The architectural rendering seen above will soon be a one-of-a-kind nature center and experiential museum in the former Globe Building on Detroit’s wondrous riverfront. Wondrous. Yes.
The DNR is involved, investing nearly $13 million in the project, as are some state tax credits.
Once completed, state officials said they hope to draw up to a million visitors annually. DNR officials expect to see construction begin this fall and are eyeing a late 2013 move-in date.
And from the developers:
“This is a unique project because you’re going from a former industrial/warehouse building to something that’s going to be very much a public amenity — a place where people will come and experience the park,” said David Di Rita, a principal with Detroit-based Roxbury Group.
And some idea as to what this thing will actually look and feel like:
the proposed Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center will offer interactive simulations of reeling in a fish from one of the Great Lakes, kayaking on one of the state’s waterways and firing a bow and arrow.
Other possibilities for the center include a rock-climbing wall and a rope course.
“We want to give kids a taste of those kinds of experiences and that will hopefully launch them into visiting our state parks and introduce them to the natural resources Michigan has to offer,” Anthes said.
Now we can finally conclude what’s been going on along Woodward along the former site of the old Garden Theatre, seen here:
As Louis Aguilar reported in the Detroit News, the prominent space in Midtown along Woodward Avenue between Alexandrine and Selden, will get a renovation via a $750,000 incentive from the Michigan Strategic Fund as a live music venue and performing arts center. The place will hold up to 1,300 people and will create 84 jobs. Not bad. A tip of the cap to Sue Mosey and the gang at UCCA for making the deal happen.
Tony Goldman is a name that has become synonymous with spotting the diamond in the rough, and now, the real estate man is coming to Detroit. 40 years ago Goldman looked on with dismay at the conditions of little box living in Manhattan and made a decision to be the movement behind Soho’s development in Lower Manhattan. At the time, he was in his 20s cutting his teeth in the real estate biz renovating old brownstones on the Upper West Side. What eventually started in Soho with the creation of jazz supper club Greene Street Cafe snowballed in to much larger scale development that between the years of 1976-84 resulted in 18 property acquisitions and re-developments. Later, he continued his efforts of revitalization in to Miami’s South Beach, and further on to Boston and even Philadelphia. Plain and simple: the man has a knack for seeing the underdog urban areas and taking the bits and pieces they do have and working it in to a revitalized destination that creates momentum.
On Tuesday, February 1st, Tony Goldman is speaking at Cliff Bell’s as part of the Model D speaker series. It will certainly be interesting to hear Goldman’s thoughts about creating opportunity in Detroit. No RSVP is required, and the talk starts at 6:30 with a discussion and Q+A to follow. Cliff Bell’s is at 2030 Park Avenue, in downtown Detroit.
