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Detroit’s 104-year-old Obama Building reopens as home to businesses, affordable apartments

September 25th, 2021

Excitement was as bountiful as the sunshine that peeked through the skies Saturday while residents, business owners and others attended the dedication of The Obama Building in the Old Redford neighborhood on the city’s west side. City and state officials along with about 250 others attended ceremonies to mark the opening of the 104-year-old building on Grand River and Lahser, which was once a bank and will now house businesses and four affordable apartments.

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The Boulevard in Detroit’s New Center Refinanced at $62M, One of the Largest Deals of its Kind

July 13th, 2021

A $62-million refinancing of The Boulevard, a new midrise apartment community located at the northwest corner of West Grand Boulevard and Third Street, represents one of the largest multifamily financings in Detroit’s history. It’s also the first new construction development of its scale in New Center in more than 30 years.

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You can now get pastries six days a week at Promenade Artisan Foods in Detroit’s Fisher Building

March 18th, 2021

The restaurant takes the space of the former City Bakery, which closed during the pandemic, and because of the pandemic, Promenade’s owners Chelsie and Jono Brymer had initially limited cafe hours to just one day a week. Now that indoor dining restrictions have been lifted somewhat, they will now be open from 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, as well as on theater nights and other events that may be scheduled in the historic space.

Downriver couple expand French-style eatery to Fisher Building

February 15th, 2021

Promenade Artisan Foods based in the downriver community of Trenton is making another grand march. Owners Chelsie and Jono Brymer will open a second location, offering its selection of pastries, lunches, grab-and-go dinners, and sandwiches, in the Fisher Building of Detroit’s New Center. Menu items include Promenade’s signature custardy quiche served with field greens and sea salt chocolate chip cookies. “We are so humbled to have the opportunity to serve in the city that we love and grateful for the chance to learn from this vibrant community,” Chelsie Brymer said.

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Detroit artist Sydney James celebrates Black women, Detroit through her work

February 11th, 2021

“Malcolm X said the Black woman is the most oppressed person in this country, and that has not changed,” Detroit artist Sydney James said, standing in front of the 8,000 square-foot western wall of the Chroma building she and her team transformed this fall. When she was commissioned to create a mural to cover the empty wall, James referenced a familiar scene; Vermeer’s 17th-century oil on canvas “Girl With the Pearl Earring.” She used the iconic painting as a vehicle to tell a different story; one she said is not told often enough.

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Luxury Detroit beauty salon celebrates groundbreaking

January 28th, 2021

“I just feel extremely blessed. I have put in a lot of hard work.” said Crème Brûlée owner, Katrina Wilson who is getting ready for the groundbreaking of her new luxury salon and spa in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. She created this space to serve clients of all different races and ethnicities. The project was stalled for more than a year because of the pandemic but that didn’t stop her from pushing forward. Through her own hard work, talent and perseverance along with assistance from the city’s Motor City Match program her dreams are moving forward.

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Crème Brûlée Salon to Open in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction Neighborhood

January 27th, 2021

Crème Brûlée, a multicultural salon, is slated to open this spring inside The Platform’s Baltimore Station development in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. “We are committed to creating opportunity in Detroit’s neighborhoods,” says Peter Cummings, executive chairman and CEO of The Platform. “This stretch of Woodward is seeing an abundance of new life and investment, and more residents are discovering why the greater New Center area is such a compelling place to live. We look forward to Katrina opening her doors this spring and bringing this much-needed service to the neighborhood.”

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Queen Lillian and The Platform Break Ground on $60M Mixed-Use Detroit Midtown Development

November 27th, 2020

Queen Lillian and The Platform announced recently that they broke ground on Woodward West, a $60 million, new construction mixed-use flagship development in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood. Slated to open in summer 2022, the five-story development will create 204 apartments and nearly 25,000 square feet of ground-floor retail to Woodward Avenue and Stimson Place, just south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Twenty percent of the apartments will be offered at below market rates as an affordable housing initiative (including utilities) for those with qualifying incomes which is 80 percent of the area median income.

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$60M Apartment and Retail Project Coming to Detroit’s Midtown District

November 20th, 2020

Two Detroit-based developers, Queen Lillian and The Platform, have announced they have broken ground on Woodward West, a $60 million, mixed-use development in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood. To transform one of the last large vacant parcels along Woodward in Midtown, Queen Lillian and The Platform have assembled a core project team of Detroit-based talent, including Hamilton Anderson Associates as architect and interior designer, Sachse Construction as general contractor, Skidmore Studio as brand strategist, Center City Properties as property manager; and Honigman as tax incentive consultant.

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Construction of new Woodward West residential, retail site underway in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood

November 19th, 2020

Construction of Woodward West, a $60 million mixed-use development project, broke ground on Nov. 9 on Woodward Avenue at Stimson Street. Slated to open in the summer of 2022, the five-story structure plans to offer 204 apartments and 25,000 feet of retail space. The project’s Detroit-based developers — Queen Lillian and The Platform — say they have worked with members of the community to receive feedback on the project before finalizing its design. The companies also say they assembled a team to construct and manage the project that is largely comprised of Detroit- and Michigan-based talent and businesses.

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