The Observation Deck

Last night I attended an open house for the Rockport Square Development at the old firehouse.

The firehouse is in great shape. The developers plan to use it as a community room for Rockport residents.

Since most of the existing units have been sold they are ready to begin construction of the large condo-mixed use building on the South side of Detroit. The penthouse will have a view of downtown.

Forest City is serious about its commitment to this project. The newly redesigned project offers a wider range of pricing and more public green areas.

The only thing wrong with this project is that it is to small.

Does anyone know if the City is offering any assistance to this project?

The project is covered under a Tax Incremental Financing deal through the city - I had them explain it to me and I'm still a little fuzzy, but essentially the property is tax-abated and some portion of the increase in taxes in the surrounding area (including my house) due to the improvements made go back to the developer.

I'd be thrilled if they bought more property in the area to redevelop - specifically Baker Motors .

The condo building on the south side will now be mirrored by a similar building on the north side (which will start building once they've sold a portion of the first one). They've also decided to build more of the modest two-story townhomes that sell in the upper 200s instead of the tall three-story ones that go for 350K+. One nice feature is that they've added a small greenspace right along Detroit to the site plan. Their website has been updated to show this new information, including the updated site plan - www.rockportsquare.com.

We bought our house on Beach in November in the hopes that Rockport will help make the area a bit nicer - it's refreshing to see that some real energy and money is now getting redirected into the project.

Bill Call wrote:Last night I attended an open house for the Rockport Square Development at the old firehouse.

The firehouse is in great shape. The developers plan to use it as a community room for Rockport residents.

Since most of the existing units have been sold they are ready to begin construction of the large condo-mixed use building on the South side of Detroit. The penthouse will have a view of downtown.

Forest City is serious about its commitment to this project. The newly redesigned project offers a wider range of pricing and more public green areas.

The only thing wrong with this project is that it is to small.

Does anyone know if the City is offering any assistance to this project?

Bill

Not sure on the assistance to Forest City. But there are abatements to new owners I believe.

Did they give any timeline for work?

I know of developers that were looking at other streets nearby, by all that talk has disappeared as work has slowed.

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I can't wait until they build the fancy coffee shops, etc. shown in the original artist renderings

Doug

Jim O'Bryan wrote:I know of developers that were looking at other streets nearby, by all that talk has disappeared as work has slowed.

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I am .... disappointed that the City has not taken a more pro-active role. This could have been the beginning of something great.

I'm excited to see this development showing some action again. I like the changed Forest City is making. I think it will be very positive for the neighborhood.