15 Jun Hot Neighborhood: Corktown
If you live in Michigan, odds are in the last two weeks you have heard an awful lot about Corktown, Ford Motor Company and the future of Michigan Central Station. Leading up to Ford’s announcement that they were buying the Station, I spoke to Crain’s Detroit Business on how it would impact the neighborhood. Once Ford made the announcement, I was asked by Channel 4 Reporter Koco McAboy earlier this week to weigh in on the 6 O’clock news.
Corktown is one of the oldest neighborhood in the city, is also one of the closest to downtown. Historically, Corktown offered smaller Victorian homes in a tight knit neighborhood near the riverfront. However, in recent years we have seen an abundance of developments. The neighborhood is no longer just small Victorian homes, rather loading up with loft conversion projects. For example, the Grinnell Place lofts, former home to the Grinnell Brothers Piano Factory, now boasts some of the most high-end loft style living in the city.
New projects have also been steadily gaining traction, Elton Park has steadily made progress over the last several months spanning 5 blocks at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull. Across the street at the old Tiger’s Stadium sits the new Police Athletic Fields and ground has broken on “The Corner”- dirt is moving and steal is being erected. On the third corner of this intersection is where the first of what will be several major announcements by Ford at The Factory. This paves the way for growth from Downtown West out Michigan Ave to arguably the most iconic building in Detroit, the former Michigan Central Station and the highlight of all that is transforming Corktown.
Corktown already plays host to a variety of interesting Detroit businesses. While the food and beverage scene continues to proliferate with relatively new additions Lady of the House and Ima we are seeing more service based businesses as well. Black The Salon, a second outpost for the Royal Oak based hair salon, and neighboring businesses Metropolis Cycles and Artifactry are fortifying their positions in the neighborhood.
Recent residential listings continue to break records and we at ICONIC do not see that slowing down either. The 1535 6th Street loft condominium building currently has two listings, a 2 bedroom at $675,000 and 3 bedroom at $1,360,000. These listings clearly target people who want to be close to the action downtown, but have the feel of a historic neighborhood with Ford’s blue oval on the horizon.
We all eagerly await what Ford will announce in the coming days about their plans for the Michigan Central Station. I was at the Downtown Detroit Partnership Stakeholder meeting earlier this week and Mayor Duggan mentioned he would leave the announcements to Ford. He did manage to go on a slight tangent about Elon Musk’s Boring Machine and how once it was deemed safe, Detroit would be looking to tunnel under the runways at Metro Airport to connect the downtown directly into the terminal. It just so happens, that yesterday Chicago announced a similar idea…perhaps Ford can elaborate soon.
Speculation can be fun but one thing is for sure, the real estate values in Corktown are climbing quickly. Commercial and retail vacancies are low, but there are opportunities out there. Contact ICONIC today if you’re interested in getting in on the action.