Outreach event is 1-3 p.m. Thursday

$17 million renovation planned for Savarine Hotel

Renovations of neighborhood storefronts sought to boost curb appeal

Detroit-based contractors are being sought for projects around the city, including a $17 million rehabilitation of the Hotel Savarine, former home of legendary beat writer Jack Kerouac.

A contractor outreach session is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. Thursday at Thinkers Coworking Spaces, 14346 E. Jefferson Ave. The free event is being hosted by D2D, Motor City Re-Store and Jefferson East Inc. with the goal of attracting Detroit-based contractors to bid on $20 million worth of work across 80 projects citywide.

"We need to see to it that Detroit-based contractors get the work," said Keith Rodgerson, program manager for Motor City Re-Store. "It's not just because we're using taxpayer money. We are using our resources to keep people in the city employed and to help generate money back into the city from having healthy businesses."

The local outreach is part of a broader goal of employing Detroiters for projects in which they can take pride, like Little Caesars Arena, said Charlotte Fisher, spokeswoman for Detroit Economic Growth Corp. A similar event a couple weeks ago for construction of the Pistons headquarters and Henry Ford medical facility drew about 60 contractors, she said.

The 80 projects being put up for bid this week largely include storefront renovations to boost curb appeal of neighborhoods around the city, Rodgerson said. Much of the emphasis is on the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood on the city's lower east side.

"Enhancing retail nodes along the corridor and helping to create an amenity for the neighborhood there" is the goal, Rodgerson said.

Detroit-based Shelborne Development Co. LLC is leading renovation of the Hotel Savarine in that neighborhood, with Jefferson East, also based in Detroit, as a partner with 25-percent stake. The historic "stag hotel" has fallen from grace since opening in 1926. The hotel closed in the 1990s and after a failed renovation attempt in 2006, it sits gutted and tagged with graffiti.

The plan, again, is to restore the building for housing, said Joshua Elling, executive director of Jefferson East. Construction is expected to begin late next year.

The two developers are also equal partners on a renovation project for two nearby apartment buildings on Marlborough Street, a project expected to start in late November, Elling said.

Small to midsize contractors are being sought for the citywide projects, Rodgerson said. Those who attend the outreach event will be given "preferred consideration."

"This is part of a broader economic strategy to keep the city's resources within its boundaries," he said.