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http://www.freep.com/article/20130508/NEWS/305070136/detroit-fire-department-fire-houses-assets-emergency-manager
Detroit is selling seven unused firehouses and a renovated but long-vacant police facility that once housed horses in a move to raise money and encourage redevelopment in a city bleeding cash and fighting to avoid a municipal bankruptcy.
The Bing administration says it hopes developers come forward with creative ideas for the reuse of architecturally significant buildings, most of which have been closed in recent years as the city downsized its fire operations due to a shrinking population and tax base.
The buildings some that date to the citys boom in the 1920s are structurally sound, but have been vandalized and, in some cases, stripped of hardware, metals and other materials.
The city sent out requests for proposals last week and will accept bids through May 24. A group of interested bidders will take tours during open houses Wednesday, which are open to the public.
The ultimate bid winners are going to be those who come up with the best ideas, said Brad Dick, director of the citys General Services Department, which handles the citys building maintenance, property and vehicle management and upkeep of properties, including parks. We want something that fits todays Detroit, something cool and different.
Dick said the city has heard from developers looking to bring new restaurants or funky ideas such as wineries or micro-distilleries creating locally crafted liquors.
Stephen Henderson: My firehouse dream, deferred
The properties include the old 6,724-square-foot Detroit Fire Department Ladder No. 10 at 3396 Vinewood near West Grand Boulevard on the citys west side, which carries the highest minimum bid requirement at $128,000. The building, and more than a dozen others citywide, were shut down in 2012 when Mayor Dave Bing and the City Council slashed the Fire Departments budget as the citys financial crisis worsened.
Since then, thieves, scrappers and vandals have taken their toll, Dick said.
The buildings are in from good shape to need some work, Dick said.
Bings office said the city is hoping that the new developments will attract more people and businesses and act as a stabilizer in the neighborhoods nearby, citing examples like Slows Bar B Q, which became a nationally mentioned destination restaurant that lured visitors to the Corktown neighborhood despite being across the street from the citys most notorious eyesore, the Michigan Central Station.
The buildings will not be the first Detroit firehouses to be sold for reuse. A developer and the city are finalizing a sale of the old Detroit Fire headquarters at Larned and Washington downtown. The developer wants to create a boutique hotel in the 1920s-era building across from Cobo Center by 2015.
Dick said the city is not looking for developers to turn the facilities into garages or storage facilities, but instead as beacons of culture and cool for a city attempting a comeback.
This can really change the neighborhood, Dick said. Thats why its so important that the right things go in there.
Bing spokesman Bob Warfield said the sales and redevelopments are not directly related to other efforts under way by consultants to pull together an updated list of the citys assets and properties so that the city can begin selling land and buildings it no longer needs. Thats one part of the government restructuring that the citys emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, is overseeing in his 18-month tenure that is expected to dramatically change the size and scope of what services the city can continue to offer residents.
The combined total in minimum bids the city stands to make from the sales is $637,000 small change compared to the citys estimated $380-million budget deficit or its staggering $15 billion in long-term retiree benefits and bond debts.
But Bing said it is a step toward encouraging redevelopment and ridding the city of buildings and properties it no longer needs and that generate no taxes.
We need to raise money, Bing said in a statement. These are the kinds of developments, the kinds of people we need to attract.
People interested in redeveloping any of the eight buildings may call Jill Bryant at 313-628-0904 or Jim Marusich at 313-224-3517.
Detroit is selling seven unused firehouses and a renovated but long-vacant police facility that once housed horses in a move to raise money and encourage redevelopment in a city bleeding cash and fighting to avoid a municipal bankruptcy.
The Bing administration says it hopes developers come forward with creative ideas for the reuse of architecturally significant buildings, most of which have been closed in recent years as the city downsized its fire operations due to a shrinking population and tax base.
The buildings some that date to the citys boom in the 1920s are structurally sound, but have been vandalized and, in some cases, stripped of hardware, metals and other materials.
The city sent out requests for proposals last week and will accept bids through May 24. A group of interested bidders will take tours during open houses Wednesday, which are open to the public.
The ultimate bid winners are going to be those who come up with the best ideas, said Brad Dick, director of the citys General Services Department, which handles the citys building maintenance, property and vehicle management and upkeep of properties, including parks. We want something that fits todays Detroit, something cool and different.
Dick said the city has heard from developers looking to bring new restaurants or funky ideas such as wineries or micro-distilleries creating locally crafted liquors.
Stephen Henderson: My firehouse dream, deferred
The properties include the old 6,724-square-foot Detroit Fire Department Ladder No. 10 at 3396 Vinewood near West Grand Boulevard on the citys west side, which carries the highest minimum bid requirement at $128,000. The building, and more than a dozen others citywide, were shut down in 2012 when Mayor Dave Bing and the City Council slashed the Fire Departments budget as the citys financial crisis worsened.
Since then, thieves, scrappers and vandals have taken their toll, Dick said.
The buildings are in from good shape to need some work, Dick said.
Bings office said the city is hoping that the new developments will attract more people and businesses and act as a stabilizer in the neighborhoods nearby, citing examples like Slows Bar B Q, which became a nationally mentioned destination restaurant that lured visitors to the Corktown neighborhood despite being across the street from the citys most notorious eyesore, the Michigan Central Station.
The buildings will not be the first Detroit firehouses to be sold for reuse. A developer and the city are finalizing a sale of the old Detroit Fire headquarters at Larned and Washington downtown. The developer wants to create a boutique hotel in the 1920s-era building across from Cobo Center by 2015.
Dick said the city is not looking for developers to turn the facilities into garages or storage facilities, but instead as beacons of culture and cool for a city attempting a comeback.
This can really change the neighborhood, Dick said. Thats why its so important that the right things go in there.
Bing spokesman Bob Warfield said the sales and redevelopments are not directly related to other efforts under way by consultants to pull together an updated list of the citys assets and properties so that the city can begin selling land and buildings it no longer needs. Thats one part of the government restructuring that the citys emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, is overseeing in his 18-month tenure that is expected to dramatically change the size and scope of what services the city can continue to offer residents.
The combined total in minimum bids the city stands to make from the sales is $637,000 small change compared to the citys estimated $380-million budget deficit or its staggering $15 billion in long-term retiree benefits and bond debts.
But Bing said it is a step toward encouraging redevelopment and ridding the city of buildings and properties it no longer needs and that generate no taxes.
We need to raise money, Bing said in a statement. These are the kinds of developments, the kinds of people we need to attract.
People interested in redeveloping any of the eight buildings may call Jill Bryant at 313-628-0904 or Jim Marusich at 313-224-3517.
