Back in October there was an announcement about a new business school building for the Mike Ilitch School of Business – well, on Wednesday, the actual work is getting underway.

To be located at the corner of Temple and Woodward, right next to the new Little Caesars Arena, the school of business. The $50 million complex, according to Wayne State, “will serve more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students, provide new flexible teaching, research, office and community spaces for students and faculty bringing WSU’s outstanding business programs closer to the market.”

The $40 million gift will be broken up into two parts – $35 million for the building, and $5 million for an endowment for the school itself.

The finished building will be 120,000 square feet, and back in October, Wayne State said the gift from Ilitch was the largest in the history of the university.

Renderings also tease a giant Shinola tower clock, which would be a larger installation than the now-familiar Shinola street clocks around town, but there’s no hard confirmation on that being the final plan.

This continues to extend the footprint of the WSU campus, and will be on Ilitch-owned land that will be leased to the university for a token amount as part of the District Detroit.

The groundbreaking will be on Wednesday, July 20 with the project expected to be complete in 2018. More renderings below.

Rolling up Ralston off of Woodward in the passenger seat Friday night, there was a sense of anticipation, possibly enhanced by a couple of whiskey drinks from the previous stop.

Would we see the red light in the distance? The familiar “BAR” that has been an icon of Detroit’s dive bar culture for years?

After all, the week before, even though it was said the place was going to be open, there was a hand-written note in the door saying that they’d be open the 15th. We had heard there were liquor license issues, and that stuff can take awhile to straighten out – not to mention all the other work.

Over the last 15+ years of living in the city you learn to believe it when you see it – because almost every project takes longer than initially thought, and things, even with the best of intentions, can go sideways a million ways.

Last night, indeed, the familiar red “BAR” was on. There were people on the porch, and the beer was flowing. The staff shirts still had variations on the old motto, “Come as a stranger, leave as a friend” or, a favorite, “Come as a stranger, leave even stranger.”

Fortunately, the place was cleaned up – but not remodeled. The chairs seemed sturdier, the bar that has weathered many years seems to be in better working order but still chock-full of divots of history. The buffalo head was back on the wall.

And what a history the place has. We’re told it’s the original farmhouse in the area from the 1860s,  and it’s seen a lot of changes. It also has a past connected to Detroit crime as it is rumored that it was a clubhouse for the Purple Gang during the prohibition era, and at one point, a brothel upstairs.

The bar was named The Stonehouse in the 1940s.

History Lives On If We Patronize It

In cities like New Orleans, there are more quirky buildings with age left – here, we have but a comparative few and even fewer that still operate (as far as bars go, the 2 Way Inn is another one that comes to mind – and as far as quirky goes, you can’t forget Tom’s Tavern – and a fun time is always to be had at the JOT or Jolly Old Timers). It’s important these and many other places remain and are supported, or they go away.

On the porch on Ralston the conversation was that the city of Detroit is really a city of villages. Unlike other places that have dense are upon dense area, Detroit – in part because it’s past was created by the annexation of existing small towns and villages. Names like Delray, Fairview, Springwells, Oakwood, the Brightmoor Planned Community – are of cities past that were annexed to become part of our city.

Detroit is a place of distributed multiple centers, much more like a Los Angeles in setup than a New York. Our suburbs, to some degree, operate in this model as well.

The Next Chapter

For this new incarnation of The Stonehouse, the plans are to be a center for one of those small villages.

A building across the way is seeing new life. The talk is, with it’s close proximity to the State Fairgrounds and all that’s happening there (on the porch of The Stonehouse, even though you wouldn’t believe it, you’re about quarter mile as the crow flies from the 8 Mile Meijer and right next to the big ‘ol Magic Johnson development that might happen someday), there’s a chance for a spark of some new energy, if it were to cross State Fair and not be gated in.

But back to the present day. Stonehouse will have dollar beer special Mondays and live entertainment on the weekend. The place is going to have to get it’s legs again, much like a new operation. In some ways, with new management, it is.

Talking with one of the folks working there, and I apologize for not getting the name as it was super busy, I scratched down this quote:

“We may be the ones who control this space for now, make sure the bills get paid, and the repairs are made, but we are ultimately caretakers. This place has a spirit of its own.”

Cheers to that spirit living on.

The reopened Stonehouse Bar is at 19803 Ralston, Detroit. Currently cash only, but they hope to take cards in the next week or so.

Today the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University broke ground – a project at Woodward and Temple we told you about last week.

However, the look of the building has been switched up pretty significantly. Gone are the columns and dome that reminds one of academia, and in its place is another glass facade that is going to be along Woodward avenue.

Here’s what the old rendering looked like. Much more stately and traditional college-looking than above.

In fact, so many of these new projects on Woodward Avenue have a somewhat similar look with large glass facades along with large panels mostly devoid of natural materials that north of Grand Circus Park and south of Grand Boulevard might soon be Glassward Avenue.

For their part, Wayne State is happy with the glass, in a statement.

