(To read more on the multifamily market, click here.)

ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI-The developers of the $500-million One Water Place condo community have sold 50% of the space available in the project's first condo building, according to company officials.

Once completed, the full 54-acre development will have 1,200 residences, including 200 apartments and approximately 100,000 sf of office space. There will also be retail space and five restaurants added into the project, company officials says, but developer Paul Henderson will not release the names of retailers who plan to occupy the property.

News of the occupancy rates follow inconsistent sales stretches since One Water Place began accepting new condo owner applications in May 2004. Initially, developers hoped to break ground on the project this year, but court woes and the economy have pushed groundbreaking into 2006.

Soon after sales at the first condominium building started, a lawsuit on behalf of the nearby Beach Grill restaurant stalled progress. Beach Grill officials claimed that the developers wanted to break its 20-year lease for several parking lots adjacent to the lakefront eatery. The case has since been settled out of court, Henderson says.

Because One Water Place will be built in phases during the next 10 years, definite completion dates for the project are hard to predict, says Henderson, who is working on the project with developer Gaetano Rizzo. The first condos to be completed will be in a 20-story building.

The location--in the heart of the Nautical Mile, east of Jefferson Avenue near the shores of Lake St. Clair--is what attracted developers to the area. Specifically, Henderson says he was attracted by "the ability to build right on the waterfront, not to mention the site's proximity to metro Detroit and the expressway." Henderson and Rizzo purchased the development site, formerly Jefferson Beach Marina, from Alvin Wagner in 2000 for $9.5 million. Their development plans received city approval two years later.

Instant Insights /

One Water Place Reaches Half-Full Point Amid Court, Economy Snags

Related Stories

Recommended For You