The Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) hosted its Fall Forum: A Real Estate Update at the Cambria Hotel Detroit, held Sept. 17. The event provided an update on real estate developments and total investments as it relates to Downtown projects that were recently completed, under construction, and those currently in the pipeline.
Attendees included a diverse set of real estate, civic, and business leaders who were among the first to receive DDP’s 2024 Downtown Detroit Community and Development Update. The forum opened with strolling exhibitor displays during the registration hour, including CoStar, City of Detroit, and Cambria Hotel Detroit along with DDP’s membership team.
Over a hundred attendees gathered to hear the updates on Downtown’s total investments. Over the past year, projects under construction brought in more than $2.7 billion. Plus, the historic Henry Ford Health expansion, just outside of the Downtown, brought an additional $2.2 billion investment. This increases the total investment to nearly $5 billion in the greater Downtown region.
After the development update shared by DDP’s CEO Eric B. Larson, panelists joined him on the stage to discuss the event theme: mobility, connectivity, and innovation in Downtown Detroit. The panelists included Tosha Tabron, Kresge Foundation’s Director of Originations + Social Investment Officer; Deena Fox, AECOM’s Managing Principal and Strategy+; John Sivills, City of Detroit’s Lead Urban Designer; and James Fidler, DDP’s Urban Evolution Strategist and founding principal of City Form Detroit.
They shared the importance of the two once-in-a-lifetime infrastructural developments that are underway: I-375 and I-75 Cap. Panelists expounded on the significance of the two projects and how they will serve as a bridge to the Downtown. Speakers welcomed questions from the audience after sharing the origin, proposed plans, and current status of both projects.
Panelists shared that the upgraded infrastructure aims to address the modern modes of entering and exiting the Downtown based on mobility trends.
They also emphasized the need for community feedback about the I-75 Cap and encouraged attendees to share their input via the I-75 Cap survey.
This year’s Fall Forum event was held at Cambria Hotel Detroit, previously featured in the 2023 development report. Event sponsors were KPMG, CoStar and Cambria Hotel Detroit.
