Architectural drawings of the Red Wings' new $450M arena to be unveiled this week show "plans for a huge state-of-the-art entertainment venue in a walkable neighborhood," according to Louis Aguilar of the DETROIT NEWS. The new drawings "will be revealed" Thursday at 5:00pm ET to the Detroit City Council. Work is "expected to begin on the new arena site Sept. 25." It is the "linchpin of a planned" $650M, 45-block "transformation of a mostly gritty, undeveloped area on the northern edge of downtown." Renderings of the 785,000-square-foot arena show a "glass-roofed concourse and a roof emblazoned" with the Red Wings logo. Other drawings "depict pedestrian-filled streets with restaurants and apartments where there are now acres of surface parking lots and empty buildings" -- many owned by Olympia Development of Michigan. The drawings show how Olympia Development, the real estate arm of Red Wings Owners the Ilitches, "intends to use its 'deconstructed bowl' design to lessen the visual impact of a huge venue." The bottom elevation of the bowl is about "40 feet below street level and top height of the arena is 75 feet above street level, which is the height of an eight-story building." There will be four- and five-story mixed use buildings surrounding the arena as well as townhouses, which are "intended to further reduce the presence of the arena" (DETROIT NEWS, 9/16).
BUILDING BLOCKED: In Tampa, Richard Danielson reports Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik’s real estate development team “has withdrawn a rezoning application to build an office building near Amalie Arena” after losing telecom firm Syniverse “as a prospective high-profile tenant.” Lightning Exec VP/Marketing & Communications Bill Wickett “declined Monday to comment on the next steps for the properties -- part of the 24 acres that Vinik has amassed near the arena along with the Channelside Bay Plaza shopping center.” The 202,000-square-foot project “was to include 195,000 square feet of offices, 4,000 square feet of restaurant space and 3,000 square feet of retail” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 9/16).
