Buildings have their own life cycles, and were bringing you two stories of Detroit buildings in transition. We have a personal story of a very ordinary looking building on the far eastside that is past its heyday. Still, it managed to launch the American Dream of one extended family for three generations. Then theres the story of the retro office tower, a structure watching its day in the sun fade away, even as some of us (Im talking about you, Detroit) cling to it.

A few stories in the news are worth mentioning before we get into it. Detroit City Council voted yesterday to move the Future of Health development forward. Council voted 6-3 to approve both a slightly enhanced community benefits agreement and the Transformational Brownfield Plan and subsidies.

A new report finds that title issues could mean more than 5,500 Detroit properties handed down through families dont have a clear legal owner. Thats a problem, and consider this your reminder to look into title insurance if you didnt buy your home with a mortgage that required it. Also: Write a will.

Lastly, if you havent seen it yet, Kate Abbey-Lambertz on our team recommends this essay on why the design of buildings can, and should, matter.

As always, thanks for reading.

Not really a new problem: The oversupply of office buildings is talked about as a post-pandemic problem, but Wall Street Journal reporter Konrad Putzier helps us see how the glut goes back several decades. The 2022 piece is still timely and worth a read. Putzier anchors the start of the problem in 1981 when a tax change ushered in by Ronald Reagan gave companies a big write-off for office space. Loans for offices became cheap and helped usher in the savings and loan crisis. The dot-com boom in the 1990s helped boost the office market again, but its bust did the opposite. Even so, office development continued to be subsidized, loans stayed cheap, and developers kept going for it. Yet in the last couple decades, developers completed fewer conversions of older office buildings for uses like apartments or warehouses, and supply has just kept going up. (Wall Street Journal)

Pivoting is hard: Planning to build new office towers might seem like a bad idea off the bat in an era of hybrid work, but changing direction on construction projects is difficult once theyve begun. Almost every change in a construction project costs money. The bigger the development, the more complicated its financing, and the more stakeholders that need to be brought along. This is one reason pivoting away from office space doesnt happen more often. Dan Gilbert hasnt changed the vision for his project on the Hudsons site, which will include a lot of office space. He did scale back offices in the Monroe Blocks mixed-use development downtown, but most recent plans still call for 400,000 square feet of office space. Now called the Development at Cadillac Square, the site has been put to use for entertainment and rollerskating amid long construction delays. A developer in New York City is following suit, considering tennis courts instead of a skyscraper. (American Bar Association, BridgeDetroit, Detroit Free Press, Fortune)

To convert or destroy: Developer Mike Shehadi is demolishing an old Ford Motor Co. office building not far from the Southfield Freeway rather than incorporate it into a mixed-use development planned for the Dearborn site. The reason? Expense. The University of Detroit Mercy decided to demolish the Fisher Administration Center last year for the same reason. In Midtown, a historic office building from the 60s is being turned into a hotel. The Plaza (also known as the Hammer and Nail building) was used as apartments for several years and was vacant for several years before that. Its not an old office building, but the conversion of an old Wyndham Garden Hotel in Sterling Heights into affordable apartments feels like something to celebrate. Developers eyeing dusty office buildings are focused on their wallets, but policy also plays a role: Lawmakers around the country, as well as the federal government, have started programs to make it easier to convert offices into housing. (Freep, Outlier, Detroit News, Crains Detroit Business, Marketplace, Associated Press)

A trip back in time to the Vogue Market

It started with a yellowing newspaper clipping shared on social media of three men standing behind the counter of a newly opened grocery store in 1946.

The grocery was called Vogue Super Market and was built by the Misuraca family. Its now a liquor store, but its history and present help us embrace even Detroits most nondescript buildings as full of memories and meaning.

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The Dig: We bet you're not reading this at the office - Outlier Media

Franklin Real Estate Development announced Feb. 29 its 3,517-square-foot redevelopment project, The Franklin, has opened in downtown Greenville.

Built as a private residence in 1917, the two-story building at 107 E. Park Ave. features 12 offices ranging from 90 to 225 square feet as well as a shared break area and conference room.

The Franklin is a great example of what can be done with old buildings, said Kurt Wallenborn, a Greenville developer and broker who worked on the project. These structures are built better than any new construction. The wood is so solid, so tight. This is like a custom house from one hundred years ago. It cant be replicated today.

While The Franklin was redeveloped into office space, Wallenborn preserved the structures pine floors and its original double-hung casement windows were removed, restored and reinstalled.

For more information, visit thefranklingvl.com.

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The Franklin, a 1917 home redeveloped into offices, opens in downtown Greenville - UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL - Upstate Business Journal

Work Continues on King Construction Fabrication Center, Office Building  Machias Valley News Observer

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Work Continues on King Construction Fabrication Center, Office Building - Machias Valley News Observer

Engineering and design firm Olsson has moved into its new Fayetteville office. The companys first official day with a new address was Dec. 4.

The new 37,000-square-foot building, with Olsson exterior signage, is at 3537 N. Steele Blvd. next to First National Bank of NWA. C.R. Crawford Construction of Fayetteville started work on the three-story building in the summer of 2022. Legacy National Bank in Springdale financed the buildings construction.

Olsson provided all engineering and landscape design, and Core Architects in Rogers was the building designer. Some amenities include a rooftop patio, bicycle racks and electric vehicle charging stations.

Olsson vacated its existing Fayetteville office (302 E. Millsap Road) and occupies the new buildings entire third floor and most of the second. The company has 68 employees in Fayetteville and space to accommodate approximately 100 workers.

Our team in Arkansas has continued to grow, which requires more space and a modernized work environment that will continue to attract top talent in the area, said Brad Strittmatter, Olssons CEO. We also want a space that will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients in the region.

Fayetteville office leader Brad Hammond said Olsson will host an open house at the new building on Jan. 25.

Our new office is a great example of the investment Olsson is making not just in Northwest Arkansas but in the entire state and region, Hammond said. Were very much vested in Arkansas, and we are excited to be part of the huge growth going on in the area. Our intent is to provide a top-notch environment that will make people enjoy coming to work every day, and I think this office accomplishes it.

Olsson maintains headquarters in Nebraska and has offices in 10 states. The company entered the Northwest Arkansas market in 2018 when it acquired McGoodwin Williams & Yates, the regions oldest engineering firm founded in 1946.

Olsson partnered on the new building with development firm Cushman & Wakefield/Sage Partners in Rogers. A limited liability company they control bought the 2.34-acre lot from Kevin Farmer in April 2022 for $1.75 million.

Matt Imhoff, a vice president at Sage Partners, said none of the buildings available space has been leased yet. That includes 3,466 square feet on the second floor and 12,315 square feet on the first floor.

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Olsson moves into new office building in Fayetteville - talkbusiness.net

A pair of development firms scored a $47.3 million construction loan for a five-story office building in Miami Beachs South of Fifth neighborhood.

Bizzi+Bilgili a partnership between Bizzi & Partners and Turkish investor Serdar Bilgili and Sumaida + Khurana are developing The Fifth Miami Beach. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is a partner in the project. The 60,200-square-foot building, which will include retail and restaurant space, will be at 944 Fifth Street and 411 Michigan Avenue.

The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board approved the project last year, including the developers plan to renovate a historic two-story building on the site and move it closer to Michigan Avenue.

Construction of The Fifth started in May, and completion is expected in 2025, according to a news release. The building is nearly 20 percent pre-leased.

Cain International provided the financing, amid an uptick of construction loans this month as developers rush to close deals before year-end.

An entity led by Sumaida + Khurana and Bizzi & Partners principals bought the development site in 2021 for $8.9 million, records show. Schmidt, who served as Google CEO from 2001 to 2011, and his wife, Wendy Schmidt, have an 88 percent stake in the entity that owns the site, The Real Deal reported last year based on records filed with Miami Beach. Sumaida and Bizzi own the remaining 12 percent.

