  Apbest Member Username: Apbest Post Number: 342 Registered: 03-2006 |
does anyone know anything specific about the status of WSU's south village concept? There has been a discussion of it on UrbanPlanet recently, and while it was though to be scrapped, supposedly Dr Irvin said that it wasn't scrapped and had just been delayed, contrary to the way the papers reported it. The parking garage RFP is still on WSU's Purchasing department website. (http://www.wayne.edu/wsupurch/) here's a rendering for anyone unfamiliar http://www.taktixsolutions.com /Midtown%20Drawing.jpg (PDF) http://procard.wayne.edu/webfi les/FPM-South_Village_Parking_ Structure_2006_Appendix_6_Rend ering_and_Elevation.pdf | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 365 Registered: 01-2006 |
show me the money | ||
Bpjeff Member Username: Bpjeff Post Number: 19 Registered: 01-2006 |
A few weeks ago, Sue Mosely, president of Midtown's UCCA, did a presentation at the Detroit Yacht Club regarding future development in Midtown. WSU's South Village was listed as a future development. She did not get into specifics regarding financing, etc. If this was "scrapped" I do not believe that she would have mentioned it. | ||
Bussey Member Username: Bussey Post Number: 431 Registered: 12-2003 |
In the first drawing is looks like they have conceptualized a residential building in the parking lot next to the MOCA. This project would be fantastic for this part of the Woodward corridor. | ||
Detroit313 Member Username: Detroit313 Post Number: 265 Registered: 02-2006 |
I like it!313 | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 128 Registered: 10-2006 |
I'll talk to Paul Massaron and see what's holding it up. | ||
Corktownmark Member Username: Corktownmark Post Number: 233 Registered: 12-2004 |
Good Idea Charlotte paul. please let the rest of us know | ||
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 419 Registered: 06-2006 |
Wayne State announces $34 million project December 19, 2006 BY ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER Wayne State University plans on constructing a $34 million mixed-use project as part of its South University Village development in Midtown Detroit by 2008. The project, which gets underway in the spring of 2007, will build shops, restaurants, residential housing on a 2-acre plot of vacant land on Woodward Avenue between Canfield and Forest. Wayne State received approval for Brownfield tax credits from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to support the project. South University Village will include a $20 million apartment complex, which will include 128 units and a university parking structure. Midtown Detroit has had more than $1.6 billion in new residential and commercial construction over the last decade, according to the University Cultural Center Association. “Our productive public-private partnerships and close collaboration will enable us to dramatically improve the landscape of our campus and move the university and city forward,” said Reid. “The development of this site will create a nucleus of activity that links the university’s main campus with that of its medical school.” The development is scheduled to be complete by the summer of 2008. http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll /article?AID=/20061219/NEWS99/ 61219028 | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 2262 Registered: 02-2005 |
Wow. Right after I finish writing a paper about the near future for Midtown this news comes out. I hope that, architecturally speaking, these will be nicer than the new dorms on Anthony Wayne Dr. Will this be official university housing? The renderings made it look like the style we see with the Ellington, which would be cool. This location would be a very cool spot to live as a student. And the benefits for density along Woodward are enormous. | ||
Gwyrah Member Username: Gwyrah Post Number: 24 Registered: 10-2003 |
Over last summer core environmental testing was being conducted in university towers parking lot. So I'd take that as a sign that their pretty close to breaking ground. | ||
Dpd_blue Member Username: Dpd_blue Post Number: 167 Registered: 05-2005 |
This will probably be just another money pit for Prez Reid. The new dorms are mostly empty and they treat the residents like children. WSU needs to review their housing policies or they will end up like the apartment building on Forest "EMPTY". | ||
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 420 Registered: 06-2006 |
I think Mackinaw is refering to The Towers, which really aren't all that bad looking...I know some people in my class who live on the top floors there and they like it...I think that constructing them was a smart move on WSU's part to see if students would be willing to live downtown...they haven't quite been able to fill them up yet, but apparently they got enough interest to want to move forward with the South Village project the biggest difference between The Towers and the South Village project proposed is the presence of balconies on the upcomming building | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 991 Registered: 03-2006 |
my gf lived in South Hall and Dpd is 100% correct on how the residents are treated. | ||
Amy_p Member Username: Amy_p Post Number: 735 Registered: 10-2003 |
Details, Dpd_blue? The freshman I know in the new dorms has had to live surrounded by sex and alcohol, with no real monitoring going on. | ||
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 421 Registered: 06-2006 |
the university initially tried to ban alcohol in the Towers, but a bunch of law students, whom the top two floors are reserved for and who are all over 21, got that rule changed... other than that, I haven't heard any complaints from my classmates... | ||