“The glass façade and design elements, such as the café and the indoor-outdoor spaces, make the Mike Ilitch School of Business both visually striking and inviting to the greater Detroit community,” said Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson. “This new home for our business school will create a beautiful and accessible gateway connecting Midtown and downtown Detroit for students, faculty and the community alike. It’s a fitting and elegant design for a world-class business school made possible by entrepreneurs who throughout their career have been dedicated to opening up a world of opportunities for the people of Detroit.”

Here are the pertinent details, per Wayne State’s press office – including the fact the space will have a cafe:

Detroit-based Christman-Brinker has been selected to be the Construction Manager for the new business school building. Detroit-based architectural firm Smith Group JJR led the development of the updated design for the new structure. The Detroit Downtown Development Authority earlier in the day approved a Master Development Agreement to move the project forward, with full construction expected to start later this year and the first students taking classes in 2018.

The selection of a Detroit-based construction manager and architect for this important project extend the ongoing Michigan Made, Detroit Built efforts taking place throughout The District Detroit. To date, more than $300 million in construction contracts have been awarded to Detroit businesses and more than $400 million to Michigan businesses as part of work on Little Caesars Arena and other projects throughout The District Detroit.

The Mike Ilitch School of Business will serve more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students and provide flexible teaching, research, office and community spaces for students and faculty bringing WSU’s outstanding business programs closer to the market. The school will boast a competitive entrepreneurship track with coursework in areas including sports and entertainment management. Major structural elements of the new building will include:

• Open collaboration space
• Student support facilities
• Conference learning center
• Classrooms
• Lab space
• Faculty offices

The new business school will be highly integrated with its prominent position along Woodward Avenue, featuring a number of innovative street level, sidewalk uses including a full trading floor, an open air classroom, business incubator pop-up and corner café.

Construction projects continue to reshape downtown Ferndale, with plans under way to build a two-story office and retail building on the site where a vacant residential structure was recently demolished.

The roughly 3,700 square-foot site at 413 W. Nine Mile was recently cleared to make way for a two-story office and retail development that is currently in the building plan process, Ferndale city planner Justin Lyons said. It’s directly across West Nine Mile from the Ferndalehaus lofts development, another active construction site, and is wedged between a city-owned parking lot and Hungry Howie’s.

Developer Joe Iacopelli said the final project could become a mix of ground-floor retail and second-floor office space, or all office. The building would be around 4,000 square feet total and have a modern, contemporary look, he said.

“Really what the city would like to see is more office down there,” he said.

Iacopelli, the owner of Iacopelli Build Co., said he’d like to lure “a nice national tenant” but added, “I’m open to suggestions on that. I need to know what Ferndale is lacking and then I’ll talk to those people.”

Ferndale officials have spoken openly about wanting to lure more office tenants to the downtown, partly as a way to provide more foot traffic and support for retailers and restaurants that struggle during the daytime hours. Barry Hicks, the executive director of the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority, told me earlier this year that property owners are increasingly targeting national tenants to meet rising lease rates.

City records show that Iacopelli originally proposed a three-story structure with third-floor retail. Converting the site to an office use would allow him to skirt requirements to provide onsite parking. He’ll also provide two bike racks in front of the building.

Iacopelli said he aims to have the building completed by spring or summer 2017. The architect on the project is Clinton Township-based Polyarch Inc.

Iacopelli, based in Sterling Heights, is primarily a home builder but does some work on commercial projects. This is the firm’s first project in Ferndale.

“The vibrant downtown areas are always nice to have retail and office spaces in. You get a lot of traffic,” Iacopelli said.

Meanwhile, crews at the Ferndalehaus site across the street recently demolished a vacant Save-A-Lot grocery store and are excavating a foundation in preparation for the 90-unit, four-story loft building.

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on the 8 Wood Blog and is used with the express permission of the author. Check it out here. 

There is a lot of activity happening in Southwest Detroit lately.

In June the Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA) and Mexicantown Community Development Corporation (MCDC) received a grant to reactivate the Main Street Program. This reactivation will help the businesses in the Mexicantown-Hubbard community.

The SDBA and MCDC received a grant from the Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation and this is how the organizations reinstated their membership with the Main Street Program.

Southwest Detroit is an area that’s seeing a lot of new activity as of late, so we met with Myrna Segura, the Director of Business Development at the SDBA to find out more about the plans for the future now that the Main Street Program has been brought back. Segura explained that the Main Street Program has a four-point approach, which starts with building an advisory group.

The advisory group provides strategic planning for the program and is made up of community and business members. The current advisory group is MCDC Board Member Ray Lozano, SDBA President Kathy Wendler, and Mexicantown Bakery and Armando’s Restaurant Owner Omar Hernandez.

The first thing that the SDBA and MCDC will tackle is putting together a promotional brochure that will map out all of the businesses and events that are in the Mexicantown-Hubbard Community. The brochure will have a map and will be a great resource for visitors of the Mexicantown-Hubbard community.

