Michigan Development News is a weekly series that features affordable housing and economic development-related news stories from across the state. Feel free to submit a story suggestion by leaving a note in the comments section.
LSJ: Success in the city: Popular apartments, lofts drawing new residents downtown
The 119-unit Motor Wheel is fully occupied, he said. The final units were completed in February, months after the first residents moved into the building.
The first batch of leases have just started coming up for renewal, he said, with about 70 percent of residents signing a new 1- to 5-year lease to stay in the building.
"I've always thought there was a market there," Hepler said. "It's just that nobody built it."
The 1916 building for years housed the Prudden Motor Wheel factory until it closed in the 1970s. The 170,000-square-foot building was largely vacant until Hepler finished renovations.
Developers for several years have said downtown could support at least 600 new residential units. Hepler figures only about 250 have been built so far.
But just those few hundred units have brought new life to the downtown stretch of the River Trail and Lansing nightlife.
"I thought this summer was one of the best summers, in just seeing people outside," he said. "I think there's a lot more of that to come."
While few units in these particular developments would be considered "affordable," we certainly applaud the efforts to revitalize downtown Lansing. We definitely appreciate the symbolism of taking an abandoned building like the old Motor Wheel factory and turning it into a new hotspot for downtown redevelopment.
Ann Arbor Business Review: Google still aiming for 1,000 hires for Ann Arbor AdWords HQ
Google was attracted to this area for several reasons, including its leadership's ties to the University of Michigan and its "diverse population and highly educated community," Burnett said.
But the talent base was one of the main reasons Google opted for Ann Arbor.
"We didn't see a lot of companies like ours that were here, but we saw a lot of hunger and thirst for this work."
Google's development in cities like Ann Arbor and Birmingham reinforces the message we've been pushing for several years, that businesses are looking to invest in vibrant downtowns that attract young, knowledgeable workers.
Michigan Messenger: Top 5 Stories in Detroit for 2007
The year 2007 proved to be a mixed bag for Detroit. The mortgage crisis hit the city especially hard as thousands of residents faced the threat of foreclosure. Save a brief strike, the UAW negotiations went well as the Big Three continue to adjust to soaring legacy costs amidst increased competition from foreign automakers. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick made big news by helping Quicken Loans relocate its headquarters to to Downtown Detroit from Livonia, attracting 4,000 jobs.
We tend to agree with Brandon White's assessment that 2007 was something of a mixed bag for the City of Detroit, but by and large we think things are at least heading in the right direction. That's why we're so committed to our affordable housing and economic development efforts in Detroit, and look forward to more successes in 2008.