Automaker gives Houston-based developer six acres east of Renaissance Center for housing project.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
Another batch of Detroit riverfront condos is slated to go on sale this fall, according to General Motors Corp., which is orchestrating the development as part of its efforts to help rebuild the long-neglected stretch of land east of the Renaissance Center.
The automaker, along with the development company that manages the Renaissance Center, is looking to build about 600 luxury condominiums that would sell for roughly $300,000 to $1 million apiece.
Matthew Cullen, head of GM's Economic Development and Enterprise Services, said recently that model condos should be available for viewing by late summer or early fall, with the units going on sale shortly afterward.
"Soon, we'll be able to give people a good sense of what the property will look like," Cullen said.
It's a bit of good news for the burgeoning redevelopment of Detroit's downtown core, which has suffered a number of setbacks amid a nationwide mortgage crisis and a credit crunch that has made it more difficult for developers to build.
GM last year gave Houston-based Hines real estate firm six acres of land just east of the automaker's world headquarters in the Renaissance Center in exchange for a cut of the future profits from the development. Hines will head up the development project, though GM will weigh in on any plans.
Hines plans to build the project in phases, starting with a high-rise condo tower on a one-acre plot next to the RenCen. If that's successful, more will follow on three more adjacent parcels.
The development will be largely residential, designed to take advantage of the waterfront property and the amenities offered in the RenCen, which houses retail stores, a movie theater, and restaurants.
Progress on the GM undertaking comes as other high-profile Detroit developments face significant hurdles.
Just as Detroit was getting some traction in building up its downtown core, developers found themselves mired in a sluggish economy and a national mortgage crisis. Bankers hit by the global lending crisis are suddenly asking for tougher terms.
One effort, a $60 million luxury residential development called Watermark Detroit, was slated to include apartments, town homes and condos priced from $400,000 to $1.2 million. It's been delayed because the banks now insist that more than 60 percent of the 112 residential units be pre-sold before the project continues. Ex-Detroit Piston Dave Bing is heading up that project.
Another project, the @water, pronounced "Atwater," was slated to break ground last summer and bring $1.6 million penthouses to the riverfront.
But now, developers are seeking more investors after banks increased the required level of pre-sales to more than 60 percent.
The massive new projects, if they become reality, would stand in contrast to a riverfront that at the beginning of the decade featured struggling businesses, dilapidated buildings and acres of land scarred by heavy industry.
Hines, one of the world's largest real estate firms, has experience in Detroit. GM hired the company to oversee the RenCen makeover. It built the Comerica tower downtown and manages the City-County Building and Compuware headquarters, both downtown.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
Another batch of Detroit riverfront condos is slated to go on sale this fall, according to General Motors Corp., which is orchestrating the development as part of its efforts to help rebuild the long-neglected stretch of land east of the Renaissance Center.
The automaker, along with the development company that manages the Renaissance Center, is looking to build about 600 luxury condominiums that would sell for roughly $300,000 to $1 million apiece.
Matthew Cullen, head of GM's Economic Development and Enterprise Services, said recently that model condos should be available for viewing by late summer or early fall, with the units going on sale shortly afterward.
"Soon, we'll be able to give people a good sense of what the property will look like," Cullen said.
It's a bit of good news for the burgeoning redevelopment of Detroit's downtown core, which has suffered a number of setbacks amid a nationwide mortgage crisis and a credit crunch that has made it more difficult for developers to build.
GM last year gave Houston-based Hines real estate firm six acres of land just east of the automaker's world headquarters in the Renaissance Center in exchange for a cut of the future profits from the development. Hines will head up the development project, though GM will weigh in on any plans.
Hines plans to build the project in phases, starting with a high-rise condo tower on a one-acre plot next to the RenCen. If that's successful, more will follow on three more adjacent parcels.
The development will be largely residential, designed to take advantage of the waterfront property and the amenities offered in the RenCen, which houses retail stores, a movie theater, and restaurants.
Progress on the GM undertaking comes as other high-profile Detroit developments face significant hurdles.
Just as Detroit was getting some traction in building up its downtown core, developers found themselves mired in a sluggish economy and a national mortgage crisis. Bankers hit by the global lending crisis are suddenly asking for tougher terms.
One effort, a $60 million luxury residential development called Watermark Detroit, was slated to include apartments, town homes and condos priced from $400,000 to $1.2 million. It's been delayed because the banks now insist that more than 60 percent of the 112 residential units be pre-sold before the project continues. Ex-Detroit Piston Dave Bing is heading up that project.
Another project, the @water, pronounced "Atwater," was slated to break ground last summer and bring $1.6 million penthouses to the riverfront.
But now, developers are seeking more investors after banks increased the required level of pre-sales to more than 60 percent.
The massive new projects, if they become reality, would stand in contrast to a riverfront that at the beginning of the decade featured struggling businesses, dilapidated buildings and acres of land scarred by heavy industry.
Hines, one of the world's largest real estate firms, has experience in Detroit. GM hired the company to oversee the RenCen makeover. It built the Comerica tower downtown and manages the City-County Building and Compuware headquarters, both downtown.
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