The second is to bring back the community events; while they do not know what type of events they will have. Segura said that she would like to see the Irish-Mexican Fiesta return. The Irish Mexican Fiesta helped to create more engagement between the Corktown and Mexicantown communities in the past.

“We need to embrace the fact that it is a unique district, just like on the west side or east side of Detroit. Each one is different and has it’s own value, and it’s own offering. We want to make sure that people are aware of what’s happening here. Especially with the new businesses because it’s a nice mix,” said Segura.

The bigger goal is to attract new businesses to the vacant spaces in the community. The SDBA is able to offer assistance to new and existing businesses and the aim is to make all businesses feel included.

Segura also spoke about the history of the Main Street Program in the Mexicantown-Hubbard Community. The community was a member of it from 2002 through 2008. During that time the SDBA and MCDC worked with business owners to get façade upgrades. Twelve storefronts were updated through the Main Street Program. The upgrades were paid for by public and private money and cost $500,000. The Mexicantown-Hubbard Main Street Program ended in 2008 due to the recession and the expansion of I-75.

A Windsor Star columnist is saying that there’s a recommendation by Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority chairman Dwight Duncan to investigate Canada buying the aging, 89-year old Ambassador Bridge, currently owned by Matty Maroun.

The billionaire not only controls the bridge, but large swaths of land on either side. There are streets in Canada – most notably Indian Road – that now sit with rows of vacant homes, emptied by Matty’s expansion plans as he has continued to push for building his own second span.

Here are the benefits outlined in the Anne Jarvis column for Canada buying the bridge, which could cost north of $3 billion.

One of the reasons for the new bridge is redundancy: if something shuts down one crossing, it won’t shut down our economy …

If Canada owned that bridge, the border would be seamless, with all six crossings between Windsor and Sarnia operating in concert.

If Canada owned that bridge, we could also ensure that it’s safe. Windsor had to close three streets last fall when chunks of concrete rained down from the bridge.

If Canada owned the bridge, we could salvage Indian Road and the surrounding neighbourhood, where the Morouns bought and left to rot more than 100 houses they wanted for a new twin span.

If Canada owned the bridge, governments wouldn’t have to spend millions of taxpayers’ dollars defending themselves from the Morouns’ lawsuits.

And we could build the new bridge.

Both the United States and Canada are working on building a new Gordie Howe International Bridge, but the timeline keeps getting pushed back – now, practically, to 2022.

More details – including how the initial talks have progressed so far – here.

When something works, you go with it.

The owners of Detroit Vegan Soul – Kirsten Ussery-Boyd and Erika Boyd – have announced that there will be a second location opening in December of this year.

The location will be in the Grandmont Rosedale neighborhood of Detroit on Grand River, two years ahead of their internal plans because of the runaway success of the initial West Village location.

Detroit Vegan Soul opened their doors in 2013. The farm-to-table, zero waste restaurant restaurant received a $60,000 Motor City Match grant to fund the restaurant buildout in the last Motor City Match round.

The restaurant concept was born out of the desire of the owners “to make delicious, fresh food accessible to everyone, and to break the cycle of diet-related diseases.”

According to assistant manager Sharita Anderson, the clientele is extremely diverse and includes vegans, non-vegans, all ages, all cultures, downtown residents, people from neighboring areas such as Royal Oak, Grosse Pointe, and Windsor as well as is a destination for those coming from other states.

A signature Detroit Vegan Soul dish is the Soul Platter, which consists of mac-n-cheese, smoked collards, maple glazed yams, black-eyed peas and a cornbread muffin – all vegan. Other popular dishes include The Seitan Pepper Steak, the DVS Burger, the “Catfish” Tofu Sandwich and the Smothered Tempeh entrée.

The new location will be at 19614 Grand River Avenue in Detroit.

The West Village restaurant is located at 8029 Agnes Street in Detroit.

Sports teams are normally controlled by billionaires and although loved by fans, often fans don’t have a part of the action beyond the jersey they bought to wear to the game.

But in the Detroit area, we’re doing it different. Nearly 500 investors have crowdfunded a soccer team – and are already getting paid a dividend on their money.

For many, this might seem as an unconventional way to fund a business or a project – to get investors through the internet, sometimes large, sometimes small – and crowdfund your way to the money you need.

But more and more, it’s the wave of the future. One of those organizations that used this kind of funding model that is near and dear to the hearts of many Detroit area soccer fans is the Detroit City FC, raising $725,000 from 492 individual investors.

According to DCFC, this week they began distributing $107,000 in revenue sharing checks to investors of what they’re saying is the first community investment campaign in American sports history.

The funds were used to rehabilitate Detroit City FC’s new home at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, Michigan.

The campaign, which launched on October 29, 2015 and closed on February 15, 2016, was open to Michigan residents through the Michigan MILE legislation.

Revenues, according to the club, were up by more than 17 percent from what was projected for the first six months of the year, meaning investors were paid greater than the estimated 10.4 percent internal rate of return for the first payback period.

