Atwater construction & East Riverfront updates

[Gsgeorge]

Atwater in East Riverfront, between Rivard and St. Aubin is completely closed and totally torn up down to the dirt. What is going on here? I don't remember this road being in bad shape and currently it's restricting access to the Riverwalk parking lot and the Wheelhouse... Looks like a total rebuild. Anyone know how long this will be going on? I am hoping it will just bring more improvements to the Riverwalk & Dequindre Cut extensions.

Also, I noticed that the building at Franklin and St. Aubin has collapsed. This was the one with the Hygenic Dress League graffiti art on it. A small old corner building.

Work on the new school looks great, and the new Dequindre Cut extension is beautiful and completed. I saw bicyclers and joggers on it today, even with the confusing construction.

Finally Detroit Metropolitan Credit Union has built a drive-through ATM behind it at Riopelle and Woodbridge. This replaces a small yellow warehouse building that was demolished some time in the last couple years.

[cch]

yet another ill-timed construction plot at the detroit riverfront...

[DetroitDad]

Yes, you should have seen all the parents carrying children and strollers over the construction site today [[I was one of them). This is very dangerous, they need some sort of cut-threw, or consider closing parts of the Riverwalk this year.

Also, is the Dequindre Cut is closed? There was no way to get to it from Jefferson or the river.

[noenaim]

Two bridges over the Dequindre cut [[Lafayette and Larned) are being rebuilt. For those of us who live in the area it creates major problems getting around either drive down to Jefferson or as many do we cross at Chestnut. The Chestnut street bridge looks worse than Lafayette and Larned ever looked. Why they chose to do all this work at the same time I don't know?
The Dequindre cut is opened on the weekend when there is no construction, but during week days you can walk to the river.

[stasu1213]

Two bridges over the Dequindre cut [[Lafayette and Larned) are being rebuilt. For those of us who live in the area it creates major problems getting around either drive down to Jefferson or as many do we cross at Chestnut. The Chestnut street bridge looks worse than Lafayette and Larned ever looked. Why they chose to do all this work at the same time I don't know?
The Dequindre cut is opened on the weekend when there is no construction, but during week days you can walk to the river.

I had discovered that there is an used bridge that sits betwwen the lafayette bridge and the larned bridge. The city should open that bridge temporarily for pedestrians who comes off the riverwalk and walk a short distance to cross over from St Aubin to Orleans or visa versa. Now, pedestrians coming off the Cut will have to either walk to Jefferson to go to cross over to Orleans or would have to walk down St Aubin close to Jay in order to walk over which is out of the way. The grass could be cut on that bridge and used by walkers.

[Pcm]

Also, I noticed that the building at Franklin and St. Aubin has collapsed. This was the one with the Hygenic Dress League graffiti art on it. A small old corner building.

I haven't been that way recently, but when I lived in the East Riverfront area last year, I had noticed that the rear of the building in question had collapsed. It has been that way for at least one year.

Has the entire building collapsed now?

[One Shot]

I'm going to the Tri Centennial State park this coming weekend for the Red Bull Races. Is it all torn up in front of there? Not that it matters much as I'm coming via boat but would like to be able to grab a cab without having to hike a few blocks through dirt.

[leland_palmer]

Originally Posted by Gsgeorge
Also, I noticed that the building at Franklin and St. Aubin has collapsed. This was the one with the Hygenic Dress League graffiti art on it. A small old corner building.

Here is a look from March 2009
Attachment 6250

...and a photo from my blog posted in February of this year.
http://fadeddetroit.blogspot.com/201...-spotting.html

[DetroitZack]

^I ment to make a post about that building. It was demolished. Recently I drove by and it's gone. I was going to explore it a couple months back but didn't look very safe lol

[Gianni]

The bridge just north of Lafayette was left as a pedestrian bridge so you don't have to go all the way up to Jay or Chestnut or down to Jefferson to cross unless you are driving.

[Rocko]

They do seem to be doing a complete reconstruction from the pipes up of Atwater from Rivard eastward....how far? Is this going to be a wide 4-5 lane route now as it is going west toward the RenCen? I have always liked the historic charm of the narrow street, the telephone poles, narrow right-of-way, etc. Oh well. Hopefully they can hurry this up so the whole summer isn't lost to construction.

[English]

I ran into this last weekend after the Preservation Wayne tour. I drove up to the construction on Atwater, stopped, and said slowly, "There's no road." I was stunned, but she just laughed and laughed.

Any suggestions for free Riverwalk parking during the construction? The lot by the carousel was completely inaccessible and everything was filled up by the time we got down there [[around noon).

[stasu1213]

I ran into this last weekend after the Preservation Wayne tour. I drove up to the construction on Atwater, stopped, and said slowly, "There's no road." I was stunned, but she just laughed and laughed.

Any suggestions for free Riverwalk parking during the construction? The lot by the carousel was completely inaccessible and everything was filled up by the time we got down there [[around noon).

I had noticed the same thing when I driven to that sight two weeks ago. The worker was just shoveling dit into a hill. It appears that no progress has been done since then.There is a bike trail that has been laid last week or so that will take you from the state park to the paved part of Atwater. This project should had started in March and would had been close to completion by now. The consruction was ill timed.

[dnvn522]

They do seem to be doing a complete reconstruction from the pipes up of Atwater from Rivard eastward....how far? Is this going to be a wide 4-5 lane route now as it is going west toward the RenCen?

The work goes from Rivard to Orleans. They are reconstructing the road including sidewalks and making it wide enough for on street parking along with bike lanes.

[Toolbox]

The work goes from Rivard to Orleans. They are reconstructing the road including sidewalks and making it wide enough for on street parking along with bike lanes.

That the police, limos and cabs will block. Dicks.

[leland_palmer]

Also, I noticed that the building at Franklin and St. Aubin has collapsed. This was the one with the Hygenic Dress League graffiti art on it. A small old corner building.

Is there any history to the building or was it pretty generic?

[leland_palmer]

I grabbed some shots from the corner of Franklin and St. Aubin last weekend. It looks like you can see vintage brick sewer lines underneath the sidewalks in a couple of the photos.

http://fadeddetroit.blogspot.com/201...rivertown.html

[Rocko]

In the same neighborhood [[from this week's Model D):

Elevator Building rises as E. Riverfront small business incubator



The Elevator Building on Franklin St. is almost ready for tenants -- and a handful have already signed on, including a 3D modeling studio, a couple of fashion designers, an engineering firm and a photographer. The draw? Open commercial space, river views and reasonable rent -- developer Randy Lewarchik is asking for $0.70/square foot per month. There are 23 units, ranging from about 700 square feet to just over 1,000.

Architect Archive DS retained the "rustic look" of the building, says Lewarchik, with 42-inch door openings, timber beams, brick walls and wood ceilings that were painstakingly powerwashed. Tenants have keyed access to a common kitchen area, showering facilities and an upper balcony, perfect for "people that bike to work, outdoor enthusiasts and artists," he says, drawing on the building's proximity to the Dequindre Cut, Milliken State Park and the RiverWalk

Lewarchik is reserving the ground floor of the northwest corner of the building for a bar or restaurant that he hopes will utilize the roof as a patio. In July, a mason will build brick piers for a wrought iron fence around the parking lot.

The lease rate includes basic utilities and wi-fi. For a tour or more information, contact Lewarchik at 810-599-6214.

Source: Randy Lewarchik, The Elevator Building
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

http://www.modeldmedia.com/devnews/elevator062910.aspx

[royce]

One of my pet peeves with the city concerns the ill-timed frequency of construction projects or the lack of proper street lighting. The Air Race, RiverDays, and the Fourth of July have come and gone and the contruction along the east riverfront still isn't completed. I mean really, we have this lovely RiverWalk and people are being inconvenienced if they want to get to it. At a time when tourism is its highest, we've got this slow-going construction along a very popular tourists spot. The timing wouldn't be so bad if it moved along a lot quicker. As someone mentioned earlier, the construction started in March and it is now July and it's still not done.

Regarding lightning, lights are out along Griswold between State and Clfford and then along Grand River between Washington Blvd and Griswold. This area of downtown is the last that needs to have its lights out. Enough said.

[English]

One of my pet peeves with the city concerns the ill-timed frequency of construction projects or the lack of proper street lighting. The Air Race, RiverDays, and the Fourth of July have come and gone and the contruction along the east riverfront still isn't completed. I mean really, we have this lovely RiverWalk and people are being inconvenienced if they want to get to it. At a time when tourism is its highest, we've got this slow-going construction along a very popular tourists spot. The timing wouldn't be so bad if it moved along a lot quicker. As someone mentioned earlier, the construction started in March and it is now July and it's still not done.

Totally agreed. I tried to go on Saturday and the parking was pretty sparse.

Regarding lightning, lights are out along Griswold between State and Clfford and then along Grand River between Washington Blvd and Griswold. This area of downtown is the last that needs to have its lights out. Enough said.

A couple of weekends ago during the Social Forum, Woodward was out for the first hour or two after dark. I understand that the city is trying to save funds, but during a time when we had lots of tourists willing to walk from Cobo through Cass Corridor to the Canfield Street Festival, probably not the best of ideas.

[Dabirch]

Totally agreed. I tried to go on Saturday and the parking was pretty sparse.



A couple of weekends ago during the Social Forum, Woodward was out for the first hour or two after dark. I understand that the city is trying to save funds, but during a time when we had lots of tourists willing to walk from Cobo through Cass Corridor to the Canfield Street Festival, probably not the best of ideas.

Really. The city should totally cut the lights the rest of the year so that when a few folks from out of town come it can afford to make sure their path is brightly lit.

[Rocko]

Detroit's lighting dept. is just a mess. For those who don't know, the City Lighting Dept. has control over the lights on most of the major thoroughfares within the city limits. Most side streets have lighting provided by contract from DTE. They are pretty prompt about replacing bulbs and in general neighborhoods are better lit than main roads.

That being said - it is ridiculous that portions of downtown go completely dark at times...especially when people from out of town are here.

I was amazed by how dark Michigan Avenue was from between Livernois and Central. So many lights damaged, burned out, or frankly missing all together. And those lights are only a few years old. The old steel ones from the pineapple era were pretty solid,....these new ones don't seem to be making the cut [[nice and historic as they look), and the fact that the city never installs new ones doesn't help.

I've been calling about a couple specific streetlights which have been knocked over for sometime...and yet nothing is done. The ones I call about are at 1301 E. Jefferson, just east of Rivard, and at the corner of Vernor and Junction in front of Holy Redeemer church....very busy corner, full of children thanks to the school, busy bus stop, etc., and yet the pole lays there on the sidewalk....crazy.

[stasu1213]

One of my pet peeves with the city concerns the ill-timed frequency of construction projects or the lack of proper street lighting. The Air Race, RiverDays, and the Fourth of July have come and gone and the contruction along the east riverfront still isn't completed. I mean really, we have this lovely RiverWalk and people are being inconvenienced if they want to get to it. At a time when tourism is its highest, we've got this slow-going construction along a very popular tourists spot. The timing wouldn't be so bad if it moved along a lot quicker. As someone mentioned earlier, the construction started in March and it is now July and it's still not done.

Regarding lightning, lights are out along Griswold between State and Clfford and then along Grand River between Washington Blvd and Griswold. This area of downtown is the last that needs to have its lights out. Enough said.

Who is charge of the construction of Atwater street that is being done between Rivard and Orleans? Is it the Riverfront Conservancy? The conservancy is slow when it comes to constructing projects the lack of funds at the time. A simple repaving of Atwater could had been completed in a month. That include repaving the sidewalks.

[Rocko]

I drove around this area the other day to avoid the traffic signals out on E. Jefferson and the portion of Atwater that's closed....[[it still is). The Elevator building has the name painted on the side facing downtown, but I'm not sure if this is a historic painting or a new one, but it looks good.

I also drove down Franklin past the old Franklin Furniture building [[to reopen in a month as a new Charter school). The building looks great, a fantastic adaptive re-use project! They have put new sidewalks in along both streets, but the streets are just as rough as ever. My personal vote is to have them break up the concrete and restore the old bricks [[I'd volunteer to do it for a day!). It's cool that you can still see the old rails of the Detroit Terminal line running down Franklin right beside the building.

Joseph Campau was really jumping this weekend as it usually does. Those old streets of the lower riverfront between Rivard and Iron Street are really cool, I hope there is more forthcoming investment in that area. And, hopefully, they maintain the cool turn-of-the-century industrial feel to the streets, with telephone poles, narrow streets, and old brick building fronts. The area would really lose its character if these things were altered too drastically.

[manualshift]

There is no end in sight to this atwater project. Appear to installing new drains [[I have no clue). Looks like they have five people working on it.