Bilgili got involved in The Fifth Miami Beach after he and his BLG Capital development firm partnered this year with Bizzi & Partners on various projects in the U.S. and Europe. Bilgili, whose BLGs projects in Turkey include Soho House Istanbul and Ritz-Carlton Residences Istanbul, entered U.S. real estate in 2018 when he partnered with developer Michael Shvo to scoop up properties nationwide. But their partnership devolved into litigation, and the two parted ways following a court settlement.

Bilgili and Bizzis other planned joint investments include the 88-story 125 Greenwich condo tower in Lower Manhattan, a long-stalled and recently restarted development.

New York-based Bizzi & Partners is led by Davide Bizzi and Alessandro Pallaoro. The firm has projects in the U.S. and Europe, mostly in Italy. In Miami Beach, the firm co-developed the Eighty Seven Park condo tower with Terra.

Sumaida + Khurana, based in New York, has a portfolio of $1.2 billion of projects completed and under development, in New York and Miami, according to the release. This includes the 611 West 56th Street and 152 Elizabeth Street condominiums in Manhattan. The firm is led by Saif Sumaida and Amit Khurana.

The Fifth South Beach is among numerous South Florida office projects under construction, despite a leasing slowdown and increased sublease availability due to remote work and more expensive financing costs that have prompted some tenants to reevaluate their needs. An analysis by The Real Deal of six Miami-Dade County projects showed half of them hadnt scored any pre-leases as of August.

In Miami Beach, some city leaders have pushed for more office development as a way to shake the citys party-place image and attract companies that moved to South Florida from 2020 to last year.

Shvo is among the developers seizing on Miami Beach. Roughly a dozen blocks north of The Fifth Miami Beach, he plans The Alton, a six-story office-residential project on the northwest corner of Alton and Lincoln roads. Shvo also wants to build a six-story office building at 1665-1667 Washington Avenue and redevelop the 13-story office building at 407 Lincoln Road.

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Bizzi+Bilgili, Eric Schmidt, Partner Nab Office Project Loan - The Real Deal

Developer To Transform Century-Old Office Building Into Residence Inn  CoStar Group

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Developer To Transform Century-Old Office Building Into Residence Inn - CoStar Group

Near the State Capitol in St. Paul, construction fencing went up while some trees and light posts came down last week, the first visible signs of major changes coming to the nearly 120-year-old government campus.

The biggest and most controversial of those projects is the $454 million renovation of a 1932 building adjacent to the Capitol used for state and legislative offices. State Republicans are trying to halt the project even as work begins.

Less discussed is the soon-to-be demolished former Ford Motor Co. assembly plant near the Capitol, as well as the potential demolition of another office building in the near future. While plans are being finalized, both could make way for more green space and better accessibility for the public.

The entire work will produce a Capitol complex that's better integrated into the neighborhood and "grounds that are actually approachable by the public, by the community," said Curt Yoakum, spokesman for the state Department of Administration. "Now you have a Capitol complex that is almost an island on itself."

The changes follow the $310 million, four-year renovation of the Capitol itself. That project meant a massive reshuffling of government offices until the building reopened in 2017. Similar disruptions are ahead, though not on the same scale. The work is scheduled to wrap up in 2026.

The Secretary of State's staff moved out of the State Office Building this month as construction crews closed down the north entrance to the building and a tunnel connecting the offices to the Capitol. The Secretary of State's office will temporarily relocate to the Veterans Services Building nearby.

House members will continue to use their offices and hearing rooms in the building through the 2024 session. After session adjourns, they'll move to the Centennial Office Building for the duration of the project.

Both parties agree some fixes are long overdue in the State Office Building. It suffers from mold and major security vulnerabilities that are on the radar of the State Patrol. Pipes have burst several times and spilled water into the building, as recently as this month, Yoakum said. The building's footprint will also be expanded to add hearing rooms and make the space more accessible to the public.

Republicans continue to raise concerns about the cost, which is more than the entire Capitol renovation and a new office building for state senators that opened in 2016.

