@MichMatters They definitely own some of the properties. I was parsing the tax records looking for taxpayers addresses since virtually all the properties in question are owned by holding companies, most of which are just named the address of the property. The Lake Trust block oddly enough comes back to random address in Santa Barbara, CA; I imagine this is because of financing reasons. The following list of properties, however, all come back to a couple different suites on Mall Ct:
105 W Hillsdale
617 S Capitol
118 W St Joe
326, 318, 331, 317, 325, 306, 322, 307, 319, 314 E Hillsdale
The large open lot @ Lenawee & River along with the parking lot next to it on Lenawee
The Deluxe Inn site that is currently being redeveloped along with the parcel next to it
Other properties with unclear ownership are:
611 S Capitol & 608 S Washington, 611 S Capitol is the taxpayer address for both
600 S Capitol was bought in December and has a GR taxpayer address
The apartment buildings at 206 & 300 E Malcolm X have their own addresses as the LLC and taxpayer address. I'm not sure who was behind these being renovated several years back but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the group that owns the bulk of the properties mentioned above.
There are other properties that are owned by LLC's that come back to their own addresses but most of the ones I didn't mention had last recorded sale dates further back than I suspect this group was active.
@MichMatters yep, I view this the same as you. An advertisement aimed at investors. Still fun to talk about and imagine though.
@hood I haven't asked him much. I know his vision is reclaiming, repurposing, infilling, and creating a more walkable city. I know his group was working on redeveloping an old school recently (I assumed it was Holmes St but didn't ask) and obviously the Lake Trust site. His company is probably the smaller of the partners in Urban Systems but I could be way wrong. They're all listed as "principals"...whatever that is.
@hood Those Mall Ct addresses might be owned by Dymaxion, which is part of Urban Systems. The mailing address for them is 503 Mall Ct Ste 312, which is basically just the UPS Store in Frandor.
@sabatoa I looked up the Holmes St School and it comes back to the Blackboard District LLC at 2722 E Michigan Ave, which I'm pretty sure is related to the company that owns the Cherry Hill properties. I forgot there was something going for that school again, I have to get by there and check it out.
I just realized that the old West Junior, Genessee St, Walter French and Holmes St schools are all slated for major renovations soon, this is very good to see.
@hood haha, that address looks like People's Kitchen. He (or his wife) are part of the ownership group for the restaurant. I'm not a business person/developer, so it's funny to me to see all of these LLCs associated to basically one business.
For fun, I googled Blackboard District LLC, and the mailing address is....you guessed it, the UPS Store in Frandor.
@sabatoa Yeah, I had a hunch because the guy who owns (or manages?) some of the renovated apartments in Cherry Hill hosted neighborhood meetings over in that building. Which reminds me, he was somehow in partnership with the developer that proposed the apartments on St Joe between Cherry and River, so that project may be related to the larger group as well. I wish those guys luck, hopefully the Lake Trust site is just the beginning of realizing their larger ambitions.
Yeah, he owns Dymaxion, which is part of Urban Systems.
Was TA Forsberg the developer proposing the apartments on St. Joe? Asking because Brent is also part of Urban Systems. It seems to be a collaboration of like-minded dudes that formed to compete with some of the bigger dogs in town to develop cool stuff.
Oh get this- I just dug a little deeper, and that Santa Barbara address you saw for Lake Trust, it's probably tied to WestPac, the third partner in Urban Systems. I wonder if he is the money man in the group.
...but I think I threw away the packet they gave out. I'm pretty sure they were a company out of the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area or maybe had done a significant number of projects there?
Like I say, it's nice to see another group around doing things. If all goes well with their current endeavors I imagine we'll see some interesting things from them in the future. Kinda makes me wish I had continued or would go back to something real-estate related so I could be a part of some of this.
The south side of the 2000 block of Michigan is getting $450k of facade improvements through the existing corridor improvement program. It's great to see things like this but I do hope the city plans on repaving and streetscape improvements to Michigan sooner rather than later, I don't think waiting an unknown number of years for a Federally funded BRT or light rail project is wise.
Comments
105 W Hillsdale
617 S Capitol
118 W St Joe
326, 318, 331, 317, 325, 306, 322, 307, 319, 314 E Hillsdale
The large open lot @ Lenawee & River along with the parking lot next to it on Lenawee
The Deluxe Inn site that is currently being redeveloped along with the parcel next to it
Other properties with unclear ownership are:
611 S Capitol & 608 S Washington, 611 S Capitol is the taxpayer address for both
600 S Capitol was bought in December and has a GR taxpayer address
The apartment buildings at 206 & 300 E Malcolm X have their own addresses as the LLC and taxpayer address. I'm not sure who was behind these being renovated several years back but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the group that owns the bulk of the properties mentioned above.
There are other properties that are owned by LLC's that come back to their own addresses but most of the ones I didn't mention had last recorded sale dates further back than I suspect this group was active.
@hood I haven't asked him much. I know his vision is reclaiming, repurposing, infilling, and creating a more walkable city. I know his group was working on redeveloping an old school recently (I assumed it was Holmes St but didn't ask) and obviously the Lake Trust site. His company is probably the smaller of the partners in Urban Systems but I could be way wrong. They're all listed as "principals"...whatever that is.
I just realized that the old West Junior, Genessee St, Walter French and Holmes St schools are all slated for major renovations soon, this is very good to see.
For fun, I googled Blackboard District LLC, and the mailing address is....you guessed it, the UPS Store in Frandor.
Was TA Forsberg the developer proposing the apartments on St. Joe? Asking because Brent is also part of Urban Systems. It seems to be a collaboration of like-minded dudes that formed to compete with some of the bigger dogs in town to develop cool stuff.
Oh get this- I just dug a little deeper, and that Santa Barbara address you saw for Lake Trust, it's probably tied to WestPac, the third partner in Urban Systems. I wonder if he is the money man in the group.
...but I think I threw away the packet they gave out. I'm pretty sure they were a company out of the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area or maybe had done a significant number of projects there?
Like I say, it's nice to see another group around doing things. If all goes well with their current endeavors I imagine we'll see some interesting things from them in the future. Kinda makes me wish I had continued or would go back to something real-estate related so I could be a part of some of this.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2022/06/01/450-000-facade-improvements-taking-place-along-michigan-avenue/9940682002/?fbclid=IwAR17E7nFI311cYqxnhureT2GobKuu1c-c0XYAHGAm6-gDmv6KiF7CA5R5Uw