A new mixed-use apartment building will break ground shortly at Second Avenue and Brainard Street in Midtown Detroit that will offer 57 apartments and 3,500 square feet of commercial space. The total cost of the project was not disclosed.
Built on three vacant lots, the developer, Greatwater Opportunity Capital, recently completed the renovation of an adjacent 45-unit apartment building. Both projects are located just north of Cass Technical High School.
Twenty percent of the units are earmarked at below-market rents for eligible applicants earning less than 80 percent of the area’s median income (AMI). Rental rates will be provided in the coming months. This project will add in-demand attainable housing plus retail jobs to the neighborhood.
“For the new building’s design, we created a contemporary version of the existing architectural language in the neighborhood and adjacent Willis-Selden Historic District,” says Michael Poris, principal of McIntosh Poris Architects in Birmingham. “We included ground-floor retail space in the building to maximize the corner-lot location, which fronts both Second Avenue and Brainard Street.”
McIntosh Poris Architects’ primary design challenge was maximizing the combined lots, which are deep and narrow. This limits the developable area after the required on-site parking is allocated. The architects’ solution: a four-story, 38,916-square-foot building.
The building’s façade positions wood panels between windows, alternating on each floor. The resulting effect is a tessellated pattern where the windows align vertically. Exterior materials include brick and Exterior Insulation Finishing Systems (EIFS), energy-efficient uPVC windows, and wood composite rainscreen.
For the interior, the developer’s design directive emphasized efficient layouts that prioritize living space. The architects optimized the space to create 57 units — 33 studio apartments at 370 square feet each, and 24 one-bedroom units comprising 550 square feet.
Project manager Reid Mauti joins Poris on the McIntosh Poris design team. The project team includes general contractor The Monahan Company, civil engineer and landscape architect Giffels Webster, MEP engineer CTR, structural engineer IMEG, and property manager/development consultant Modern City Management.
For more information, visit mcintoshporis.com