Major Downtown/Midtown/Corktown Developments! (Detroit, Southfield: rental, house, purchasing)

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by HerbStrather

There are exciting things happening in the city and it's a great time to get in on the action! So glad to have found this forum and start interacting with all of you.

Welcome - even though I'm not there at the moment, I'm keeping tabs on my hometown through these enlightened and informative posters.

[ForStarters]

DOWNTOWN

• Located at the corner of Woodward and State as part of the Kresge Shops, 5&10 Bar has reopened! The bar closed not long ago, but has since reopened completely renovated.

The bar serves food as well as drinks and prices are very reasonable. On Friday and Saturday nights, there is often a local DJ on set, and is a great place to watch a game or relax after work. The renovations look great and I am really hoping this place succeeds! The bartenders are also really friendly!

Check out 5&10 Bar: 5&10 bar

• Also on Lower Woodward, a new art studio called Studio Couture has opened up. The studio's launch party was last week and lights up one of the storefronts beneath the Lofts of Merchant's Row.

As more new businesses fill the ground floors of lower Woodward, the more cohesive the street-scape becomes, the more a vibrant street-scene will emerge. It's been nothing but good news these days for downtown so I am really looking forward to the next development as momentum builds.

Check out Studio Couture: Home | Studio Couture Detroit

[usroute10]

Thanks for illuminating the good and positive that is going on in the city of Detroit, even though the positive things only seem to be happening in the Downtown and "midtown" areas. I live in a poorer residential neighborhood on the west side and there is lot to dislike about my neighborhood. But the continued redevelopment of the core of the city is uplifting.

I hope there is a last minute reprieve for old Cass Tech high.

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by usroute10

Thanks for illuminating the good and positive that is going on in the city of Detroit, even though the positive things only seem to be happening in the Downtown and "midtown" areas. I live in a poorer residential neighborhood on the west side and there is lot to dislike about my neighborhood. But the continued redevelopment of the core of the city is uplifting.

I hope there is a last minute reprieve for old Cass Tech high.

Sorry to hear that, usroute10. Have you thought about relocating within the city? I know a lot of people who are dissatisfied simply uproot elsewhere, but life is pretty good in other parts of the city and it is still very affordable depending on where you look.

In terms of old Cass Tech, I have a feeling that one of the driving forces behind taking it down is Ilitch's plan for a new stadium, i.e. he doesn't want that area tarnished by an abandoned high school. However, that building could easily be rehabbed into residential. There are good examples in other cities where old high schools have been turned into gorgeous mixed-use buildings. Apparently, there is a big player who is putting together a proposal, so, we'll see. They've got until June to make a move. I'll update this thread if anything develops.

[ForStarters]

Here are some pictures of the new grocery store: Downtown Detroit finally gets a grocer | detnews.com | The Detroit News (http://www.detnews.com/article/20110401/BIZ/104010367/1001/Downtown-Detroit-finally-gets-a-grocer - broken link)

The store looks really nice, and the owners have the right idea about focusing on groceries and not alcohol tobacco and lottery tickets the way many small deli's do.

[ForStarters]

MIDTOWN

• In what has seemed like a flurry of grocery store openings and announcements lately, national franchise grocer Whole Foods is considering Midtown as a possible location for one of its next stores.

Detroit has developed national notoriety for not having a major chain grocer within the city limits, despite being served by dozens of local independent grocers. Whole Foods could buck that trend by opening a store in Midtown, which has the city's highest average household income of new homebuyers at $113,788, followed closely by downtown, and the Indian Village neighborhood.

Midtown would make perfect sense for Whole Foods, as the area is becoming increasingly vibrant as it attracts a population of young, new residents with growing incomes. While many local residents, including this one, are satisfied the quality and convenience of local grocers, a Whole Foods store coming to Midtown would make a statement to other businesses and potential residents that Detroit's core is open for business and forging forward.

Whole Foods Market browses in Midtown - Crain's Detroit Business - Detroit News and Information

[Jwo85]

Downtown
Quicken Loans closes deal on Detroit's Chase Tower | detnews.com | The Detroit News (http://detnews.com/article/20110407/BIZ/104070468/Quicken-Loans-closes-deal-on-Detroit-s-Chase-Tower - broken link)

[ForStarters]

EASTERN MARKET

• A new community kitchen being built in Eastern Market will provide commercial cooking space to food entrepreneurs to develop new products and alternative ways to prepare and store food. The kitchen will be a beautiful indoor space in "Shed 4" and will create jobs and serve as an incubator for new business ideas.

Eastern Market to build community kitchen

Photos of the Community Kitchen

DOWNTOWN

• A new sushi restaurant is said to be opening on Adams at Woodward next to Rub Pub BBQ off Grand Circus Park. This new sushi restaurant would join Oslo and Wahoo, to make for 3 sushi restaurants (that I know of) in downtown alone, and 4 if you include Wasabi in Midtown. The dining options in Detroit continue to expand and are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

EAST RIVERFRONT

• Motown Distillery is set to open its doors this summer in the recently renovated Elevator Building located on Franklin Street just off the Detroit Riverwalk. The distillery will be one of many craft brewers in the city, but will focus on a vodka drink rather than beer. Their location will include a martini bar for those who want a taste!

Motown Distillery set to begin production in Elevator Building

• Plans to put a vineyard/winery on Belle Isle are still in the works. Cherry Creek Cellars and Sleeping Bear Winery want to bring grape-growing to Detroit come hell or high water. The companies are interested in forming a public-private partnership to develop a potion of Belle Isle into vineyard and allow community involvement. The groups told Crain's that even if public opposition to a vineyard on Belle Isle proves too much, they will be looking for other areas in the city develop and brand their Detroit wine.

Grapevines on Belle Isle start with grass roots - Crain's Detroit Business - Detroit News and Information

[ForStarters]

CORKTOWN

• Hostel Detroit is set to open today, April 17th at 2:00pm in North Corktown.

Reservations will start for as low as $23/night. Very exciting stuff!

The South End :: Hostel Detroit wants to attract youth to Corktown

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by ForStarters

CORKTOWN

• Hostel Detroit is set to open today, April 17th at 2:00pm in North Corktown.

Reservations will start for as low as $23/night. Very exciting stuff!

The South End :: Hostel Detroit wants to attract youth to Corktown

I imagine this as a "crossroads" - people from across America meeting and interacting. What a scene! Might even grow and expand.