Detroitrulez Member Username: Detroitrulez Post Number: 79 Registered: 12-2006 |
pics? | ||
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 422 Registered: 06-2006 |
see first post for pics | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 2263 Registered: 02-2005 |
The Towers aren't atrocious, thejesus, but the other two newer buildings are quite ugly. The idea of the university building as an experiment, to test and see if there is interest, is absurd. If it were true, I'd be really mad at Wayne for wasting $$$, as public universities are prone to do. But the fact that the South Village thing will happen must mean something. With the high vacancy in the dorms, I bet they get purchased and then only used part-time, since Wayne is 80-90 metro Detroiters. Also, they hand out a lot of free room and board with scholarships. Deep down, I think that Wayne still needs to get more serious and campaign harder to change its image. They can start by engaging in out-of-state marketing, to get kids from OH, IL, IN, etc. to come here...even marketing the other side of the state would work. Then, they can make the rules in the dorms extremely lax, so as to give students the sort of freedom that would make them want to live at school. I wouldn't be suprised if what dpd says is true. Basically, Wayne needs to start impersonating what universities that have college towns do. And there are urban college towns, with west Philadelphia being one of the best. I read an address from Irvin Reid online recently, it was either something to do with their recent pledge drive, or his "state of the union," but he effectively admitted that Wayne is bound to stay a commuter school, and that this has its own set of obligations. If Wayne wants to get real about increasing on campus population and making Midtown explode with development, then they need to lose this sort of rhetoric pronto. All of this squawking aside, this news today and the recent news on TechTown investments gives much reason to believe that midtown is truly at a tipping point. | ||
Bussey Member Username: Bussey Post Number: 446 Registered: 12-2003 |
Where is your source on the high vacancy rates; not that I don't believe you I just want to know if this is fact or hearsay | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 2264 Registered: 02-2005 |
So will the university towers building or whatever it's called that is presently surrounded by all those parking lots be torn down, or will these places go in around it? Amy_p, having "to live surrounded by sex and alcohol" is part of the college town experience. I didn't have it when i commuted to Wayne, but I have it here in Ann Arbor. It's part of the 18 to 24 y.o. learning process; it makes good people better, and, obviously, can be deadly for people who can't control themselves. The point is, college makes you who you are, to a great extent, and there is no reason to be sheltered. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 2265 Registered: 02-2005 |
You're asking dpd_blue, right Bussey? I don't know if he's right I'm just speculating as to why they might be vacant. | ||
Apbest Member Username: Apbest Post Number: 352 Registered: 03-2006 |
this timeline sounds quite ambitious, impressive, and from the looks of it - realistic | ||
Yvette248 Member Username: Yvette248 Post Number: 309 Registered: 10-2006 |
From what I hear, many of the students in the dorms actually ACT like kids. My grad school classmate moved out after two months (and was penalized $2,000) because he couldn't take the wildness of kids running around anymore. | ||
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess Post Number: 181 Registered: 08-2006 |
I cannot imagine living in a dorm as a graduate student. Hell, I couldn't imagine living in a dorm as an upperclassman. But that's what dorms are like. Sounds like The Towers have created an authentic experience. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 154 Registered: 10-2006 |
I miss college and living in the dorms. | ||
Gwyrah Member Username: Gwyrah Post Number: 25 Registered: 10-2003 |
UT will stand in the middle of all the new construction. My office is on the first floor of UT so I get to put up with the hassle of trying to find parking until the new structure is built. I sure hope they do the construction in phases or this will be a huge mess. | ||
Traxus Member Username: Traxus Post Number: 39 Registered: 02-2006 |
They have yet to fill up the dorms that they've already built. I can't imagine them moving on anymore until they get near capacity; which seems unlikely considering that there is an abundance of much less expensive housing in the area. | ||
Mplsryan Member Username: Mplsryan Post Number: 147 Registered: 11-2003 |
Don't they have Grad dorms, which are often more like apartments? It's pretty common practice at schools, especially for students with families or who are married or just plain older and in more intense study. | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 4935 Registered: 10-2003 |
You guys are going to have to make the distinction between student-geared apartments and dormitories if you hope to understand this project. | ||
Traxus Member Username: Traxus Post Number: 41 Registered: 02-2006 |
Between the freshmen dorms (north and south hall) and the upperclassmen dorms (towers), I think there are some grad dorms, I suppose those are pretty occupied, however I've never been inside. A lot of the foreign students live there. | ||
Jeduncan Member Username: Jeduncan Post Number: 16 Registered: 11-2006 |
I agree that WSU should be campaigning more distant than just the tri-county area. It really is a good school and offers some degrees not many other schools offer, and it has an incredible library system (Over 1,000,000 books on hand). In case you can't tell, I'm a student there. I think that if WSU made an effort to recruit students from even all over the state and in the other great lake states it could do great things for both WSU and midtown, and maybe even detroit as a whole. I do agree, though, that embarking on such a risky venture when the current dorms are empty (if they really are, I've never been in them) could prove fatal. I don't think that WSU should be necessarily sticking to their guns on keeping the school primarily a commuter school. Some schools (MSU, UofM, etc) have a freshmen residency requirement... now, I know that wouldn't fly too much with unjustly fearful white parents who don't want their 18 year old babies to be all on their own in the super scary Detroit. Stigma, man. It sucks. Not to mention the cost of it... Certain sacrifices could and should be made to bring WSU's reputation and image up, though. I agree though, that there is already a pretty large amount of vacancy in surrounding apartments... because I searched some myself. The problem is that most of these apartments are nearly 100 years old and extremely tiny. I'm not sure where I was going with this tangent, sorry lol. I think it's a cool concept, but there should definitely be some serious marketing and recruiting in the whole great lakes region if they hope to make this work. | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 4938 Registered: 10-2003 |
Again, we're talking apartments and not dormitories from what I understand. Those are two different types of housing options, with markets that may overlap but markets that are far from one and the same. (Message edited by lmichigan on December 20, 2006) | ||
Jeduncan Member Username: Jeduncan Post Number: 17 Registered: 11-2006 |
right... if these are meant to be school ran housing, then they should really consider trying to suck up some distant students first | ||
Mayor_sekou Member Username: Mayor_sekou Post Number: 356 Registered: 09-2006 |
What timing. I suppose this answers all previous questions. This is good news. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20061220/S CHOOLS/612200373 | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 4940 Registered: 10-2003 |
Exactly. These are apartments, not dorms. It looks really nice. It's so great to see Woodward being framed in again. With this, the Ellington, and all else going on and proposed for the Avenue, this should really begin a critical mass. Seems like Detroit is getting a lot of Christmas presents, this year. | ||
Pistonian_revolution Member Username: Pistonian_revolution Post Number: 60 Registered: 05-2006 |
the major problem with wayne state housing is that its ridiculously overpriced, and has terrible quality. the older apartments like deroy are falling apart and are known for having roaches. the dorms have terrible cafeteria service. i havent seen the inside of the towers apartment units. but i read all about its amenities what with a fitness room on every othr floor and laundry on every floor, or something. it seemed extravagant and like the amenities were intended to justify padding the price of living there. i wouldnt wanna pay to live there even with all the amenities. i think wayne state desperately needs student housing and more of it. i screamed with joy when i saw the article on this south village. that vast UT parking lot needs to be developed. but i hope it doesnt turn out the same way as UT or the dorms. one thing we dont need is overpriced student housing. i actually lived in the dorms, in north hall. it was a nightmare. i was awoken by a 20-30 guys screaming and yellin in the hallway at 2:00am. i asked them to quiet down so i could sleep. the next morning, the room number outside my door had been torn off in retaliation for asking for peace and quiet. in a way, thats dorm life at any college. im not sure if wayne state dorms were any rowdier than other colleges. it was still pretty bad. but the department of housing could be a bit more ruthless in dealing with idiots who cant behave. the bad neighbors were reason enough not to live there anymore. i think president reid should devise a plan to encourage private development of apartments intended for students in the surrounding area. wayne state has a tendency to overcharge for everything. i think students need more affordable housing in the area, maybe a few co-ops or more large houses like U of M or other colleges have. the nearest large houses like those are in boston edison, which is really far away. alot of students dont want to live on campus. they are just like me. i pay for my own rent and food and take out loans for tuition- and cant afford the exorbitant cost of on campus living that only gets you bad food and terrible neighbors. i have no choice but to live near campus because commuting would be even more expensive and less conducive to studying. so, south village looks beautiful. the higher density and better design is an improvement on the atrocious apartments wayne state has built in the past like UT (horrid), forest apartments (vomit enducing), and deroy (ugly but worse, a roach motel). what will really matter is if students will ever get greater access to affordable housing in the wayne state area. all this development will look nice on president reid's legacy. there are more students living on campus now than before. but one thing i know for sure is that it hasnt helped me at all. | ||
Tetsua Member Username: Tetsua Post Number: 999 Registered: 01-2004 |
I thought it was currently just a big parking lot for University students, how can that be blighted?
I hope this is something new, and different for the area. 9k+ square feet is pretty huge. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1426 Registered: 05-2005 |
i know this kind of thing should be applauded, but for some reason I don't like it, maybe its just the style of the proposed buildings in the renderings, I dunno | ||
Hugo8100 Member Username: Hugo8100 Post Number: 19 Registered: 06-2006 |
I keep waiting for an announcement that they are building a new lecture hall to replace State Hall. But year after year they either expand their real estate interests or build brand new offices for the bureaucracy. | ||
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess Post Number: 182 Registered: 08-2006 |
Pistonian opined:
What you recount sounds pretty typical of my early-1980s-in-Ann-Arbor experience. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 382 Registered: 01-2006 |
So let me get this straight--this started off as a question about a project that seemed dead over on UrbanPlanet, and 2 days later we have a legit project that was just announced? | ||
E_hemingway Member Username: E_hemingway Post Number: 1004 Registered: 11-2004 |
And my 1990s-Ann Arbor experience, except we burned one of our dorm rooms down. Putting up with puke piles in the communal bathrooms on Saturday mornings, bathroom stalls that had the doors ripped off and the mysterious shower shitter was disgusting, but it made for cool stories later on in life. Dorm living isn't ideal, but it's a necessary evil. It gives new students a solid base to explore and experience their new college/town while making lots of new friends. I definitely wouldn't live in a college dorm again but I am glad I did. | ||
Apbest Member Username: Apbest Post Number: 356 Registered: 03-2006 |
yeah, Detroitstar...it appears that our discussion was pretty timely. The project sort of feel into the shadows a while ago and someone posted a rendering on UrbanPlanet a few days ago. That started this sort of discussion that I guess no one knew was quite timely | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 383 Registered: 01-2006 |
I did not reply to it on UP because I thought it was just another one of our wishful thinking discussions. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 2268 Registered: 02-2005 |
Jeduncan, even though it turns out these won't be dorms, your points further up are right on, I think. Tetsua, I guess it is pretty awesome that we've come to the point in midtown where a parking lot is considered "vacant property" or a "blight." | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2235 Registered: 12-2004 |
Was that a request for pics relating to the new housing or for pics relating to the aforementioned sex and booze?
Roaches are all too common for college dorms. Kids leave food lying around; nasty multi-legged critters are attracted to it.
Terrible by college cafeteria standards or terrible by restaurant standards?
That sounds strangely college-like. You'd get that at any large university. (See the posts from E_hemingway and Zephyrprocess above). My suggestion: invest in ear plugs. | ||
Royce Member Username: Royce Post Number: 1966 Registered: 07-2004 |
The article by the news says a few interesting things. One thing it says is that these apartments are meant for the "educated middle class." So, I guess the "uneducated middle class" need not apply. Secondly, it says that WSU in 2004 was trying to sell four parcels of land. One is the South University Village which is now being discussed, and the second is 55 Canfield Lofts, which just had its ribbon cutting ceremony two weeks ago. The third and fourth parcels sound like the Willy's Overland Lofts development. The third but not last interesting thing that was said in this article was that WSU plans on building another apartment complex near this one if this one is successful. My question is, "Where would that complex go?" Along Canfield? Along Forest? | ||
Tabletop Member Username: Tabletop Post Number: 74 Registered: 01-2004 |
That is exactly what this project is. It is privately developed housing on WSU owned land that is being leased to the the developer for 99 years. It is not university owned and/or operated housing. See the articles above.
