District Detroit Development Changes Now Prioritize New Affordable and Student Housing

Annalise Frank of Axios Detroit chats with Citizens Research Council President Eric Lupher about the recent announcement by District Detroit developers that construction on their 17-story office building would be delayed. The codevelopers, New York-based The Related Cos. and the Ilitch organization's Olympia Development of Michigan, are instead changing the order of their 10 proposed District Detroit projects, moving up one of the planned new hotels as well as one of the residential buildings. Lupher has noted that, given the Ilitches' reputation for overpromising and underdelivering, some public skepticism is expected, but that the “resequencing” of the order makes sense, given the very difficult environment for financing office space. As Frank has reported: the city is banking on the $1.5 billion megadevelopment from the Ilitches' Olympia Development and billionaire Stephen Ross' Related Cos. to help downtown grow and attract new businesses, which includes three new office building projects. Under the new timeline, one of the first District Detroit projects will now be a new 18-story, 261-unit residential building with ground-floor retail at 2205 Cass, near the forthcoming University of Michigan Center for Innovation (UMCI). The apartments, expected to open in 2027, would provide housing for some students attending the UMCI, and 20% of the units would be offered as "affordable" at below-market rents. Frank and Lupher discussed the many potential opportunities that the residential building project could have on Detroit, providing much-needed affordable housing to Detroiters and facilitating housing for an additional student population that would likely seek out local shops, restaurants, bars, walking/running paths and all the benefits of living in an urban community.