Woodward & Alexandrine block

[Pcm]

I saw a thread on here about the new construction on Woodward just south of Alexandrine but I can no longer find it, nor can I find any press on it.

I noticed that there is already a frame up for a replacement building that was taken down just prior to the Final Four.

Does anyone have any info, or a link to an article about it?

Happy Friday!

[Pcm]

Wow. Really? No one knows anything?

Or has this been discussed already?

[j to the jeremy]

I vaguely remember something about a movie theater and retail, but that could just be me getting my hopes up. Whatever it is, it's going up fast.

[oneway]

From the Michigan Economic Development Corporation website:

North Woodward Garden Block Development – A state brownfield tax credit valued at $2.2 million will help the development group revitalize a blighted block on the west side of Woodward between Mack and Warren in Detroit. The project involves the restoration of the Garden Theatre and the Blue Moon Building. The theater will be returned to its original use and the Blue Moon will house a new restaurant. A new, three-story building will be constructed with retail and commercial space. Plans also call for a 300-space parking garage. The project will generate $28.7 million in capital investment and create more than 200 new jobs.

[rugbyman]

Is the Garden Theatre where Trenchtown is now?

[detroitbob]

The Garden Thea is the brown painted front next to the new construction on that block. In it's later days it was the infamous "Sassy-Cat".

[Doma]

Anybody have an update on this? I was checking it out the other day and it is looking good, wondering if any tenants have signed on.

[1KielsonDrive]

Another great and informative thread. All criticism, yelling, name calling and hijacking aside for the moment, this is what DetroitYes is all about. I know the blocks in question quite well but had little clue to some of the uses of the buildings located there going back to The 509, The Village and The Sassy Cat. Sometimes it's just due to a loss of perspective when businesses leave or buildings are torn down. In this case it may be due to a time factor also. I was a pre-teen and teenager during some of those incarnations. Thanks for starting this thread. I hope we get a lot more input.

[Lorax]

The Garden Theatre I believe was built as a Nickelodeon, and had shown early Edison films. This is from my old memory bank of trivial information, but interesting nonetheless. It is certainly early 20th century, possibly from the 1890's.

[EastsideAl]

The Garden Theatre I believe was built as a Nickelodeon, and had shown early Edison films. This is from my old memory bank of trivial information, but interesting nonetheless. It is certainly early 20th century, possibly from the 1890's.

More about the Garden [[Sassy Cat) Theater, which was opened in 1912:
http://waterwinterwonderland.com/loc...?id=601&type=5

[Gistok]

The Garden Theatre I believe was built as a Nickelodeon, and had shown early Edison films. This is from my old memory bank of trivial information, but interesting nonetheless. It is certainly early 20th century, possibly from the 1890's.

Lorax, EastsideAl is correct [[from the website)... the Garden Theatre dates to 1912. The first Nickelodeons came into being around circa 1900 and were in vogue for about a decade before they were replaced with something besides storefronts with seating.

IIRC, the 1910 National Theatre [[Albert Kahn's only as-built movie theatre) is the oldest extant theatre in Detroit. The earliest theatres didn't have candy counters... but savvy entrepreneurs put refreshment shops into nearby storefronts. At the National there's a very small store tucked next to each of the towers that originally handled refreshments/tobacco sales.

[Fury13]

I remember reading that although the Garden Theatre was designed by Crane and opened in 1912, it was a revamp of an existing structure [[dating back into the 19th century), not entirely new construction.

[gencinjay]

There are not any tenants in the development yet, although they have been talking to several interested parties. The garage will be the first thing open in the project.

[Pcm]

There are not any tenants in the development yet, although they have been talking to several interested parties. The garage will be the first thing open in the project.

Parking structures go up so fast in this city. They've had a LOT of practice, I guess.

Anyone remember the TV spot [[produced by Berline who used to have the Greektown Casino advertising account) for the new Greektown parking garage? "The best thing that's happened in Detroit in years... A new parking structure!"

I'm entirely sick of seeing new parking garages built. The new one for the Argonaut went up in a month or so. Of course, they had to knock down the existing structure two blocks away, first. What's so bad about walking a couple of blocks?!

[gencinjay]

Parking structures go up so fast in this city. They've had a LOT of practice, I guess.

They're precast. All they have to do is lay the pieces on top of eachother.

[Quonset Hut]

The parking garage sounds good too. While there are plenty of lots around, it seems that they are gated for WSU. Where do folks park for the Majestic the next block up? Also, wasn't there a stripped five story apartment building around the corner that got torched earlier this year? Or was it on Garfield between Woodward and John R?

