and a recognizeable name don't mean squat when it comes to development. I'm sure there's more examples I'm not thinking of...

This site is massive and a huge opportunity to build something impactful and iconic. Let's hope the city can partner with a REAL developer this time.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/bu...s/75815356007/

**stasu1213** · October-24-24, 12:01 PM

Just to think that originally the Riverwalk that runs through that site to Gabriel Richard Park wasn't going to be completed until development on the Uniroyal site was going to be completed. I am happy that pressure and common sense have gotten the Riverfront Conservancy to proceed with the completion of that end of the Riverwalk especially before CFO Will Smith was busted.

**Henry Whalley** · October-24-24, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by K-slice

...all go to show that personal wealth and a recognizeable name don't mean squat when it comes to development...

Ditto

**royce** · October-24-24, 03:18 PM

First, it must be nice to get $900,000 for not completing the project. Did they have $900,000 worth of expenses? Pay them to keep them from suing us for giving them 19 years to come up with nothing. Nice going Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.

Second, how much contaminated soil needs to be removed to say the site is safe? What's going into the ground that the chemicals in the soil will leach into? All I can think of that would be the biggest concern would be drinking water pipes. I know the pipes in my old house go about six feet below the foundation. If you clear out 20 feet of the top soil, would that make the site safe? I need some clarification.

**mikeg19** · October-28-24, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by royce

First, it must be nice to get $900,000 for not completing the project. Did they have $900,000 worth of expenses? Pay them to keep them from suing us for giving them 19 years to come up with nothing. Nice going Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.

Second, how much contaminated soil needs to be removed to say the site is safe? What's going into the ground that the chemicals in the soil will leach into? All I can think of that would be the biggest concern would be drinking water pipes. I know the pipes in my old house go about six feet below the foundation. If you clear out 20 feet of the top soil, would that make the site safe? I need some clarification.

I'm not an environmental engineer so I can't speak 100% on it, but 14 of the 44 acres has been deemed remediated. I don't know how how that works if the remainder of the site can leach back into the clean section? Regardless, after almost 20 years of a "possible development" with the Bettis group, I'm glad to hear other developers will have a crack at this site. I'd be curious to see if a RFP going out or DG swoops in and buys it. That site could hold something truly incredible given the right architect and design team.

**K-slice** · October-29-24, 10:53 AM

If we dont get something 20+ storys and waterfront dining it will be a missed opportunity. This site has pore potential than any other in the entire city. It has everyhing you could ask for in a vacant piece of land.

**401don** · October-29-24, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by K-slice

If we dont get something 20+ storys and waterfront dining it will be a missed opportunity. This site has pore potential than any other in the entire city. It has everyhing you could ask for in a vacant piece of land.

It's a great site but so is all the empty land east of the Ren Cen that's sat empty for decades so it's not like developers have been itching to get at it.

**mwilbert** · October-29-24, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by K-slice

If we dont get something 20+ storys and waterfront dining it will be a missed opportunity. This site has pore potential than any other in the entire city. It has everyhing you could ask for in a vacant piece of land.

Well, everything except a lack of contamination. If it weren't highly contaminated it would probably already have been redeveloped. But you are certainly right that it's a great site and I certainly expect something good to eventually appear. 20+ stories may be a stretch that far east, but I guess it's possible.

**southen** · October-30-24, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by K-slice

If we dont get something 20+ storys and waterfront dining it will be a missed opportunity. This site has pore potential than any other in the entire city. It has everyhing you could ask for in a vacant piece of land.

I do like the idea of a "landmark" or gateway building being there but just make it high density. If it is like Orleans Landing in any way it will be a wasted opportunity and waste of space.

**stasu1213** · October-30-24, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by southen

I do like the idea of a "landmark" or gateway building being there but just make it high density. If it is like Orleans Landing in any way it will be a wasted opportunity and waste of space.

A park or an extention to Gabriel Richard Park would be a good purpose for that land

**southen** · October-30-24, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

A park or an extention to Gabriel Richard Park would be a good purpose for that land

Gabriel Richard Park is massive and completely underutilized. You don't need more park land there next to GRP and Belle Isle. Residential adjacent to great parks is more of a need.

**mwilbert** · October-31-24, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by southen

Gabriel Richard Park is massive and completely underutilized. You don't need more park land there next to GRP and Belle Isle. Residential adjacent to great parks is more of a need.

This seems correct to me. Detroit could definitely use more parks, but it doesn't need more parks in this location.

I would think mixed residential/retail/service/parking with the vast majority being residential, and then a retail strip along Jefferson. If people were willing to put some hotel rooms there, that would also be a possibility, but I think it's a bit too far east to be a good fit.

**Gistok** · October-31-24, 02:25 PM

I agreed with Expatriot on another thread that Jefferson & E. Grand Blvd. could use one large traffic circle. Also it would be cool to have a pair of bookends type of apartment towers on either side of the bridge entrance, with the rest of the area used as parkland. Yeah that would take away from Gabriel Richard Park, but compensate by adding other park space on the other parts of Uniroyal site.

The one problem of building deep on the Uniroyal site is that the deeper they go for foundations, the more toxic cleanup will be required, rather than "capping" which I believe is all they did on the parts of the site already remediated.

**royce** · October-31-24, 09:42 PM

^Gistok, what is "capping" a contaminated site?

**Gistok** · October-31-24, 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by royce

^Gistok, what is "capping" a contaminated site?

A proper cleanup of the Uniroyal site could mean going 100 ft. down [[just using that as a "what-if") to remove soil contamination of over 150 years, from multiple industrial uses [[parts of the Uniroyal site was a stove works before). But that doesn't mean that a cleanup will go down 100 ft. for soil removal. They may perhaps cap it at 30 ft. down and cap it with some sort of barrier.

Beneath the Uniroyal sites Riverwalk area... they didn't remove all of the contaminants. They went down only so far to make the site safe for the folks who use the Riverwalk.

So if someone built a "stick built" 5 story structure, it would require a lot less soil removal/remediation than if you wanted to place a 20 story building on the site.

**Richard** · November-02-24, 07:00 AM

That’s the problem with this site,the original remediation of capping was basically a mothballing approach.

You are still going to get leaching into the groundwater.

You can take an industrial site,cap it and continue to use it as an industrial site,according to state standard.

But if you are going to change its use to residential or something where the public is going to have direct excess to,capping is not excepted.

As it stands and by state EPA laws,you could not put a school or residential there without spending millions more in remediation,it was not remediated from a development aspect.

It was remediated from an environmental aspect,so the rains do not wash the contaminated topsoil into the water ways and the leaching of the rest into the groundwater is a slower process,it did not go away.

**stasu1213** · November-03-24, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by Richard

That’s the problem with this site,the original remediation of capping was basically a mothballing approach.

You are still going to get leaching into the groundwater.

You can take an industrial site,cap it and continue to use it as an industrial site,according to state standard.

But if you are going to change its use to residential or something where the public is going to have direct excess to,capping is not excepted.

As it stands and by state EPA laws,you could not put a school or residential there without spending millions more in remediation,it was not remediated from a development aspect.

It was remediated from an environmental aspect,so the rains do not wash the contaminated topsoil into the water ways and the leaching of the rest into the groundwater is a slower process,it did not go away.

So just make it greenspace with trails until someone could come up with a solution