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Mixed-Use Development Planned for the Detroit Riverfront

Mixed-Use Development Planned for the Detroit Riverfront

Detroit’s Economic Development Corp. gave a preliminary green light to at least 291 low-rise units of housing and retail space along five blocks of the Detroit riverfront.

St. Louis-based McCormack Baron Salazar, whose CEO Richard Baron is a Detroit native, would first build the three- to four-story townhouses and apartment buildings along Atwater and Franklin Streets, between the Dequindre Cut Greenway and Riopelle Street. The site borders the Detroit Riverwalk and Tricentennial State Park. If that goes well, the firm could develop a second phase to add 200 rentals or condo units, as well as more retail and restaurants.

The Economic Development Corp. is expected to contribute a $1.7 million loan, and could transfer the property to McCormack Baron Salazar for $1 if the developer can secure financing. Much of the funding could come from state funds, as well as a U.S. Housing and Urban Development mortgage.

In a city where huge swaths of land remain in a mode of urban decay, even attractive riverfront property near trendy downtown needs a complex system of financing.

Baron told the Detroit Free Press he hopes to finish construction on the $60 million project by early 2016.

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