Some of the other goals the team accomplished:

• Rehabbing an 80-year-old stadium including major structural improvements to the grandstands, locker rooms, restrooms and lighting. Supporters and investors assisted in bleacher painting, general clean-up and outreach throughout Hamtramck neighborhoods.
• By year end, DCFC’s gross revenue is projected to increase by more than 50 percent compared to 2015.
• The team recorded a total attendance of 52,550 supporters in 10 matches at Keyworth. Its average of 5,255 supporters per match was a 48 percent increase from 2015.
• The home opener drew 7,410 supporters, which set the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) regular-season record for attendance.
• In its June 25th match against Dayton Dynamo, Le Rouge supporters raised $2,000 in support of Freedom House through a silent auction of player-worn charity jerseys at Keyworth.
• The team also opened a brick and mortar retail shop at 2750 Yemans St in Hamtramck. The club shop, which opened in April, features a mixed-use office and community space, as well as has club merchandise available for purchase.

“It’s been a remarkable year in terms of the growth of DCFC,” co-owner Todd Kropp said. “We set extremely ambitious goals for 2016, and with all the supporters who once again rallied behind us we proved that a club that has close ties to its community can be a huge success. Although we met or exceeded most of our targets for 2016, we are not going to get complacent. We’re already looking at how we can reach an even wider audience for 2017.”

With this kind of progress in just one year, it’ll be very interesting to see what DCFC has in store for next season.

The east side of Detroit is often portrayed by the media as empty, but like much of the city, if you take a closer look there are things happening.

One of those things is a new co-working and pop-up space connecting entrepreneurs to serve the growing Eastside business community, not only in the city but those from the neighboring suburbs.

Bamboo East, an extension of Bamboo Detroit, is expanding to their first neighborhood co-working and pop-up space inside of MASH Detroit.

Entrepreneurship is on the rise and co-working spaces offer the comfort of an office but without the brick and mortar fee. Bamboo East will offer just that including a conference room, wi-fi, and most importantly – coffee.

In addition, Bamboo East, as some other co-working spaces, will help entrepreneurs connect with others through workshops and networking events.

“Co-working is a gateway to help bridge the resource divide in our communities,” said Director Nicole Mangis, founder of Brut Detroit, a pop-up wine bar. “We see Bamboo East growing into a resource hub for our neighborhood entrepreneurs, freelancers, nonprofits, and remote workers. It takes a village, and Bamboo East can be a place for the village to come together to support one another.”

Bamboo Detroit’s main location is in downtown Detroit near Ford Field.

Throughout the next three months, Bamboo East will offer free open co-work days, pop-up, workshops and lunches focused on business development, and also an inspiring series spotlighting local change-makers in neighborhoods of the city.

Bamboo East is located at 14711 Mack Ave. inside MASH Detroit, a mixed-use venue that features shared retail, meeting and event space.

People can begin working from Bamboo East beginning on August 15 and it’ll be open Monday through Friday.  For more information on the pop-up space and upcoming events, please visit BambooEastside.com.

If the stars align for three powerful forces in the Detroit scene, the new criminal justice complex for Wayne County might just be Michigan Central Station.

There have been piecemeal rumors around town, but it’s been taken to another level as it was made public by Detroit News editor Nolan Finley on Sunday.

I can’t say for sure how serious the idea is. But I heard the same thing from several people last week: Discussions are underway with the county, city of Detroit and Matty Moroun, the billionaire owner of the Central Depot, as well as the rail companies that own part of the site, to replace the partially completed jail on Gratiot in downtown Detroit with a new facility behind Central Depot.

The piece says that county courts would be moved into the old depot.

Now, those who have been around the city a minute will remember that this isn’t the first time that a criminal justice complex has been floated for the site.

Back in 2003, then mayor Kwame Kilpatrick wanted to turn the site into Detroit Police headquarters, going so far as in a speech to say that he had reached an agreement with the Marouns, but that $100-$150 million dollar dream died a relatively quick death.

Maroun has owned the old Michigan Central Station since 1996.

The land flanking the station, as you can see in the map above, is mostly empty.

But Corktown in 2003 is quite a bit different from Corktown in 2016. It could be argued that the same reasons you don’t want a jail and justice complex downtown – new investment and energy – is the same reason that maybe you wouldn’t want it in Corktown, undoubtedly one of Detroit’s hottest neighborhoods.

But, the difference is here the jail and courthouse wouldn’t be in the way of Dan Gilbert’s new investment and energy, namely that around a Major League Soccer stadium Gilbert and Pistons owner Tom Gores want to put on the current jail construction site.

This is the kind of deal that could happen very quickly, and has lots of pros and cons. It is, after all, a way to activate a building and plot of land that hasn’t seen much action beyond a few movie shoots and some windows put in.

The other question is what the courts and jail locating there would do to area property values. The area sports popular establishments like Two James Distillery & Tasting Room, Katoi, Slow’s BBQ, Mercury Burger Bar and property values have been going up in the area, with some lofts renting for near $2,000 a month.

Another option, albeit expensive as well, is to move the criminal justice complex (including jail) to a site on Mound Road.

