By J. PATRICK PEPPER
Times-Herald Newspapers
The Dearborn Town Center project currently under construction at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Schaefer Road was named the real estate development of the year in a recent edition of Crain’s Detroit Business magazine.
The publication applauded city officials and development company REDICO LLC for taking a unique approach to the project by incorporating three hot trends: mixed-used development, medical offices and senior housing.
The 250,000-square-foot project, which is scheduled to be completed in late 2010, will include a 143,000-square-foot medical office building to be occupied by principal tenants Oakwood Healthcare Systems Inc. and Midwest Health Plan.
An additional 22,000 square feet of retail space along Schaefer is expected to compliment the medical facilities with, among other businesses, an optometrist and a pharmacy.
The final component of the project, which is on hold indefinitely due to waning demand, is senior housing and would be built by American House Senior Living LLC American House – majority owned by REDICO – has planned up to 105 units of independent living when the market permits.
The $60 million project also will have a 530-space parking deck and is being built using green building principles. The development is under consideration for gold-level certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED.