The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has announced three Detroit projects that it said will result in about $9.1 million in new capital investment in the city and add about 157 new jobs. The developments are getting help from the Michigan Strategic Fund, the board of which signed off on aid for the projects on Wednesday.
One project is the Gold Cash Gold restaurant venture by the Cooley family in the Corktown neighborhood. The restaurant and apartment buildings above it are being built out on the same Michigan Avenue block where the family owns the popular Slows Bar-BQ.
The Cooley family’s O’Connor Development is renovating a three-story vacant building into six apartment units on the upper floors and the restaurant, called Gold Cash Gold, in the former pawn shop at the ground level.
The MEDC said the project will create 50 new jobs and result in a capital investment of $1.9 million. The development is getting a state performance-based grant of $200,000, and the Detroit Development Fund and Detroit Investment Fund are financing about 66 percent of development costs. It’s not immediately clear when the project is expected to be complete.
In Midtown, the blighted Thomas Beck house at 3980 Second Avenue is being converted into three apartment units on the upper floors of the three-story building, and the ground floor is being rehabbed into a retail and commercial space. Alex & Beck, LLC, the project’s developer, is getting a state performance-based grant of $178,000 for the project, which is expected to result in more than $839,000 of capital investment and add seven jobs.
The City of Detroit is also offering a seven-year tax abatement, and Midtown Detroit, Inc. is chipping in a $50,000 façade improvement grant and a $5,000 security grant.
Also in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood, Woodward Willis, LLC is building a new, three-story, mixed-use building from the ground up at the corner of Woodward and Willis. The project is expected to generate a capital investment of $6.4 million and create 100 jobs, according to the MEDC. It’s getting a $745,000 state performance-based grant, and the City of Detroit is giving it a 10-year tax abatement.
“These projects will act as catalysts for viable residential neighborhoods by creating downtown living options and redeveloping obsolete buildings into vibrant commercial and residential spaces,” MEDC President and CEO Michael A. Finney said in a statement. “We are pleased to support these efforts to strengthen and further revitalize two of Michigan’s urban centers.”
Source: MEDC
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