Wherever the complex is located, someone isn’t going to be happy. What do you think?

Through my work in Detroit’s incredibly vibrant and complex entrepreneurial ecosystem I’ve come across some amazing people and places. These hotspots of creativity and ingenuity inhabit a variety of sectors, services and geographic locations. To any entrepreneur names like Bamboo, Techtown, MOCAD, Ponyride, and The Build Institute are exceedingly familiar.

Depending on your idea or interest, you may have set foot in one, if not all, of these places and know the faces of their fearless leaders — people like Amanda Lewan, April Boyle, and Ned Staebler. If there was a place that took a little piece of each of those aforementioned institutions, tossed them in a Pewabic Pottery bowl and flung it out to the farthest reaches of Detroit’s east side it would look like Mash Detroit, and in one word, beautiful.

Mash is the brainchild of local entrepreneur, innovator, and “space activator” Marlowe Stoudamire, who for many in Detroit should be a familiar name.  After visiting Europe in 2013 he had the idea for what would become Mash, named not only for the notion of converging people and ideas it conjures up, but also for the its cross streets, Mack and Ashland, which happen to be a few blocks away from where Stoudamire grew up and where his mother still lives.

To accomplish something this advantageous he called on an extensive network of individuals.

“Always build the network before you need it, and make sure you add value to others before you ask for it,” said Stoudamire.

That mantra allowed Stoudamire to build immense goodwill and credibility among the corporate, civic, and philanthropic communities so that when Stoudamire called, places like Quicken Loans, Techtown, Detroit Future City, and the Detroit City Council listened.

At 6,000 square feet, Mash is part popup retail space, part co-working hub, part community gathering events space, and soon to be coffee shop, all with a local artist gallery thrown in.

This area isn’t overtly a hotbed for creatives in the city but as Stoudamire sees it, that’s because they’ve not looked hard enough. Just a couple blocks north of East Jefferson and a block west of Grosse Pointe, this area is situated at the proverbial intersection of growth and resources. There’s an incredible feeling of cohesion and optimism when talking to Stoudamire that can’t be ignored; he wants to make this space a catalyst for the entire neighborhood and perhaps eventually replicate that model in other parts of the city.

“I want this space to have the same energy, the same creativity and diversity of downtown and midtown,” he said.

The way he sees it, “If we win here, everyone in the city wins.”

Mash is something to be experienced, not read about. This versatile and elaborate space is designed with community engagement and personal interaction in mind, or as Stoudamire so eloquently summarizes it, “organic social collision.”

Stoudamire has partnered with some of the best in the business locally so expect to see collaboration with Build Institute and Techtown, in addition to the new Bamboo East location of the famed co-working space that has taken up residence inside Mash.

And if you’re more consumer than creator, come get your hands and clothes dirty at one of CanvasxDetroit’s painting classes, grab a snack at Good People Popcorn, and discover the collection of startup and lifestyle brand BohoModern.

The only real requirement at Mash is that whatever you do, bring your ideas, and an open mind.

Location: 14711 Mack Avenue, Detroit – Website: www.mashdetroit.com – Social: @mashdet

This is a guest column from Devon O’Reilly, who is the Manager of Entrepreneurship and Detroit Engagement for the Detroit Regional Chamber. Daily Detroit welcomes guest contributions as a platform for furthering the Detroit conversation. If you have one of your own, get in touch.

According to a post by the Director of Community Development of Auburn Hills, Steve Cohen, the long vacant Big Buck Brewery off of I-75 may soon be redone and called the “HUB.”

An application has been submitted to the City of Auburn Hills to transform the dilapidated building, located at 2550 Takata Drive, into a “football-bowling” entertainment venue anticipated to be named the “HUB.”  The interior will include 16 courts with spectating and eating areas, along with two bars, fast casual restaurant, and two private function rooms.

We’re calling “Football Bowling” what it usually is referred to – Fowling. Fowling took off in the area in part thanks to the success of the 34,000 square foot Fowling Warehouse in Hamtramck.

If you don’t know what Fowling is, it’s the combination of throwing a Football to knock over some bowling pins. It is often done at tailgate parties and, at least according to Wikipedia, is a Detroit invention, created by Fowling Warehouse owner Chris Hutt. There’s even an American Fowling Association, that lays out these specs for the game:

Fowling matches are played with 2 wooden platforms, 20 bowling pins and a regulation size football.

The lane surface shall be a 42″ x 96″ rectangle constructed of half inch plywood fastened to a 2” x 4” wood frame edge. For ease of transportation, lanes made of two 42” x 48” plywood boards may also be used as long as they are correctly fastened together during tournament play. AFA sanctioned tournaments should only be played on wooden fowling lanes due to significant variance in play for different surface materials. Each game consists of two lanes placed 32 ft. apart between the front edge of the lanes, facing each other. It is recommended that adjacent lanes be spaced at least 15 ft. apart from each other.

Bowling pins should be standard regulation size and weight and arrange in the standard, triangular bowling pin formation with equidistant 12” spacing between each pin from center to center.

Footballs must meet pro or college regulation size and weight standards for tournament play.

Details are still scant on the Auburn Hills “HUB” venue, and more will be revealed next month at the September 14 Auburn Hills planning commission meeting, with approval that could come as early as September 26.

Earlier we blogged about the fact the PBS show “This Old House” was coming to Detroit. It’s an exciting development on a lot of levels. The show is a television institution. The series shows off the city – and it shows the rest of the world there’s life in Detroit outside of downtown.

Now, Detroit Public Television has released a short one minute trailer where we get to take a look at the place and the condition inside.

Those front windows are a cool detail! Check it out in the video above.

And then there were four.

The brick and mortar business idea competition Hatch Detroit today announced the top four finalists competing for a $50,000 grand prize from Comerica in the 2016 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest, whittling the field down from 10 using community voting.

The final four businesses vying for public votes are:

Bird Bee — a lifestyle clothing boutique offering a mix of modern bohemian, vintage inspired and contemporary clothing, shoes, jewelry and accessories.

Corbé — a ceramic design and manufacturing studio located in the North End of Detroit looking to open up retail space. They handcraft porcelain wares that are simple and useful, built for the modern home and table.

Coriander Kitchen & Farm, which is looking to expand their urban farm and catering business into a brick & mortar café featuring casual, affordable, healthy food in a rustic, beautiful environment in Detroit.

Meta Physica Massage & Sauna, which will open a Wellness Center offering therapeutic bodywork, full spectrum infrared saunas, a raw juice bar, an herbal apothecary and health inspired retail, meditation classes and community workshops.

Full company bios are available at www.HatchDetroit.com, as well as the ability to vote.

The general election voting period is now open and the public has until noon Friday, Aug. 26, to cast their vote and do their part in electing the next brick and mortar business in Detroit, Highland Park or Hamtramck.

“A significant component to this contest is the support of the public,” said Vittoria Katanski, executive director of Hatch Detroit in a statement. “From the moment the Top 10 are announced to the continued support of our Hatch alumni, the public is our partner. We’ve had more than 21,000 public votes so far in this year’s contest, and we hope the community’s support for these businesses continues to grow.”

Votes can be cast at HatchDetroit.com/vote, Hatch Detroit’s Facebook page or in person at the following locations:

• 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 20 at KUZZO’S
• 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Monday, Aug. 22 at CADILLAC SQUARE in CAMPUS MARTIUS
• 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 23 at EASTERN MARKET, SHED 2

Per press materials:

The four finalists will pitch their business plans live to a panel of judges at the Hatch Off event at The M@dison Building in Downtown Detroit Friday, Aug. 26. Public vote and jury deliberations determine the contest winner. In addition to winning $50,000 from Comerica Bank, more than $200,000 in pro bono services including a $25,000 branding and design package from GTB (formally Team Detroit), a 30-second social media advertisement from MCCI, legal services from Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn, architectural renderings from Hamilton Anderson Associates and a package of accounting, IT, public relations support, and counsel from Hatch Detroit and its partners, will be awarded to the 2016 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest winner.

For 21 years Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation (CDC) has been dedicated to central Detroit communities and local residents. The organization strives to empower people and create positive opportunities through multiple services and programs allowing residents in the community to reach their highest potentials.

Within this last year the CDC purchased a former synagogue built in 1924 located at 1550 Taylor (just north and west of Henry Ford Hospital) for a neighborhood community center for the purpose of housing all youth and family programs, housing programs, and to provide a collective workspace for their staff.

The building purchased also had a second act for a half century as the Tried Stone Baptist Church. It has sat vacant for the last five years and is much in need of a total renovation.

Currently the CDC is raising funds online for the renovation. In only six days they have already raised more than $30,000 towards their $50,000 goal. If that goal is met they will receive a $50,000 match from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation & the Michigan State House Development Authority allowing them to reach their ultimate goal of $100,000 to use towards phase one of the renovations.

Additional future goals for the building allow for day care services, and social services for low to moderate income families in the surrounding community. Social services to include individual and family counseling, parental counseling, and a resource center for job training for teens and adults. If that wasn’t enough the building already has a gymnasium and a built out medical clinic space that should be functioning, according to the CDC, by 2017.

If you are interested in donating or learning more about the project, here’s the link: https://www.patronicity.com/project/1550_community_center

The Q-Line (formerly called M1-Rail) is starting to feel more like a real thing instead of a number of renderings on the internet.

If you’ve been downtown, in some parts you’re seeing overhead lines go in and platforms begin to appear for future stations.

Another step forward begins tomorrow when a small motorized inspection car called a “speeder” will travel on Woodward between Larned and Adams streets. The speeder, according to officials, ensures that the route is free of obstructions taking into account the physical dimensions of the vehicle and ensures proper maintenance of traffic.

“Construction progress continues on schedule,” said M-1 RAIL Chief Operations Officer Paul Childs. “Speeder tests will be ongoing over the next few weeks, eventually covering the full 6.6 mile track. It’s one of nearly 1,000 tests we’ll be going through over the course of the project.”

