Milhaus - vertical mixed-use and urban infill residential environments

posts by "Jake Dietrich"

Can Adaptive Reuse and Mixed Use Save a City?

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Jake Dietrich

Adaptive reuse and mixed-use are two of the most popular catch phrases in urban development and planning circles today. A growing share of the industry is being shaped by these two sectors in larger cities where the real estate markets have stabilized. Imagine what could happen by combining these two together in less fortunate cities. Take Detroit for example. This once booming industrial city has become the poster child for low density, blight and vacancy in America. However, through the Detroit Works Project the city is looking for ways to go about revitalizing this dying city. With over a third of the city’s land lying vacant, something must be done to restructure the city to increase density and decrease blight. Detroit is filled with Art-Deco and Neo-Gothic buildings that exude the heritage and history of the city. However, many of these beautiful buildings lie abandoned and without use. Finding new innovative uses for them is a much better investment in the long-term view of the city. Detroiters love the heritage of their city, and further destroying it by removing its historical structures could potentially cripple it even more. By rehabilitating these buildings and implementing new mixed-uses could serve to promote the density that this city so desperately needs. Let us not forget that the ‘greenest’ building is one that has already been built.

~~ Jacob Dietrich is a student at Ball State University completing his major in Urban Planning and Development this Spring.

This entry was posted in Guest Post

Comments

Just like the old days...Ball State and Muncie working together for new urban district

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Jake Dietrich

That's just a headline I would like to see someday. Is it possible? I think so. Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana is one of the last remaining pillars supporting the city’s economy after 40 years of increased deindustrialization. Yet, the City of Muncie and Ball State have remained entities that work in collaboration in only the most select cases. The Village is a district located just south of Ball State’s campus. The 8 block area is home to a few bars, some restaurants, and other small businesses favored by students and faculty. However, in the past twenty years the Village has seen decline and greater need for redevelopment. The University Square block, which Milhaus recently acquired, is in desperate need of revitalization and the company is continuing to renew leases and work on plans for improving the appearance of the building. Once the site of Buffalo Wild Wings, BoRics, and La Bamba, the block now has the potential to be successful again.

The success of this property and the Village overall is important to both the city and the campus. Earlier this year Michael Hicks from Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research told Ball State’s Daily News that "universities shouldn't run bars and restaurants" and "should stay doing what we do best - creating knowledge." While it's true the university shouldn't focus on bars and restaurants, it should take a leadership role in the economic viability of its home city. The university commands some 20,000 people that have the potential to influence Muncie's economy. It's not just "bars and restaurants" where students spend money while at school. In Muncie, both Downtown and the McGalliard Corridor have businesses that cater to students. What if there was a student district in close proximity to the campus that provided a new urban experience? Would it attract new students to campus? New faculty? Better yet, could a collaboration between the city and the university bring new corporate businesses to Muncie by strategically locating it and planning it? There are more questions than answers in the Village today. As I begin my final year of school, I am hopeful that one day such a headline makes it here for real.

~~ Jacob Dietrich is a Senior at Ball State University majoring in Urban Planning and Development. He recently completed his internship with Milhaus Development and returned to Muncie with new ideas for a better world.

This entry was posted in Guest Post

Comments

Reflections on a summer at Milhaus

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Jake Dietrich

Callous. Irresponsible. Scum. Careless. Insensitive. Enemy.

These are all words that I have heard used in reference to real estate developers. Opinions to the point of even “the scum of the earth.” While it is true, there are developers out there that have absolutely one thing on their mind: no matter what the cost, do whatever takes to make money. While making money is the foundation to any successful project, it is not the only factor that plays a part in its success.

As I finish up the last days of my internship, it is easily apparent to me that Milhaus does not fit the stereotypical developer. Don’t get me wrong, the principals of Milhaus are true “go-getters.” Any potential deal that comes across the table is looked at with an attitude of “how can we make this work?” But financials are not the only thing that comes into play.

My experiences with several of their projects made it very clear to me that Milhaus not only thinks, “what can this development do for us,” but “how will this development impact those around it.” Conscientious of those affected by the development, each project seemed to have an underlying goal of strengthening or revitalizing its surrounding neighborhood. This is something that I truly admire.

In my opinion, the most successful development is not the one that makes the most money, but the one that has the greatest positive impact on a community. A community easily forgets a development’s profit, but the effect it had on those around it will be long remembered.

Milhaus’ commitment to providing quality multi-family environments will not be forgotten, certainly not by me. The tools and experience that I have gained this summer are truly invaluable. I can only hope to someday reach the same aptitude for success that I see this company achieving.

This entry was posted in Guest Post

Comments

Historic Mixed-Use in Fountain Square

Posted on August 02, 2011 by Jake Dietrich

The construction of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, an urban pedestrian and bicycle path connecting downtown Indy neighborhoods, is nearing its completion. In addition to being a great recreational facility for the city, it also has potential for business growth due to the increased foot traffic walking past storefront windows along the Trail. One of the last pieces of the trail that is still under construction is the Southeast Corridor along Virginia Avenue. This section runs right into Fountain Square, a shopping and entertainment district that strongly lives by their slogan “funky, artsy, retro…anything but square.” It is widely considered one of Indianapolis’s most culturally rich neighborhoods.

