What’s next for Orleans Landing?

We have to complete our financing. We have to finish processing for our D4 mortgage with the FHA (Federal Housing Administration), and we have to complete our architectural drawings. At that point, once we have all of our financing completed, then we go to construction.

What’s the timeline for construction and accepting residents?

The construction program will probably be 18 months, and we hope that we’ll be bringing the first tenants in sometime in the summer of next year.

How about for nailing down retail tenants?

We’ll be doing that (leasing). We think that it’s small enough that we’ll be able to handle it ourselves without the need for a broker. Probably there will be a fitness center of some sort, then our management and leasing office as well, and there may be an opportunity for some sort of coffee shop or some other small kind of restaurant. But we are not sure exactly how that will sort out. We’ll know more about that next year.

What will the price ranges on the apartments and townhomes be?

Based on our experiences in other markets, the residents will generally be younger. They’ll probably be single (or in) a roommate situation, part of the downtown workforce, although we never know. Sometimes we get others who are just interested in living downtown who move in from the suburbs, and they want to be in a new community. We think the rents will be very competitive — probably $1.70 per square foot or something like that.

Talk a little bit about your Detroit roots.

I was born and raised in the city at Livernois and Seven Mile.

I was in college at Oberlin College, and then I went to the University of California-Berkeley for graduate school. Then I came to the University of Michigan for law school in 1968. Then I was in a fellowship program and was assigned to the St. Louis Legal Aid Society as part of that program.

I never left until I relocated to New York about seven years ago. I married and my wife and stepson are here, so I came here, but I commute to St. Louis or places like Detroit, where I go pretty frequently these days. We are also involved with the Strathmore (Hotel) in Midtown, working with Sue Mosey on that project, which we hope will be starting construction in June.

Explain the genesis of this project and when we can expect the second phase to begin.

My hope is that over a five-year period or so, is that we can build out more and have close to 500 units in that area. The hope is that it will also be a stimulus for other development to occur. There are a number of vacant parking lots run by General Motors Co. close to the Renaissance Center, and there are some streets — Franklin and others — where we hope there will be additional development to create a 24-hour kind of community with different kinds of services, businesses, more housing, food and restaurants. So it will become a very, very nice new community for the city.

Anything else you want to add?

I think we are very excited about it. I think that it will be a really fine project for the city, and I’m very excited about really coming back home to help the city in this next phase of its renaissance, so we are glad to be a part of it.

Will you rent a unit there?

I suspect we probably will, for sure.

Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412, [email protected]. Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB