Here are a few of the stories we're reading this week:
An Apple Store? It's looking like it
There are pretty solid rumors that an Apple Store is on its way to downtown Detroit. Dan Gilbert has wanted one for a while, and a few Bedrock storefronts have a big, vague "Coming Soon from Bedrock" sign on them. A few people told the Free Press that construction workers said they're prepping for an Apple Store. We'll be ready when they announce it. Detroit Free Press Daily Detroit
Another hotel planned for downtown
Developers have plans to convert the Park Avenue House into a 174-room hotel. It's led by Project HQ Hotels & Residences, in partnership with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. The 13-story building has been vacant for the past five years. No timeline or cost to report yet. DBusiness
Another hotel moving right along
The AC Hotel on Woodward is expected to open by the end of the year. The 10-story hotel reached its top height of 129 feet last week, and it will include a rooftop bar. This one should be nice, as its located in Brush Park and will have an unobscured view of the downtown skyline. Roxbury Group is leading this hotel project, as well as the next door redevelopment of the Bonstelle Theatre. Crain's Detroit Business
Charges in the Riverfront Conservancy
The scandal around the embezzlement charges at the Riverfront Conservancy keeps getting worse. Former CFO William A. Smith was arraigned in federal court this week on charges of embezzling nearly $40 million over 12 years with the DRFC. This includes multiple American Express cards with nearly $15 million in charges paid for by the Conservancy, along with wire transfers to his company, the Joseph Group.
The complaint also describes an elaborate cover-up involving altered documents and an old-school handoff of financial records in a Honey Baked Ham parking lot between the chief financial officer of an esteemed Detroit nonprofit with $170 million in assets and an underling.
We talked about it on Daily Detroit.
