News of new restaurants, hotels, retail and other new developments in Detroit are being announced all the time. From the new Riverfront beach and the Little Caesars Arena to the QLINE, Detroit is bustling with new exciting activity.
World-Class, Mixed-Use Sports and Entertainment District now Open
Detroit’s newest sports and entertainment district has officially opened. Over time the District Detroit will be 50 blocks of thriving businesses, parks, restaurants, bars and event destinations. It now connects Downtown and Midtown into one contiguous, walkable area, where families, sports fans, entrepreneurs, job seekers, entertainment lovers and others who crave a vibrant urban setting can connect with each other and the city they love. The District Detroit will ultimately account for an economic impact of more than $2 billion by 2020 and create 12,500 construction and construction-related jobs and thousands of permanent jobs. The District’s main feature is Little Caesars Arena. The long-awaited, highly-anticipated new home of the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons opened in September in downtown Detroit. Little Caesars Arena will play host to a range of sports and entertainment events, concerts, family shows and community functions. It also incorporates community spaces for amateur sports use and outdoor recreation.
Another new feature in The District Detroit will be the $150 million, nine-story, 234,000 square foot, Little Caesars world headquarters expansion, located at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Columbia Street. Expected to be complete in 2018, this is Detroit’s first newly constructed corporate headquarters building in more than a decade and only the seventh since 1950. The building will feature a one-of-a-kind, formed-glass façade in the shape of 14-foot tall pizza slices, a glass-covered, open air terrace and “pizza garden” with vegetables and herbs, two-story lobby connected to a new Welcome Center, a screening room and 425-seat training room, fitness center, retail and dining, state of the art training facilities and innovation kitchens.
A fan guide and more information visit DistrictDetroit.com.
Detroit’s is on the move with the new QLine and MoGo Bike Share
Detroit’s modern streetcar can now be seen cruising along Woodward Avenue. The QLine launched on May 12, serving 12 locations on Woodward Avenue from downtown Detroit through Midtown, New Center and the North End. The 6.6-mile circulating streetcar loop connects riders to downtown hotels, attractions, restaurants and retail. Each streetcar carries 125 passengers and travels with traffic at speeds up to 30 mph. In its first week there were nearly 50,000 riders. It cost only $1.50 for three hours and $3 for a daily pass. The QLine is powered by a 750-volt lithium ion battery, operating 60 percent off-wire, the highest percentage of any streetcar system in the United States. For more information, go to m-1rail.com.
MoGo, Detroit’s bike share program, also launched this year. MoGo has 430 bikes located at 43 stations in ten different Detroit neighborhoods. A daily pass costs only $8 and provides an unlimited number of 30-minutes trips for 24 hours. These two new modes of transportation in Detroit make it easy and affordable for visitors to get around to all the hot spots in the city. For more information, go to mogodetroit.org.
New hotels coming to downtown Detroit
The new Foundation Hotel, owned and managed by Aparium, opened this year in the historic Detroit Fire Department Headquarters. The 95,000-square-foot, 100 room independent hotel is conveniently located across the street from Cobo Center and within blocks of new restaurants, the RiverWalk, Campus Martius Park and the new QLINE. The hotel has kept some of the old building’s classic touches and firehouse features such as red arched doors and historic glazed brick tiles, but is aiming at a high-end modern feel. The rooms include reclaimed and repurposed moldings and fordite, which is automobile paint that is hardened, cut and polished so the layers of colors look like agate stones. Furnishings also will be automotive-inspired. The hotel features a rooftop ballroom and a first-floor restaurant called the Apparatus Room, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and run by Michelin-starred chef Thomas Lents. For more information, go to www.detroitfoundationhotel.com.
Shinola and Bedrock have broken ground on their first hotel, the Shinola Hotel, located at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Grand River. The 130-room hotel is expected to open in fall 2018. The hotel will feature dining options from New York-based Noho Hospitality and Chef Andrew Carmellini. Plans include mixed-use on the first floor, with retail, restaurant and a living room area. Hotel rooms will occupy the second through eighth floors, and the hotel will also have meeting space. It will also be connected to an activated alleyway with restaurants and retail. For more information, go to https://www.shinola.com/shinola-hotel.
Detroit’s Wurlitzer Building is midway through a $23 million renovation that will transform the 14-story, 1926 structure by architect Robert Finn into a 106-room, upscale boutique hotel called The Siren. The 55,000 square foot hotel will feature seven food-and-beverage outlets and two retail shops. Albena will be an eight-seat “tasting counter” run by Garrett Lipar, chef at Ferndale’s late Torino, and a 2016 James Beard semifinalist for Rising Star Chef of the Year. A full-service, all-day restaurant on the Siren’s second floor is slated to open sometime late this year or early next year. Populace Coffee Bar, a Bay City-based specialty roaster, is the company’s first brick and mortar retail space and will be located in the hotel lobby, along with Candy Bar featuring mixology by Dorothy Elizabeth of Detroit’s Standby. A restaurant on the second floor will debut in late 2017 and there will also be three additional eateries, opening in 2018 in the front, back and rooftop of the hotel, which is expected to seat about 40 people. Plans also include a Social Club Barbershop by Sebastian Jackson, and a “Pot & Box” flower shop and gift store. The hotel will have a soft opening this November and a grand opening once all the restaurants are open. For more information, go to thesirenhotel.com.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. will debut its stylish eco-incubator brand, Element Hotels, in Detroit in 2018. The project will transform Detroit’s Metropolitan Building into an upscale mixed-use development called the Element Detroit at the Metropolitan Building. It will feature 110 light-filled rooms and an atmosphere designed to fuel a life in balance and on the move. This adaptive re-use project will include the restoration of the hotel’s exterior and a top-to-bottom renovation of the interior, while preserving elements of the Metropolitan Building’s original ornate lobby and mezzanine. The 100,000 square-foot building will feature 2,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space on the second floor mezzanine level with attractive views of the city skyline, approximately 7,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor and lower level, and an outdoor patio on the 11th floor rear rooftop. The hotel will be conveniently located near Detroit’s major sporting venues, theater and new restaurants. For more information, go to starwoodhotels.com.
Furniture and home décor retailer West Elm is opening a hotel in Detroit. The planned West Elm Hotel 120-room boutique hotel and West Elm store in Detroit will open in 2018. This will be built in Midtown at the northeast corner of Cass and Canfield to be part of a larger development that will include housing and more retail space. For more information, go to westelmhotels.com.
New Development for the Detroit Riverfront
As part of plans for a sweeping redesign including 7.5 acres of new parks on Detroit’s riverfront, Detroit is getting a new beach. “Atwater Beach” as it is named, will be located along the riverfront just east of Chene Street. And that’s just a start. The city also plans to create two new Dequindre Cut-style greenways down to the riverfront from the neighborhoods north of Jefferson Avenue to ease public access to the waterfront. Jefferson Avenue itself will undergo a redesign to make it more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. For more information, go to detroitriverfront.org.
New Restaurants on the Rise
More and more restaurants, breweries, distilleries and coffee shops continue open in Detroit. From farm-to-table inspired menus to beer bars, Detroit’s dining scene continues to please even the pickiest palate. The list includes but is not limited to: Takoi, La Lanterna, Press Room Café, Avalon International Breads (new downtown location) Shake Shack, Common Pub, Atomic Chicken, Red Corridor, Bad Luck Bar, Wahlburgers, Grey Ghost, Pie-Sci, Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, Parc, Maru Sushi, The Peterboro, Granite City Food & Brewery Townhouse, Central Kitchen + Bar, HopCat, Wright and Co., Punch Bowl Social, Gold Cash Gold, Selden Standard, Johnny Noodle King, Batch Brewing Co. and Antietam. For more dining options go to visitdetroit.com.
New Retail coming to Detroit
Many new retail stores have opened or are opening soon in Detroit. Most recently Under Armour , Bonobos, Warby Parker, Third Wave Music, Detroit Denim Co, Detroit is The New Black, Nike Store, Shinola, John Varvatos, Will Leather Goods, Carhartt, Third Man Records, House of Pure Vin, Mama Coo’s Boutique and other unique retailers have opened inside city limits. Businesses have and will continue to be opening including MOR & Co., Lululemon, west elm, and many more. For more information, go to visitdetroit.com
Detroit’s newest edition Under Armour, is a 16,000-square-foot downtown store not far from rival sportswear retailer Nike. This is the company’s first Brand House in the state, which means it is not an outlet store like their other two locations in Michigan.
Round 1 Bowling and Amusement Center Coming to Great Lakes Crossing
Round 1 Bowling and Amusement will join the line up at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in fall of 2017. The 59,071 sq. feet Round 1 Bowling and Amusement will be located in District 5, it joins the Sea Life Michigan Aquarium, the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan and AMC Star Great Lakes. For more information, got to greatlakescrossingoutlets.com.
New Developments throughout Downtown Detroit
The proposed redevelopment of the J.L. Hudson’s department store site on Woodward Avenue was recently announced, making it the tallest building in Detroit at 734 feet high, 52- stories tall. It will include 1.2 million square feet of above-ground real estate, 250 residential units and 700 below ground parking spaces. The total cost of the project is estimated at $775 million.
Detroit’s newest public space, Beacon Park, is now open. The park infuses light, energy and motion to create a distinctive gathering place and unforgettable experience for visitors of all ages. The circular, open lawn is the largest of any downtown Detroit park, and gives visitors room to run, play, relax and recharge. With year-round programming, interactive light installations and a contemporary restaurant with a rooftop garden and dining space for panoramic views of the park and city skyline – this park is beaming with eye-catching, Instagram-worthy moments to share with friends and family. For more information, go to http://downtowndetroitparks.com/parks/Beacon-Park.
The El Moore Lodge in Midtown offers sustainable stays and intimate access to the city. This establishment is a triple bottom line business, meaning that it’s been designed to meet social and ecological demands in addition to traditional financial ones. The building itself, built in 1898, was extensively renovated to meet a high sustainability standards of its owners, including a geothermal heating and cooling system and a super-insulated building envelope. There are eleven hotel rooms and twelve apartment units at the El Moore. Visitors staying at the Lodge have the opportunity to mingle with familiar people in the city. For more information visit elmoore.com/lodge.
A $65 million, 270-apartment complex along Atwater Street called Orleans Landingnow has tenants and the complex is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Orleans Landing is conveniently located next to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Adventure Center and the Dequindre Cut pedestrian/bike path. For more information visit orleanslandingapts.com.
The West Riverfront Park is where visitors will find three new pathways linking the riverfront to West Jefferson Avenue, benches, trash receptacles and plenty of lush green space for a variety of outdoor activities. The Conservancy has expanded the width of the popular RiverWalk along this parcel to 30 feet to better accommodate adequate space for walking, running, biking and fishing. This is a great place to spend time outdoors and have a picnic during the fall months as well as attend the events that are hosted here. For more information visit detroitriverfront.org.
The old Tiger Stadium site project is moving along for the Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL). The Detroit Police Athletic League headquarters will sit on the southwest corner of the Old Tiger Stadium site at Michigan Avenue and Cochrane. Another development, called The Corner, aims to build 105 apartments, 35 townhouses and 35,000 square feet of retail space on the grounds that once housed Tiger Stadium. The Corner has a $35-million plan and the PAL plans to use the field for various youth sports, college leagues and other events. The project is tentatively scheduled to be complete in 2017.
