Downtown Update: What’s Going On

By Ryan Richards
Allis Information Management

Selina Tisdale, Midland Downtown Development Authority Executive Director.

Whenever we’re discussing Midland developments to write about, Downtown Midland always comes up. There’s been so much going on there in the last couple years that I wasn’t even sure I could remember it all. So I chatted (virtually) with Selina Tisdale, who among many other things is the Executive Director of the City of Midland’s Downtown Development Authority. Here’s what she had to say about what’s happening Downtown and what’s still to come.

What’s the status of the East End development? How close are they to opening? How about the tenants?

Downtown Midland’s East End development, taken from the Spence Brothers webcam at http://oxblue.com/open/spencebrothers/eastend.

The tenants that were announced during the initial construction phase (Chemical Bank Trust Department, MidMichigan Health, The Dow Chemical Company and the law firm of Warner, Norcross and Judd) are still the primary tenants for the upper floors. Main floor restaurant space is still working on being filled. Occupancy of the building will take place in stages as tenants complete their respective areas – watch for the first tenants to begin moving in early summer. There’s also a celebration event for the opening of the building planned for summer; stay tuned for more details!

What’s the plan for the five-story building on Main Street – will it be residential, commercial, both? Where is it in the development process?

The Main Street development near Ashman will be a five-story mixed-use facility. This development will feature four floors of residential space, about 19 units, and main floor retail and restaurant. There will also be at least one Main Street level restaurant to be announced.

The five-story building planned for Downtown Midland. Image courtesy MLive.com.

Demolition of the existing site is slated to begin on March 24. Demolition is expected to take 2-3 weeks with the 24-month long construction process to begin shortly thereafter. While things will be more congested than normal, we do not anticipate interference with Farmer’s Market, Tunes by the Tridge or other much-anticipated summer fun in Downtown Midland. There sure will be a lot to see, though!

The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation provided a grant to the City that contributes to the burial of the electrical service along Ashman Street from Ann Street to Larkin. This will greatly enhance the aesthetics of Downtown Midland, eliminating overhead wires, utility poles and the like.

If you’ve seen the renderings for the Main Street development, it is not hard to tell that it will be an impressive structure that will nicely compliment the H Hotel, the historic buildings of the downtown as well as the contemporary look and feel of the new East End development. It will definitely be another signature piece for downtown Midland.

Tell us about the building that just went up on Buttles and Ashman.

The SSP Associates building on Buttles and Ashman Streets.

The 30,000-square-foot structure has been developed by SSP Associates, a Shaheen Development Co. Three tenants have announced occupancy of the building: Styron will occupy the second floor with Century 21 and Wells Fargo occupying the first floor. Wells Fargo moved into the facility in late February/early March. The others are expected to move in within the June/July time frame.

Are there any other plans for residential space downtown? I know there are some existing loft apartments… what’s the status of those? Are there plans to add more residential space?

416 McDonald in Midland (click the picture and look for the red circle!). Image courtesy City of Midland GIS system.

The new development in downtown Midland is definitely sparking an interest in bringing more residential to the area. The 19 residential units in the new Main Street development will be the first major investment in new downtown residential units.

At a council meeting in February, SSP inquired to City Council about the purchase of city-owned property at 416 McDonald Street (between Buttles and Indian Streets). SSP already owns the balance of this block and would like to purchase the remaining parcel with the intent of developing a multi-residential housing development at that location. Other residential development inquiries have been made as well, but nothing public at this time.

There are about a dozen “loft” type apartments in the downtown, above existing main floor space; however, they are fairly elusive – as soon as one becomes available it is snapped up. But I hear more and more every day from those interested in adding more residential downtown, both in existing buildings and through new development.

What else would you like to see in Downtown Midland? Comment below and share your thoughts!

 

Other links:

Our earlier blog post on the East End project

MLive article on the five-story Downtown building

Midland Daily News article on the proposed SSP residential development

 

$49 Million in Change: Midland’s East End Project

Over 140 young professionals packed the Dow Diamond on Thursday, Sept. 26 to hear the latest news about the East End development (a.k.a. “the huge building across from the stadium”). On hand were Midland City Manager Jon Lynch along with Gillespie Group President Pat Gillespie and Caddis Development Group President Kevin McGraw (the project developers) and Spence Brothers President/CEO Herb Spence (responsible for the construction). Here are some of the highlights:

The Tenants

• Current tenants include Chemical Bank Wealth Management, Warner Norcross & Judd, MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland, and a second-floor fitness center, along with another “major” tenant to be announced soon. The Michigan Baseball Foundation has also announced State & Main Restaurant will be a tenant as well.
• In total, there are only about 7,000 square feet left to lease (out of over 250,000), and the developers would like 4-5 restaurants to start with. They’re looking for suggestions (see the end of this post for the way to contribute).

The Construction

• The construction, which has been greatly accelerated, is still even a little ahead of schedule. The “core and shell” work to enclose the building might be done as early as the first week of November. Indoor “fitouts” for the major tenants’ spaces are starting this month.
• If all goes well, there should be people in the building by sometime next spring.
• The building is working toward LEED Silver certification to be environmentally friendly.

Conceptual rendering taken from the Midland East End website

The Impact

• About 800 people currently work in Midland’s Downtown. Pat Gillespie predicted the East End project will add another 800 by itself.
• The development will help fill current vacancies even though it’s adding new space. Gillespie has seen businesses eager to take advantage of new development rent nearby existing space at a lower price point. He predicts that within three years, Downtown Midland will be entirely filled with “stuff you don’t have now.”
• The project was originally a $33 million investment; today, it’s $49 million. This has raised the taxable value of that property from $800,000 in 2011 to $13 million today.

The Future

• The East End development is not including residential space – it’s difficult for residents and businesses to share the same elevators and other infrastructure. But the developers and the City are discussing other possible residential development. Since Pat gets “five to ten calls a week” asking if there are apartments available in the East End, he predicted there will eventually be 70-100 apartments in Downtown Midland.
• In order to have those apartments, though, and to have associated services like taxis, there needs to be enough demand for a private-sector investor to take the projects on. Apartments downtown would probably need be priced between $775 and $1100/month to be viable.

The East End project is exciting by itself, but the impact on Midland and the region will be even bigger. As the project shapes up, the developers encouraged MYPros to have our say in the tenants we’d like to see. Leave a comment on this post and tell us what you think should be in the East End!