"I don't disagree that there is need to update the HVAC system and technology and a few things," Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, said after offering a motion to stop the project at a recent House Rules committee meeting. "But the scope and scale of this project ... is unconscionable."

Democrats rejected that motion as out of order, and the state says delays could make the project more costly.

"If you make changes during construction, whatever that may be, those are generally more expensive and costly to do, and sometimes you're too far down the road to make any substantial changes," said Wayne Waslaski, an assistant commissioner at the Department of Administration.

He said the size of the investment should be considered in terms of an "80- to a 100-year life" of the building. "This is going to serve the public for many generations to come."

Not long after legislators return to their renovated offices in 2027, their temporary space in the Centennial Office Building could be torn down. The Department of Administration has submitted a proposal to the Legislature to explore demolishing the building. Constructed in 1958, it has much of the same wear-and-tear issues as the State Office Building but is less central to the Capitol campus.

Getting rid of that building, as well as the old Ford plant, would dramatically change the area surrounding the Capitol. The Ford building demolition, which will make way for new green space, is expected to start in January and last about six weeks.

Built in 1914, the former car plant at 117 W. University Ave. housed several businesses and a state bookstore after closing down nearly a century ago. It has been vacant since 2004 and fallen into such disrepair that it's a safety hazard.

The Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board is also working on a design framework that will look at the roads coming in and out of the Capitol campus.

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Capitol campus makeover begins with State Office Building renovation - Star Tribune

(SACRAMENTO)

UC Davis Health is celebrating a key milestone in the construction of the Folsom Medical Office Building, a new outpatient facility being built at Hwy 50 and E. Bidwell near Folsom Ranch. Onlookers shouted Raise that beam! as crews used a crane to lift the final beam of steel into place today in whats called a topping out ceremony.

Its exciting to be celebrating this milestone on the Folsom medical campus project, said Mike Condrin, interim chief administrator for UC Davis Medical Center and chief operating officer for UC Davis Health Hospital Division. Now that the steel structure is in place, you can really see what an impressive, impactful facility this will be. Its an important step on the path to better meet the health care needs of the region.

At 112,000 square feet, the three-story facility will include primary and specialty care, a lab for blood draws, ophthalmology services and an optical shop. It will also include imaging services and an infusion suite, offering treatments for cancer patients and others. Its the first of several projects planned for the 34-acre site, all part of what will be called the Folsom Center for Health.

Leaders from UC Davis Health and the City of Folsom were on hand for the ceremony. They were joined by other partners on the project, including contractor Rudolph and Sletten, designers LPAS Architecture and Design and Boulder Associates, and construction management team Jacobs.

Those in attendance also signed the final beam before it was hoisted into place, a common construction practice. Usually, the beam is no longer visible once construction is complete, but this building will be unique, explained UC Davis Healths Lisa Hinton, project manager for the Folsom Medical Office Building.

The team selected a beam that is part of the roof canopy, adjacent to the elevator machine, so this particular beam will remain exposed, Hinton explained. You wont be able to see if from the ground, but the beam will be visible on the roof a reminder of this momentous day in the projects lifecycle.

The $171 million building is set to be completed in 2025 and will have unobstructed views of the Sierra foothills. Future expansion plans include other possible health care facilities at the site. The goal is for the project to evolve and adapt to the regions needs, with a focus on delivering more care in outpatient centers, clinics or at home, making patients more comfortable and reducing costs.

Its so nice to be able to drive up or down the hill and see this incredible building taking shape, Condrin said. This will be a key facility for UC Davis Health, offering leading-edge care for people in Folsom and the surrounding communities, and allowing them to receive the services they need close to home.

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'Raise that beam': Folsom Medical Office Building frame complete - UC Davis Health

Construction nearing on State Office Building expansion, renovation  KSTP

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Construction nearing on State Office Building expansion, renovation - KSTP

Uptown office building on track to open by spring 2024 - Albuquerque Business First  The Business Journals

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Uptown office building on track to open by spring 2024 - Albuquerque Business First - The Business Journals