This is how it will go down starting at some point Tuesday morning, August 23. The motorized speeder is operated by a driver and will be flanked from both ends by safety vehicles and travel slowly along Woodward.

QLine asks that motorists, cyclists and pedestrians are asked to keep a safe distance and obey all posted traffic signs throughout testing and remaining construction. There will be intermittent street closures will be in affect as part of the testing.

M-1 RAIL also announced today the installation of overhead catenary wiring along the route from Warren to Ferry and Congress to Larned. While the lines are not yet active, the public is urged to treat the wire as live.

They also share to be sure to not park over the tracks.

Additional testing will continue throughout the fall, including:

• Track power and efficiency testing
• Track switch access for emergency vehicles
• Electrical testing for the communications system and overhead catenary system
• Traction power substation readiness
• ADA compliance

QLINE construction is expected to be complete in 2016, with the project opening in early 2017 (man, that’s feeling close). Officials share the following progress updates:

• Track installation is 83% complete
• Station construction is over 40% complete
• Traction Power Substations (the facilities that will power the QLINE) are nearly 40% constructed
• Overhead Catenary System is 60% complete with 85% of the poles installed

More QLINE Coverage from Daily Detroit:

Penske Tech Center Opens For Detroit’s Streetcar Line

A year and a half ago, a land swap agreement was reached between the city of Detroit and the Detroit International Bridge Company to expand riverside park in exchange for land under and next to the current Ambassador Bridge.

In the deal, there were to be new windows put on Michigan Central Station (which happened) as well as commitment to demolish the former Detroit News Warehouse by late 2018 and to transfer a 5-acre waterfront parcel to the city to expand Riverside Park.

Today, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and DIBC Vice Chairman Matthew Moroun announced that demolition of the warehouse is already underway and title to the 5 acres will be turned over to Detroit two years ahead of schedule.

Construction will begin on the 5 acres next spring, adding a riverwalk and other park amenities (more on that later, as well as a timetable)

City officials say they have worked closely with the Riverside Park Community Advisory Council in designing the park enhancements, funded by an initial payment from the DIBC of $3 million.

The 27-acre park already has work underway, including a new basketball court, softball diamond and soccer field, comfort station, playground, and pavilion.

At the time there was a lot of controversy around the park deal, as the land swap was expected by many to be used for the DIBC, owned by billionaire Matty Maroun, to strengthen a claim to build a second bridge span over the Detroit river instead or as a third span in addition to the Gordie Howe International Bridge. There were also concerns the community didn’t have enough input.

In the interim, the government of Canada on the other side of the river has been steadfast in denying any traction to Maroun to make progress on his proposed bridge project, even floating the idea of buying the current bridge from him.

There’s also one more step in this process. The transfer of the three acre parcel under the bridge requires approval from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). The Mayor’s office says the city has already submitted a request for preliminary approval of the land swap to the MDNR and will host a public hearing on its request in anticipation of seeking formal support of the Detroit City Council for the partial conversion.

Upon MDNR approval, DIBC will pay an additional $2 million to the City for more Riverside Park improvements.

Here’s the timeline as it stands now, according to the city, on the Riverside Park improvements:

Starting Fall 2016

• Basketball Court
• Softball Diamond/Soccer Field
• Comfort Station
• Playground
• Pavilion
• Expected Completion: Spring/Summer 2017

Starting Spring 2017

• Bike Paths
• Walking Paths
• Riverwalk
• Skate Park
• Dog Park
• Expected Completion: Spring/Summer 2018

Detroit’s progress seems to never stop. There simply is so much going on that it might be hard to follow. After all, Facebook and your feeds are a sea of things clamoring for your attention, and it’s easy to miss stuff. We’ve found the best for you.

So let’s round it up.

1. Take a look Inside The Royce – Eater has a great look inside the new The Royce Wine Bar. 

Rutherford grew up in Michigan and The Royce’s name is a reference to her grandfather, a respected Flint-based detective sergeant. Working with BWArchitects, Rutherford and Ho attempted to develop a space that reflect both industrial and deco aspects of Detroit’s design past.

2. Warby Parker is coming to town at some point in the indeterminate future, first-reports the Freep.

The New York City-based company was issued a building permit last week for renovations to the ground-floor of 1449 Woodward. This retail space is between the Woodhouse Day Spa and the newly opened Kit + Ace store.

3. Word is on the east side that plans are beginning to come together for a $8 million renovation of a historic and storied ballroom from Detroit’s past, the Vanity.

It’s in rough shape. Josh Elling, director of the nonprofit civic group Jefferson East Inc. who is leading the renovation effort, showed me around the other day. Scrappers have been working, the ceiling is open to the sky, debris litters the floor everywhere. But it’s still possible to glimpse the former glory in the remains of Aztec decorations.

“Structurally the building is still sound but we’ve got to put a roof on it,” Elling said. “All told to bring that building back is about an $8 -million project.”

Bonus – Read the whole history of the place on Historic Detroit.

