Detroit Free Press

Business and civic leaders are set to break ground this afternoon on the $53.1-million mixed-use project known as Third and Grand in Detroit's New Center district.

The six-story, 356,000-square-foot building will open in 2018 at the northwest corner of Third Avenue and West Grand Boulevard near Henry Ford Hospital, the Fisher Building, and Cadillac Place, on what is now a surface parking lot.

The project will offer 231 apartments, of which 20% will be offered at affordable-income rates, plus a 330-space parking structure, as well as 21,000 square feet of commercial space.

The project is the work of a real estate group known as The Platform, headed by developers Peter Cummings and Dietrich Knoer. The building was designed by Cline Design Associates PA of Raleigh, N.C., and will be built by Lansing-based Wieland.