[Bloomfield Pills]

I hope they'll at least put up a historical marker for the Scorpio Bookstore.

[Pcm]

"Woodward Garden BlockDetroit, MISection 108 Guaranteed Loan- $19,000,000 The City of Detroit in collaboration with the for profit developer, Woodward SA-Ventures, Limited Liability Corporation [[LLC), will redevelop eight parcels of blighted property into a mix complex of commercial/retail space, office space, a rehabilitated dinner theater, and parking spaces. Woodward SA-Ventures, LLC, mixed use development will include a rehabilitated 5,400 square foot restaurant and the historic 22,080 square foot Garden Theater, as well as the redevelopment of five of the eight parcels into 61,625 square feet of retail and office space, and a 413-space parking garage with 12,672 square feet of ground floor commercial/retail space. The City will re-lend the proceeds of its Section 108 Guaranteed Loan to Garden Block Investment, LLC, an upper-tier investment entity that will leverage $7,497,000 in New Markets Tax Credit [[NMTC) funding. The Garden Block Investment, LLC will invest the guaranteed loan proceeds and the NMTC funding as equity into New Markets Investment, LLC, a Community Development Equity [[CDE). The CDE will use this equity funding to make an investment [[a loan) in Woodward SA-Ventures, LLC for financing the mixed use redevelopment of the Woodward Garden Block, the Qualified Low-Income Community Business [[QLICB). The total cost of the project will be $31,810,044. The Community Development Block Grant [[CDBG) national objective for the City’s use of the guaranteed loan proceeds for special economic development assistance to a for profit developer is to benefit low-moderate income persons through job creation. The redevelopment will create an estimated 390 new full-time jobs, of which at least 51% of the new jobs will be held by or made available to persons of low-moderate income. The City will repay its Section 108 Guaranteed Loan over a twenty-year period, paying interest only for the first seven years, since the CDE must invest all the NMTC equity in the QLICB for seven years, as required by the U.S. Department of Treasury. As security for the repayment of its Section 108 Guaranteed Loan, the City pledges its interest in its third-party loan to Garden Block Investment, LLC, which will pledge its partnership interests in the CDE. At the end of the seven years, the CDE will terminate and assign its first lien position on the completed site by Woodward SA- Ventures, LLC. As part of the security for the repayment of the Section 108 Guaranteed Loan, the City also pledges its CDBG funds."

[PQZ]

"Woodward Garden BlockDetroit, MISection 108 Guaranteed Loan- $19,000,000 The City of Detroit in collaboration with the for profit developer, Woodward SA-Ventures, Limited Liability Corporation [[LLC), will redevelop eight parcels of blighted property into a mix complex of commercial/retail space, office space, a rehabilitated dinner theater, and parking spaces. Woodward SA-Ventures, LLC, mixed use development will include a rehabilitated 5,400 square foot restaurant and the historic 22,080 square foot Garden Theater, as well as the redevelopment of five of the eight parcels into 61,625 square feet of retail and office space, and a 413-space parking garage with 12,672 square feet of ground floor commercial/retail space. The City will re-lend the proceeds of its Section 108 Guaranteed Loan to Garden Block Investment, LLC, an upper-tier investment entity that will leverage $7,497,000 in New Markets Tax Credit [[NMTC) funding. The Garden Block Investment, LLC will invest the guaranteed loan proceeds and the NMTC funding as equity into New Markets Investment, LLC, a Community Development Equity [[CDE). The CDE will use this equity funding to make an investment [[a loan) in Woodward SA-Ventures, LLC for financing the mixed use redevelopment of the Woodward Garden Block, the Qualified Low-Income Community Business [[QLICB). The total cost of the project will be $31,810,044. The Community Development Block Grant [[CDBG) national objective for the City’s use of the guaranteed loan proceeds for special economic development assistance to a for profit developer is to benefit low-moderate income persons through job creation. The redevelopment will create an estimated 390 new full-time jobs, of which at least 51% of the new jobs will be held by or made available to persons of low-moderate income. The City will repay its Section 108 Guaranteed Loan over a twenty-year period, paying interest only for the first seven years, since the CDE must invest all the NMTC equity in the QLICB for seven years, as required by the U.S. Department of Treasury. As security for the repayment of its Section 108 Guaranteed Loan, the City pledges its interest in its third-party loan to Garden Block Investment, LLC, which will pledge its partnership interests in the CDE. At the end of the seven years, the CDE will terminate and assign its first lien position on the completed site by Woodward SA- Ventures, LLC. As part of the security for the repayment of the Section 108 Guaranteed Loan, the City also pledges its CDBG funds."