This shows the location of the the developments. | ||
Bussey Member Username: Bussey Post Number: 459 Registered: 12-2003 |
Hey Tabletop... Do you have any drawings about what they are going to do with Forest Apartments or the proposed new Hockey/Basketball Stadium to be built in the Matthaei parking lot? | ||
Royce Member Username: Royce Post Number: 1975 Registered: 07-2004 |
Thanks, Tabletop. | ||
Tabletop Member Username: Tabletop Post Number: 75 Registered: 01-2004 |
Bussey: I haven't seen anything. That drawing was from the RFP/Q for the project. (http://taktixsolutions.com/Dev elopment.htm) | ||
Pistonian_revolution Member Username: Pistonian_revolution Post Number: 66 Registered: 05-2006 |
tabletop, something this expensive-looking will obviously not be affordable for college students who eat hand-to-mouth during the semester. according to the article that you yourself quoted, this project is or the "educated middle class", NOT students in the process of getting educated. this is not what my post was referring to. most universities like U of M have a wealth of off-campus cheap apartment options for students who are supporting themselves by waiting tables. wayne state has a handful of this type of apartments, but IMO needs many many more- not to mention co-ops or large houses as other universities have. the large loft projects are great but dont do shit for students who are still spending most of their money on tuition. | ||
Bussey Member Username: Bussey Post Number: 467 Registered: 12-2003 |
There is an abundance of available apartments near WSU. When you say otherwise you sound like the forked tongued Apartment Finders. | ||
Pistonian_revolution Member Username: Pistonian_revolution Post Number: 69 Registered: 05-2006 |
abundance compared to what? sure its not hard to find an apartment to live in around wayne state. but have you been to other college towns? my point is that if wayne state wants to grow its residential population of students, it must increase its number of options. whats the number of students who live in apartments near wayne state? i think it could and should be much higher. im pointing out prez reid's ineptitude in enacting his desired plan of a greater residential student population. he says this is his goal yet he fails to build what constitutes reasonably priced housing options. if you think 800-1100$/month rent for an apartment is affordable for an independent college student, then i beg you to show me the college student who can afford it and where he/she gets all of that money. that is what the article said south village monthly rent was going for. i love it when forum posters make some random claim and then never back it up with substantiations or facts. its like they dont even read other people's posts. they just pick out what they want and then make some random statement thats irritating and borderline rude. sure, bussey, go ahead- say anything! doesnt matter.... you can contradict whoever you want, you dont need to back up your claims.... or make the least bit of sense. i bet you were a champ on the highschool debate team. heck, why dont you make character assassinations, and insinuate that people are lying or deceptive! sure, why not! you're not obligated to be respectful or civil! go ahead, say whatever you want! heck, why not say flat out "im right, and you're wrong! i dont know what you said, but you're wrong! waa, waa, waa! and you're a liar too!" hey lowell, does bussey's message constitute acceptable language? i bet i'd get a warning if i responded in kind. | ||
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess Post Number: 202 Registered: 08-2006 |
Pistonian...so, before the you jumped off the ledge there in your rant, you began to move into something approaching quantifiable assertion:
What size apartment are you describing at that rent? To what campus markets did you want compare that: Ann Arbor? East Lansing? Kalamazoo? Mt Pleasant? | ||
Bussey Member Username: Bussey Post Number: 469 Registered: 12-2003 |
Look in The Monitor and you will see what I am talking about. There are a TON of cheap apartments/flats all around WSU. And when I say cheap I mean from 250 to 550 per month. THAT"S CHEAP!! I wasn't making character assassinations. I was simply mocking the way Apartment Finders conducts business. "Helping" people find housing in a market that is sorely depressed and is definitely a buyers market. One should not need help finding a place to live near WSU, or anywhere else in Detroit for that matter. If I offended you with my comments I do apologize. I did not know being so terse could be so denigrating. | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 761 Registered: 02-2006 |
Two years ago, I rented my house in Kalamazoo for $700. It was a 2BR, 10 minute walk from campus, on a bus route for the lazy. The year before that, I had my own 1BR for $350. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 663 Registered: 11-2003 |
Pistonian, I don't understand your complaint about WSU not providing affordable housing options. For example, you won't find a habitable two bedroom apartment anywhere near campus in Ann Arbor or East Lansing for the $800 per month figure you mention. UM and MSU students double up and live like dorm students (e.g. 2 people per bedroom) in order to make off campus apartments affordable. If a WSU student wants to do that, he/she can live very affordably in Midtown; indeed, Midtown is cheaper than either AA or East Lansing. | ||
Tabletop Member Username: Tabletop Post Number: 80 Registered: 01-2004 |
Renderings:           | ||
Rbdetsport Member Username: Rbdetsport Post Number: 208 Registered: 11-2005 |
I WANT ONE!!!!! LOL! | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 116 Registered: 11-2006 |
I think I'll tag along on this thread and see if I can get an answer to a different WSU question: Where is the proposed WSU Bus. Ad. building to go? (this is one of the buildings to be funded by the capital campaign). Think I saw the location somewhere but can't find it now. Thanks, | ||
Chow Member Username: Chow Post Number: 347 Registered: 10-2003 |
Emu_steve, I believe it was at Woodward and Palmer. |
