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Commission recommends council review of former Blue Cross office conversion to roughly 300+ apartments
Summary
The commission forwarded a favorable recommendation on PSP25-0006 to City Council, endorsing conversion of vacant office towers near 11 Mile and Inkster into more than 300 market-rate apartments with amenities; staff said the project triggers council review because it exceeds 200 units and 150,000 square feet.
The Planning Commission on Sept. 24 recommended that City Council consider a site-plan application to convert the former Blue Cross Blue Shield office complex near 11 Mile and Inkster into multifamily housing and supporting commercial uses.
Planning staff said the property (PSP25-0006) contains multiple towers, including two towers targeted for conversion to residential. The developer described plans for more than 300 units (developer estimates ranged just over 300, with examples cited between about 304 and 324 in the presentation) across the towers and for amenity spaces including a pool, indoor theater, gym and outdoor recreation courts.
Developer lead architect Matt Nyan (identified as with Brady Sullivan/Brady Seller Properties in the meeting record) told commissioners the firm has converted office buildings elsewhere and expects to offer market-rate units with extensive amenities. He said the conversion will include a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units; the developer provided sample average monthly rents during the presentation (transcript figures were delivered verbally and appeared approximate in the record; the developer cited roughly $2,200 for one-bedrooms, about $2,700 for two-bedrooms, roughly $3,100 for three-bedrooms and about $3,500 for four-bedroom units).
Technical discussion addressed hazardous-material testing and schedule: the developer said the 200 building had been tested and no asbestos was found; testing of the 300 building will follow lease expirations at the end of the month. The developer estimated roughly a year-and-a-half for construction to occupancy, with crews largely local and an expected construction workforce in excess of 150 workers at peak.
Staff noted the site contains substantial parking: ordinance calculations called for 968 spaces for the proposed uses, and the site currently contains 2,482 spaces, which staff said provides ample parking for the proposal. Because the project exceeds 200 residential units and 150,000 square feet, planning staff said the commission’s recommendation sends the site plan to City Council for final action; the commission voted to forward a favorable recommendation.
Next steps: staff will prepare the referral package to City Council; further plan refinements and final engineering will be required before building permits are issued.
