Olympia Development of Michigan is ramping up its development in the near future, and the company is giving local businesses the opportunity to take part in the action.
Olympia issued a Co-Developer Request for Proposals (RFP) Wednesday, April 24. The Co-Developer Program is designed to create opportunities for Detroit-based, Detroit-headquartered, or Detroit resident-owned development companies. Qualified companies will have the opportunity to pursue the development of up to three Olympia Development properties.
“Our Co-Developer Program is at the core of our mission to help improve the lives of people who live and work in Detroit. These RFPs invite developers who share our community-minded development approach to partner with us to further enhance The District Detroit,” said Keith Bradford, President of Olympia Development of Michigan and The District Detroit.
The announcement of the new RFPs comes just a month after Olympia announced a change to its development timeline and now aims for an early 2025 construction start for the first of the development’s 10 planned new buildings and building rehabs.
The three sites that will be offered with the upcoming RFPs are:
81 W. Columbia Street: Located at the southeast corner of Park Avenue and Columbia Street adjacent to the Fox Theatre, Little Caesars Global Resource Center, this building is situated at a corner gateway to the fully pedestrianized block of retail shops and dining along Columbia Street. Designed in the transitional style by architectural firm Baxter and O’Dell in 1909 as the Blenheim Apartments, it originally comprised 19 apartments and a speakeasy. The building is four stories tall and contains 17,500 square feet.
475 Peterboro: Located between Cass Avenue and 2nd Avenue across from the popular Detroit Shipping Company collective, these three-story buildings were designed in the Beaux-Arts style by architectural firm Pollmar & Ropes in 1914 as The Woodstock Apartments and originally comprised 71 apartments over two buildings. The buildings contain 47,500 square feet.
45 & 48 W. Adams: Located on Adams just West of Woodward overlooking Grand Circus Park, the site comprises two parcels containing a total of 0.523 acres. The south parcel also contains the historic seven-story decorative masonry façade of the former Fine Arts Building designed in the Spanish Gothic style by architect Louis Kamper in 1905. The parcels are historically designated within the Grand Circus Park Historic District.
“The Olympia Development Co-Developer Program is a significant example of the diversity and inclusion that is a result of The District Detroit Community Benefits Agreement. This program will provide immense opportunity to emerging and disadvantaged Detroit-based developers and bring new life to key properties in the City,” said Chris Jackson, Chair of The District Detroit Neighborhood Advisory Committee.
The RFPs will be published sequentially, 90 days apart, after a qualification period, giving developers ample time to consider the wide variety of development options and deliver well prepared development bids. The selected parcels are separate from the 10 renovated historic or new Transformational Brownfield Plan projects.
The Co-Developer Program was designed with extensive input from the community and Detroit-based developers and is part of the community benefits agreement with the City of Detroit associated with a $1.5 billion development plan between Olympia Development and Related Companies. The RFP is an opportunity to cultivate diverse perspectives on future developments that will lead to inclusive and transformative development initiatives.
Emerging developers who qualify as disadvantaged businesses or Detroit-Based Businesses, Detroit Headquartered Businesses, and Detroit Resident Businesses will be able to get information and apply for the qualification phase of the Co-Developer Program at TheDistrictDetroit.com/RFP.
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