On Tuesday, the Michigan Strategic Fund approved nearly $615 million in tax capture for the $1.53 billion District Detroit plan. This is the final approval needed for the Transformational Brownfield Plan after the city council approved last month.
According to a release, the tax captures break down to:
- State tax capture of up to $167,739,071;
- A maximum of $11,422,200 in construction period tax capture;
- A maximum of $38,114,899 construction period sales and use tax exemptions;
- A maximum of $352,361,674 in income tax capture revenues and withholding tax capture revenues (post-construction).
Olympia Development and Related Companies have said that if all tax breaks were approved on a spring timeline, they could break ground on the first of 10 developments this summer. This means we could see construction in the lots in front of Comerica Park start this baseball season.
The 10-building plan includes six new construction buildings (two residential, three office, and one hotel) and four renovations of existing buildings, including the conversion of the office space above the Fox Theatre into a hotel. It will bring 695 new residential units downtown, with 139 units for residents with incomes at or below 50 percent of area median.
The Detroit Center of Innovation will also break ground in this area later this year. Last month it was announced the the University of Michigan would take over construction of the $250 million development, which was started by Stephen Ross and Related Companies.
Developers proposed an aggressive five-year timeline of the plan late last year.
