DETROIT – The first phase of Midtown West will include two developments bounded by the Lodge Freeway, Selden Street, and an extended Fourth Avenue and Tuscola Street.
The first development, Fourth & Selden, which broke ground today, will consist of 26 well-appointed studio, one- and two-bedroom condominium units, together with approximately 3,000 square feet of amenity space, including a residents lounge, rooftop terrace, fitness center with yoga room, bike room and a pet care station.
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Fourth & Selden will also contain approximately 4,200 square feet of retail, which Procida intends to lease in conjunction with the City of Detroit’s Motor City Match program.
Fourth & Selden is designed by Detroit-based Volume One Design Studio, in conjunction with McIntosh Poris of Birmingham. Construction is anticipated to take 18 months, with completion and occupancy scheduled for spring 2021. Sales will be co-led by Matt O’Laughlin of Alexander Real Estate and Jimmy Saros of Saros Real Estate.
The second development in the first phase will be the largest residential development in Midtown West. Located across the street from the soon-to-be-redeveloped Jefferson School, the development will contain 177 rental apartments and 30,000 square feet of amenities, including a terrace, a gym, yoga room, kids play room, a dog wash station, lounge, library, on-site leasing office, approximately 5,000 square feet of retail and more.
The development will feature a minimum of 10% affordable housing per a City Council approved community benefits agreement. This aspect of the development is designed by internationally acclaimed architect Daniel Libeskind of Studio Libeskind, most notably known for his master plan design for the 9/11 Museum & Memorial site in New York. Groundbreaking for this piece of the development is scheduled for spring 2020.
Midtown Detroit Inc., Invest Detroit, and Q Factor will be redeveloping the historic Jefferson School across the street as a co-working and incubation hub in a separate development.
Remarks at today’s celebration were given by Mayor Duggan, Procida CEO Mario Procida, Midtown Detroit Inc. Executive Director Sue Mosey, and Donald Rencher, director of the City’s Housing and Revitalization Department.
"Midtown West represents one of the largest public-private partnerships in the City of Detroit. Once complete Midtown West neighborhood will bring over 300 new households, 100,000 square feet of co-working space and innovation hub, a 1-acre park, and more than 10,000 square feet of retail, completing the western edge of the Selden Corridor. It is a highly logical extension of the Midtown community. We are dedicated to creating a socio- and economically diverse community that adds to the neighborhood,” Procida said. “This is a huge, ambitious project, and we are up to the challenge and thankful that the City of Detroit has chosen us to redevelop this key Midtown property.”
Procida is dedicated to creating rental affordability in this highly in-demand part of Detroit, and therefore has set aside 36 units in the development to be available for those making 40 to 80 percent of the Wayne County average median income.
“We are turning a property that has been rundown for years and turning it into a first-class development, and it’s being done in cooperation with the neighborhood, ensuring that it will benefit the entire community,” Mayor Duggan said. “This project shows what is possible when you work with and honor those already here. Redevelopment doesn’t mean moving people out, it means honoring those who are already here and bringing in others to join, not replace them.”
The second phase of the development, on Brainard between the Lodge Freeway and Third Street, is to begin in 2022. Details will be unveiled at a later date.
Midtown Detroit is one of the hottest areas of the city. The Midtown West site is located just three blocks west of Woodward Avenue and near Detroit’s greatest concentration of cultural, educational and medical institutions, as well as a thriving entertainment district. The neighborhood’s population increased nearly 6 percent from 2016 to July 2019, and boasts a rental housing occupancy rate of 98 percent, according to Midtown Inc.
In September 2016, the City of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department issued an RFP for the former site of the Wigle Recreation Center, seeking the creation of a signature, sustainable, mixed-income residential neighborhood with meaningful public space. It was approved by the City Council last year.
“This is the largest publicly held, contiguously assembled new construction development site in Midtown,” Rencher said. “For that reason, it was crucial that we pick a developer who had not only a winning plan but also a commitment to creating a project that will be inclusive and lasting. We strongly believe we have that partner in Mario Procida and his team.”
The development is the first residential project to take part in Detroit’s Community Benefits Agreement, which involves a community engagement process as the development moves forward.
As part of its further commitment to the neighborhood, Procida also presented Cass Corridor Neighborhood Development Corp. today with a check for $50,000 to help it upgrade its facility.
The new 1-acre park will be developed using $750,000 in proceeds from the $1.8 million land sale to Procida. It will be designed by the city’s General Services Department and will incorporate engagement from the community on its features. Construction is to begin next year.
Also noteworthy is that the City of Detroit is building new public roads as part of the project, the first time this has happened in years and a signal of the sea change in development in the city’s neighborhoods.