This summary of the City's use of federal dollars does not include the City's use of state tax credits through the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority [DBRA - one of the DEGC-staffed organizations].

Nor does it mention the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Abatement, a local tax abatement mechanism that will significantly reduce the property taxes for a period of 12 years. The OPRA is of course run through the DBRA.

The new sidewalk, trees and historic streelights in front of the project are courtesy of the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Detroit. [EDC - another DEGC-staffed public body]

[Pcm]

Whoops. Forgot to post the link where I found the info...

http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/commu...v.cfm?state=mi

[rjlj]

Funny thing is that this project is using exactly the same funding sources that Richard Hosey suggested to make the Lafayette Building Re-development viable[[except for the Michigan special consideration tax credit). See link. But for some reason, the Lafayette is not considered viable by the DEGC. So what is the difference between this development with commercial/retail/office space and the Lafayette? Does Detroit really need a medieval King Arthur style dinner theatre? Why can't both projects happen?

http://detroityes.com/mb/showthread....=richard+hosey

[PQZ]

Funny thing is that this project is using exactly the same funding sources that Richard Hosey suggested to make the Lafayette Building Re-development viable[[except for the Michigan special consideration tax credit). See link. But for some reason, the Lafayette is not considered viable by the DEGC. So what is the difference between this development with commercial/retail/office space and the Lafayette? Does Detroit really need a medieval King Arthur style dinner theatre? Why can't both projects happen?

http://detroityes.com/mb/showthread....=richard+hosey

In your zeal to prove a point, you have conflated and confused very different fianncing mechanisms.

The 221d Hosey references as potential loan guarnatee is very different from the HUD 108 loan this project is using. They come from different sources and have very different effects.

In HUDs own words:
Section 221[[d)[[3) and Section 221[[d)[[4) insures lenders against loss on mortgage defaults. Section 221[[d)[[3) is used by nonprofit sponsors and Section 221[[d)[[4) is used by profit-motivated sponsors. Both programs assist private industry in the construction or rehabilitation of rental and cooperative housing for moderate-income and displaced families by making capital more readily available. The program allows for long-term mortgages [[up to 40 years) that can be financed with Government National Mortgage Association [[GNMA) Mortgage Backed Securities.

So one is an insurance policy and the other is an actual loan.

This project has not been able to secure first position financing and is using the HUD 108 program, which is not a federally guaranteed loan but is an actual federal loan. No bank would touch this project, therefore the City is pledging its future CDBG distributions from HUD as guarantee if this project fails.

Lets be very very clear. The City gets about $60 million a year in CDBG and that is used to pay for all sorts of community development projects. About a third to a half of it goes to pay for the operations and running of the Planning and Development Department every year. IF this project fails, the City will have its CDBG disbursement reduced by the amount left over in the loan. Say it fails after three years and only $1.5 million has been repaid, the City's next CDBG payment from the feds will be reduced by $17.5 million. THAT ought to make your anus pucker. That is real risk with real consequences for the City.

108 Loans are capped at a certain ratio of total annual CDBG funding. This project is eating the last of the cap. 108 loans will not be available at this size for at least another six years. And before you ask, this project was in the pipeline BEFORE the DDA issues its RFP for the Lafayette four years ago.

The 108 loan on this projects is 61% of the financing of this project. There is not a single bank loan in this project. Please note that Brian Holdwick states the problem is finding debt for projects. This project merely reinforces Holdwicks statement that debt is not available and other sources must be found. This source is now tapped out.

The financing mechanism this project DOES share with Hosey's theoretical structure is the New Market Tax Credits which are 24% of the project costs. The retail and commercial space provided in the project is substantially larger and therefore generates a much larger NMTC than any proposal for the Lafayatte so immediately assuming that NMTCs could generate 24% of funding forr the Lafayette is a very flawed assumption.NMTCs are based on jobs produced and no proposal for the Lafayatte has gone past 30 or so jobs created. This project assumes 390 full time jobs. Different projects, different funding sources, different job creation numbers.

Rjlj, for being such a Broderick booster who claims to know what is going on, I am very shocked to see that you dont understand the very fuindamental differences between a HUD 108 and a 221d. That is public finance 101.

[leland_palmer]

I have a few photos of the block from this past weekend on my blog. I've also included a few post demolition photos as well.

http://fadeddetroit.blogspot.com/200...velopment.html

[French777]

I like the pics! Thanks

[Rocko]

Thanks for the photos, great to see the progress! Historic Preservation, adaptive use, and new construction all at once!