DETROIT (AP) - Ground has been broken for a $60 million residential and retail development in Midtown Detroit.
The five-story, 204-apartment Woodward West is expected to open in the summer of 2022 just north of downtown.
Officials say 20% of the apartments will be offered below market rate as affordable housing. Detroit-based Queen Lillian and The Platform are the project’s developers.
The nearly 2-acre (0.8-hectare) site is on one of the last major vacant parcels on Woodward Avenue in Midtown.
Woodward West will be one of the latest developments in Detroit with construction coming less than a year after The Platform opened The Boulevard at Third Avenue and West Grand Boulevard in New Center.
Leasing at The Boulevard has been strong, even during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Peter Cummings, chief executive of The Platform.
It demonstrates the demand for more new housing and retail in Detroit, he added.
“Woodward West will bring centrally located housing to Detroiters and much-needed retail space to the Woodward Corridor in Midtown,” Cummings said.
The project will be built, designed and managed “almost entirely” by Detroit-based companies, said James Jenkins Jr., Queen Lillian co-principal and partner.
“We believe that as Detroit continues its comeback that Detroit-based businesses should be leading that charge,” Jenkins said.
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. approved a $5.3 million community revitalization loan for the project. Detroit’s Economic Development Corp. also approved a $2.2 million loan.
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