This rendering shows the vision for a new mixed-use development with 38 apartments and 6,000 square feet of commercial space on West McNichols near Livernois in Detroit.
A trio of Detroit developers are targeting a block on West McNichols for a new mixed-use development with 38 apartments and 6,000 square feet of commercial space.
The development, which is seeking about $1.1 million in brownfield reimbursements, is across three parcels totaling about 0.55 acres on the south side of West McNichols Road between Prairie and Monica streets three blocks west of Livernois Avenue.
Roderick Hardamon of Urge Development Group LLC, George N’Namdi of N’Namdi Holdings and Richard Hosey of Hosey Development LLC are spearheading the project, which is being referred to as 7303 W. McNichols.
Hardamon told me earlier today that the 38,000-square-foot building is expected to start construction in the third quarter and take about 15 months to complete.
“McNichols lacks new, fresh residential density,” he said. “If we were going to activate a commercial corridor, what better way than providing new residential density?”
The brownfield incentive application says that all 38 units are being targeted at those making between 60 percent and 80 percent of the federally designated Area Median Income. In the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan area, the AMI for a two-person household in 2020 is $62,800.
“Our target resident demographic includes university students and faculty from University of Detroit Mercy and professionals seeking viable options in a (Strategic Neighborhood Fund) area … within a short commute of the city center and surrounding communities,” the brownfield application says.
The development team is also pursuing a 10-year property tax abatement, a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone property tax abatement and a Michigan Community Revitalization Program loan through the state. Federal New Markets Tax Credits are also expected to be used by one of the project’s lenders.
Hardamon and N’Namdi are also co-developers of the OSI Art Apartments @ West End on Grand River Avenue, which broke ground in October in what is being branded as a new arts and culture district.
“We are going to incorporate art into this (McNichols) building, as we did on Grand River, and design of the building will pay homage to the homes in the neighborhood,” Hardamon said.
Philadelphia-based Interface Studio Architects is the project architect while Birmingham-based Lewand Construction LLC is the contractor.
