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In another shot in the arm for Detroit's surging Midtown neighborhood, Wayne State University will build a nine-story, mixed-use development on a vacant lot at Cass and Canfield that will include apartments, retail shops, and a hotel and conference center.
Price tag: A reported $60 million.
The WSU Board of Governors voted today to authorize the university to enter into a memorandum of understanding and long-term lease with Broder & Sachse Real Estate Services to develop the 1.5-acre site.
The development will include approximately 248 market-rate apartments, 19,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, a hotel with up to 120 rooms and a conference center with capacity for up to 300 people.
It's expected to open in 2016.
The development will enhance a neighborhood south of the WSU campus that already features dense housing, including old and new buildings, plus such longtime restaurants and bars as Traffic Jam and Snug and the Bronx Bar, and new establishments like Melt, a gelato store, and La Feria, a Spanish eatery.
“In addition to providing much-needed housing and hotel and conference facilities, this project will enhance the connection between our main campus and our medical campus, as well as further promote Midtown as a walkable and bikeable neighborhood,” WSU President M. Roy Wilson said in a statement.
“Wayne State remains committed to being a leader and catalyst for economic growth in Detroit.”
The development will be conveniently located near the car-sharing service Zipcar and a proposed M-1 rail stop.
