Detroit apartment buildings fill; renters' age falls: Incentives, biz moves drive surge


By Daniel Duggan
The combination of growth in downtown businesses and incentives for people to move to Detroit has many city apartment buildings at or near full occupancy.

From lower Woodward Avenue up to the New Center area, apartment owners cite a boost in the past few months. And in some cases, the buildings have waiting lists.
In the Campus Martius area, the Lofts of Merchants Row are virtually full on a regular basis, said Terry Schwartz, principal with Bingham Farms-based Dover Realty Advisors, asset manager for the 157-unit building.

Schwartz said the latest tenants are young and making more money than past tenants.

Based on the background checks of residents, Schwartz said, the average age of a tenant at the building in 2005, 2006 and 2007 was 41 with an average income of $70,000.

By 2009, the average age dropped to 33 and the average income was $52,000.

"In the last six months, the age hasn't changed but the income has," he said. "We're now seeing an average income back at $70,000 again."

Schwartz said roughly 15 percent of the tenants work at Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc., and employees from the Detroit office of GalaxE.Solutions Inc. are also leasing space.

Employees from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, who are being moved to Detroit from Southfield, are now starting to look for apartments.
Typically, with increases in occupancy come new development as well. But even with the growing demand, few new apartment buildings will be available in 2011.

"We're desperate to get these new developments under construction," Mosey said. "There are a few here and there, but overall, we need more product."

Mosey points to more than 200 units that could be under construction this year, largest among the projects being the Auburn, a 58-unit apartment project at Cass and Canfield streets, and Forest Arms, 75 units planned at Second and Forest streets.

Among the problems facing developers is the fact that it takes two to three years for a project to move from idea to completion, and the recession killed everything in the pipeline, said James Van Dyke, vice president of development for the Detroit-based Roxbury Group.

The Roxbury Group is developing the Auburn building in Midtown and the 108 units of apartments in the mixed-use hotel and apartment development for the David Whitney Building in Detroit.
Full story at: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...incentives-biz

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