4. There’s no word on the fate of Goodwell’s Market, but it’s clear that Alley Taco is moving into the space. They’re keeping their space in the nearby Marcus Market, as well.

Frenkel confirms that the location will offer a more sit-down style atmosphere than the market counter, which he plans to keep open.

5. U of D Jesuit has opened up a $16 million STEM center. More details here.

The new $16 million STEM center, which opened today, is the first and only high school facility of its kind in Detroit. It represents the largest dollar investment in science and technology at any Michigan high school in recent years and was privately funded by the school’s alumni, parents and friends.

The four-level, 40,000-square-foot STEM center doubles the space for biology, chemistry, and physics programs and provides labs for engineering and for the school’s nationally recognized eco-car and robotics programs.

The City of Detroit is conducting a demonstration project on a roughly half-mile stretch of Livernois Avenue to test the idea of calming traffic, installing bike lanes and making other improvements to give a boost to businesses in the city’s so-called “Avenue of Fashion.”

Crews have installed orange barrels, temporary signage and rubber crosswalk mats, with lines temporarily painted on the pavement to mark bike lanes and a barrier from the parking lanes, which take up one of two lanes of traffic as Livernois is currently constructed. The project is set up between 7 Mile Road and St. Martins Avenue in the steadily rejuvenating commercial corridor.

“The project is a temporary demonstration to look at how adding amenities like bike lanes can add to the commercial pedestrian and bike friendly atmosphere,” Kim Tandy, the District 2 Manager from the Detroit Department of Neighborhoods, wrote on Nextdoor, a neighborhood social networking site.

Tandy said that an similar demonstration project on three blocks of Livernois closer to 6 Mile Road showed that motorists were driving as fast as 75 mph on the avenue, which has posted speed limits of 30 mph. She said the narrowing of the road and temporary bike lanes, benches and bike racks helped encourage people to drive the speed limit.

She wrote that the city has also installed equipment on Livernois, Stoepel and Warrington to track how fast people are driving and how many people are using the side streets as a bypass.

I was unable to reach Tandy to ask more questions about the project and the city’s plans. The project is reportedly a collaboration between the Department of Neighborhoods, the Planning Department and the Department of Public Works.

“The City is also looking at ways to improve the street in other ways including looking at ways to improve parking and the median,” Tandy wrote. “Many acknowledge the concerns about the median and the issues with the turn arounds, lack of landscaping, cross walks and the size of the median.”

Called the “Avenue of Fashion” because of its status as a once-vibrant shopping district, the section of Livernois is undergoing a small revival. The boulevard has seen the opening of several small and popup businesses, including the celebrated Kuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles.

Recently, Motor City Brewing Works announced plans to open a satellite taproom next to another restaurant called Slyde. Tandy also noted plans to open a new location for Bucharest Grill, Southern Comfort Soul Food and that “several other retailers are looking at spaces as we speak.” Another developer plans a $5 million retail and residential redevelopment at Livernois and 7 Mile.

“All of these things are happening together again to make the commercial district an asset to our great neighborhoods. I have been working on Livenois for some time and we are finally getting the support and the investment in order to make it a reality,” Tandy wrote.

Installing bike lanes could connect that section of Livernois to its continuation in Ferndale, where bike lanes were installed a few years ago between 8 and 9 Mile roads on a strip that has also started to see renewed interest for development.

Tandy says the city plans to hold a series of community meetings and send out surveys regarding the proposed changes. The demonstration project will be up until Sept. 1.

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on the 8 Wood Blog and is used here with permission.

Detroit’s entrepreneurial spirit is on the rise, and it seems new businesses are opening every day. Some have big names, or are part of national chains – but not many of them are truly local, making and selling goods right here in Detroit. Douglas & Co., a company we’ve profiled before, is making moves opening a new studio and store in the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood.

Shane and Melissa Douglas from Douglas & Co officially opened their new studio on Thursday, August 25. The married couple has been specializing in creating fine leather goods since November of 2014. The transition to leather came out of both of their love of American craftsmanship.

The Douglas’s consider Douglas & Co a lifestyle brand; so there is a mixture of bags, wallets, belts, office items, candles and more. Eventually they hope to add handcrafted shoes to the line of leather goods. (I for one cannot wait, because although I didn’t get a picture, the prototype is beautiful).

They take inspiration for their pieces from people or places they know. For instance the Gladstone collection is inspired by the street they live on.

The studio and store is located in the garage of the former Peerless Machine Weighing Co. on Milwaukee. Because the store is attached to the studio it gives customers the opportunity to watch the leather goods being made. It makes the investment in these fine leather goods even sweeter. Your money is going to help put food on a dinner table, right here in Detroit. It’s a true family craft shop.

The Douglas’s hope that the space will eventually become more of a community space, where they can host workshops to teach people about working with leather.

Douglas & Co is located at 609 E. Milwaukee Detroit, Michigan – a short distance from the Tangent Gallery.

Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 12:00 PM- 5:00 PM and Saturday 11:00 AM-2:00 PM