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$14.2M project would bring more apartments to Detroit's Avenue of Fashion

There’s another proposal to build new housing along Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion.

A joint venture between Warren-based builder Brown Schroeder & Co. and Shelby Township-based BmK Design+Planning LLC is planning to tear down the former Fred’s Furniture Liquidation Inc. store at 20201 Livernois Ave. a block and a half south of Eight Mile Road and replace it with a $14.2 million mixed-use building.

The three-story building would include 50 apartments, plus a 4,000-square-foot restaurant and another 3,000-square-foot commercial space, said Kevin Schroeder of Brown Schoeder & Co.

On Tuesday, Schroder said demolition would begin this spring and construction would wrap up in 2027. He said there is a signed letter of intent with a local restaurant owner, but declined to identify them.  

 

The joint venture purchased the nearly 18,000-square-foot building for $975,000 in 2023, according to CoStar Group Inc.

According to city council briefing documents, the new building is expected to be comprised of the following:

  • 12 studios averaging 445 square feet with rents between $1,115 and $1,370 per month. Six of them would be considered affordable at 60%-80% of the Area Median Income. 
  • 34 one-bedroom units averaging 620 square feet and renting between $836 and $2,050 per month. Three would be considered affordable. 
  • Four two-bedroom units (two considered affordable) averaging 995 square feet and renting for between $1,201 and $2,400 a month.

The $14.2 million development is being funded with $10.81 million in debt, $1.78 million in owner equity, $1.5 million in grants and deferred fees totaling $121,000, according to the briefing documents for the city council, which is considering a Public Act 210 Commercial Rehabilitation Act tax abatement and a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone abatement.

The CRA abatement is valued at about $157,000, while the NEZ is valued at approximately $965,000.

The project is the latest large proposal for the Livernois corridor, which has seen a slew of new businesses open in recent years and a revamped streetscape. The former B. Siegel department store was redeveloped into apartments and retail space at Livernois and Seven Mile, and a trio of developers has proposed a 38-unit development on West McNichols three blocks west of Livernois that’s expected to start vertical construction this quarter.

Fred’s Furniture still has a large location on Eight Mile Road in Warren.

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