Birmingham : Development News

Excerpt:

"The Birmingham City Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing tonight on the creation of a new class of liquor licenses aimed at rewarding companies that make substantial investments in the city. "

The city's Planning Board is recommending the creation of the proposed economic-development licenses. Under the draft ordinance before the commission, businesses that invest at least $7.5 million in the city would be able to apply for economic-development licenses to sell alcoholic beverages in Birmingham.

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The Briggs Building expansion in downtown Birmingham is a textbook case for how to improve an urban center.

The developer brought new life to a historic building at the corner of Old Woodward Avenue and Maple Road and filled in an adjacent surface parking lot with what promises to be a vibrant mixed-use building in the heart of downtown.

The overall project will add 62,000 square feet of space and 175 parking spaces. Approximately 42,000 square feet of that will be set aside as Class A office space, 10,000 square feet will be set aside for retail and another 10,000 square feet will be set aside for luxury apartments.

To accomplish this developer is adding a third story to the two-story Briggs Building. The structure was built in 1930 and has footings strong enough to support up to four total stories, however, the developer choose to keep it at three to comply with local ordinances.

A five-story building is being built adjacent to the Briggs Building on what had been a surface parking lot for decades. The 165-space parking lot stretched from Old Woodward to Peabody Street. The new building on top of it will have ground floor retail on Old Woodward, of which Universal Watch has leased space. Office space occupied by money managers and attorneys will be on the second, third and fourth floors. Luxury apartments are set up for the fifth floor. A 175-space parking deck will go behind the building, facing Peabody.

Overall the project is a model for sustainable urban development because it brings people into downtown 24 hours a day. The office space increases foot traffic during the day while the apartments bring in more people during the evenings and weekends. The storefronts keep the building active which, in turn, strengthens the retail environment. On top of it all the parking deck actually increases the number of available spaces.

The developer hopes to start moving tenants into the structure by the first quarter of 2008 and have the whole project finished by next year.

Source: Ted Fuller, developer of the project
Writer: Jon Zemke

The Woodward Avenue Action Association is working to freshen up Michigan's oldest highway by sponsoring a grant program to improve the aesthetics along Woodward Avenue.

The program will award up to $10,000 in grants to communities along the thoroughfare for physical and public space improvements, such as crosswalks, historic signage and benches, among other things. The city of Berkley and Detroit's University Cultural Center Association received $20,000 in grants last year. 

The Woodward Avenue Action Association received $60,000 in federal National Scenic Byway funding. Grant applications are due by June 15. For information, visit woodwardavenue.org or call (248) 288-2004.

Source: Woodward Avenue Action Association
Writer: Jon Zemke

Birmingham expects to adopt a new master plan and design strategy for the city’s “Triangle District” late this summer.

The area bounded by Woodward Avenue, Adams Road and Maple Road (just east of downtown) is experiencing development pressure yet is an area lacking a clear vision and framework for growth. The new master plan is expected to spur development on surface parking lots and underutilized lots that will create a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly and mixed-use district.

The new master plan is available on the city's website. A public hearing on the master plan is set for July 11 before the city planning board. The City Commission is expected to adopt it sometime in August. For information, call (248) 644-3869.

Source: Jana Ecker, planning director for the city of Birmingham
Writer: Jon Zemke

Googlers working away in Birmingham will soon be a common site in the city's downtown. The Internet search giant plans to lease 17,000 square feet of Class A office space in the new 325 N. Old Woodward Ave. development.

Google plans to move 150 employees to the location and set up a public cyber café in the building's ground floor retail space on Willis Street.

Bingham Farms-based Burton-Katzman Development Co. built the $35-million mixed-use building, which occupies a full city block at North Old Woodward and Willis. It has 184,000 square feet of space, which includes retail, office and residential space. The first floor will be used mainly for retail and restaurant space. The second and third floors are reserved for 74,000 square feet of Class A office space. The fourth floor is set aside for luxury penthouses priced between $515,000 and $5 million.
 
The building, located at 325 N. Old Woodward Ave., is where the old Jacobson’s used to stand.

Source: Jana Ecker, planning director for the city of Birmingham
Writer: Jon Zemke

A study by the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative states upgrading passenger rail service across the Midwest could provide up to $719 million in investment, $3.5 billion in user benefits to Michigan, 6,970 new jobs, more transportation choices and a significant reduction in pollution.

Nine states from across the Midwest, including Michigan, are part of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, which is pushing for the creation of a 3,000-mile Midwest Regional Rail System, similar to systems on the east coast. Trains running out of a hub in Chicago would travel to nine Midwest states at speeds up to 110 mph, making travel times competitive with driving.