The commercial anchor to the neighborhood is the Fountain Square Theatre Building, an entertainment, shopping, and office cornerstone for the city originally constructed in 1928. The building saw great success for four decades until it began to slowly see a decline in the late 1960s. However, since the Fall of 1993, current owner Linton Calvert has been restoring the building with the ultimate goal of trying to restore the building's original character as best as possible. During lunch one day, Linton was kind enough to show our Milhaus group around the building. Within the brilliantly restored mixed-use building we saw uses such as entertainment, hotel, recreation, restaurant, café, bar, social gathering, and business. We could easily understand why the building is often the destination of company retreats, weddings, social gatherings, and plain good old-fashioned fun. For more information on the building or facility reservations, please visit their website.

Photos

Click an image to view the gallery.

This entry was posted in Project Highlight, USA Midwest

Comments

Hope on the Horizon for the Motor City?

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Jake Dietrich

During a recent trip to Detroit, I was able to coax a family member into giving me a driving tour of the city. I had visited the suburbs several times, but never had the opportunity to get into the city. My father, who grew up in a small town just outside of Detroit, also went along for the ride. Our reaction to the tour was similar: awe, disbelief, and despair. I knew the state of Detroit was poor at best, but even my father noted the situation has worsened in the past twenty years. We have all seen pictures and heard the news reports on Detroit’s economic state, but one must see it for themselves to truly believe it. The sheer amount of dilapidated and vacant buildings is tremendous, but the fact that it can be found throughout the city is even more disheartening.

The amount of disinvestment in the city makes me cringe when I think about what the city must have been like 60 years ago at the height of the city’s industrial economy. Today, however, more than 50% of residents have moved out of the city due to deindustrialization, leaving over a third of Detroit’s 139 square miles vacant. So many beautiful buildings lie vacant because no one is willing to invest in one of America’s “Dead Cities.” Buildings like Michigan Central, the 500,000 square foot 20 story train depot and office building that has been inactive for over twenty years. Without a doubt a gorgeous building in its prime, the structure is in need of renovations that have been estimated at between $80-300 million to upgrade its current state. Similar cases of neglect and vacancy are all too commonplace throughout the city. Buildings that would make an awesome adaptive reuse or rehab project in another city have little hope for redevelopment because of how long they have stood vacant. While many pieces of property in the city’s downtown has recently been acquired, there is no word on when development will actually begin. So, how does a city with such minimal prospect for growth in the near future make redevelopment and rehabilitation projects happen? Right now the Detroit Works Project, a city-wide redevelopment planning effort, is looking to find some answers to that question. But even they realize that there is no complete magic roadmap to getting the city back to where it was. However, through extensive community involvement and realistic action steps, the DWP aims to create a plan to get the city moving back in the right direction.

Photos

Click an image to view the gallery.

This entry was posted in Redevelopment, USA Midwest

Comments

The Changing American Dream

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Jake Dietrich

It is no secret that today’s average American household is different that it was when our parents were our age. Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, over 75% of American households were married couples. Today, that number is less than 50%. The average American household is no longer a family consisting of a married couple with their three children and a golden retriever living in their suburban home. In fact, the growth of non-family homes versus family homes is staggering. According to a recent report by CNBC, in the past fifty years, non-family households have grown nearly 500%, from 7.9 million to 39.2 million. Meanwhile, family households have increased just 1.7 times, from 45.1 million to 77.5 million.

Family households value sheer size more than any other factor in housing. Non-family households are less willing to commute, valuing location and proximity to work and entertainment. The “McMansions” that were the all the rage 10 years ago are beginning to see their demise. High property taxes, daunting mortgage payments, and long commutes have made this type of living increasingly less desirable. In turn, the downtown condominium or full-service apartment is the piece of the housing sector that has seen continued growth in development and demand from consumers. Suburban “Hummer House” owners will continue to keep for sale signs in their yards while downtown communities will have minimal vacancies or even waiting lists.

The American Dream is changing.

This entry was posted in Housing, Lifestyle, News

Comments

Wrigley-esque in Downtown Fort Wayne

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Jake Dietrich

One of the quirky things that has made Wrigley Field in Chicago such a fun place to see a ballgame are the people that enjoy the games from their windows or roof beyond the ballpark’s outfield bleachers. In Fort Wayne, IN, a similar piece of the park’s identity is trying to be obtained.

Just beyond the left field of recently opened Parkview Field, home to the Ft. Wayne Tincaps, will be The Harrison, a multi-family mixed-use building with views overlooking the field, as well as the city’s downtown. The building will be just a piece of Harrison Square, a $110 million downtown mixed-use revitalization effort that includes the ballpark as well as a Courtyard by Marriott hotel and a 900-space parking garage. Included in the Harrison will be 42 residential units, 25,000 square feet of ground floor retail, and 25,000 square feet of second-floor office space. The $18 million mixed-use development will be financed through a public-private partnership. PNC Bank of Pittsburgh was awarded the project, with other partners including Barry Real Estate of Atlanta, as well as two Indiana developers, Mark Hagerman of Hagerman Construction and Simon Dragan of Whitley Manufacturing. Retailers and office tenants will enjoy prime retail space in the heart of downtown, while residents will enjoy high-end units in which they can enjoy Tincap games from their own living room or balcony.