The proposed system would have three routes in Michigan that would connect Chicago to Metro Detroit, Port Huron and Grand Rapids. The study estimates the system would generate $23.1 in user benefits, such as time savings, and $4.9 billion in investment in the Midwest during the project's first 40 years. Of that, Metro Detroit could see as much as $315 million in user benefits.

Passenger rail service, provided by Amtrak, ridership in Michigan has increased steadily wince 2002 from 447,000 passengers to 673,000 passengers in 2006. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments is also moving forward with plans to create a commuter rail line connecting Detroit, Dearborn, Metro Airport, Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor by the end of this year. 

For information on the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative study, visit michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-11056---,00.html. 

Source: Michigan Department of Transportation

Rebuilding a large section of North Old Woodward in downtown Birmingham is set to begin this week.

The city has finished most of the sewer and water line replacement and plans to start on the rest of the infrastructure improvements between Oak Street and Ring Road. The $2.5-million project will repave the street, build new sidewalks and create a median in the road. 

The 10-foot-wide median will be big enough to plant large trees in the middle of it. The road itself will be widened to preserve the diagonal parking on the street. There will also be gaps in the median to allow for left turns.

City officials expect the paving to be finished by August and to be completely finished by November.

Source: Paul O’Meara, assistant director of engineering for the city of Birmingham

Sales of the Woodward Place of Birmingham condo conversion in downtown are moving forward at a steady pace. Nearly half the 78 units have sold, leaving 38 in the project. 

The development’s units range in size from 1,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet. Each condo comes with hardwood flooring, granite countertops, crown molding, a private balcony, parking spaces and an in-unit washer and dryer. The development also overlooks the Rouge River. The condos are priced between $199,000 and $349,000.

The development, located at 1115 N. Old Woodward Ave., was originally built as an apartment complex in the 1960s. Heron Development bought it in 2003 and started gutting and remodeling the units. The last third of the units are in the process of being renovated.

For information, visit woodwardplaceofbirmingham.com or call (248) 594-6680.

Source: Kira Kusky, marketing and sales assistant of Woodward Place of Birmingham

Bingham Farms-based Burton-Katzman Development Co. (www.burton-katzman.com) has signed three retail tenants for its new 325 N. Old Woodward Ave. development in downtown Birmingham.

Fleming’s Steakhouse (www.flemingssteakhouse.com) opened last week in the building, taking up 7,000 square feet of the ground-floor retail space. Bang & Olufsen (www.bang-olufsen.com), a high-end audio company, will occupy 1,500 square feet of space of the building at the corner of Willits Street and Old Woodward. Designs Unlimited (www.designsunlimitedonline.com) a high-end kitchen remodeling company, will occupy a little over 2,000 square feet of space on Willits. Bang & Olufsen and Designs Unlimited are expected to open in next couple of months. There is still 20,000 square feet of retail space still available in the building.

The $35-million mixed-use building occupies a full city block and has 184,000 square feet of space, which includes retail, office and residential space. The first floor will be used mainly for retail and restaurant space. The second and third floors are reserved for 74,000 square feet of Class A office space. The fourth floor is set aside for luxury penthouses priced between $515,000 and $5 million. So far six of the 12 penthouses have sold.
 
The building, located at 325 N. Old Woodward Ave., is where the old Jacobson’s used to stand.

For information, visit burton-katzman.com or call Joanne M. Fletcher at (248) 880-8897.

Source: Marlin Wroubel, senior vice president with Burton-Katzman

Large sculptures of tigers will begin appearing across Metro Detroit en masse after opening day.

The fiberglass Tigers are a fundraiser and public-art project for the Children’s Charities Coalition, which is made up of four Oakland County-based charities. At least 80 tigers will appear throughout Metro Detroit, although most of them will be in Birmingham and Bloomfield. The tigers are approximately 4 feet tall and 100 pounds and will be displayed in front of businesses between April and June.

“Our inspiration was the Detroit Tigers, but we have all sorts of tigers,” said Gigi Nichols, public relations director for The Community House, which is part of the Children’s Charities Coalition. “They’re not necessarily tigers that have something to do with baseball, although some of them do.”

Money raised from the sculptures will go toward the four charities that make up the Children’s Charities Coalition: Child Abuse and Neglect Council of Oakland County, The Community House, Orchards Children’s Services and Variety The Children’s Charity.

For information, call (248) 594-6403.

Source: Gigi Nichols, public relations director for The Community House