Quick Post
On Thursday, crews put in place the final steel beam on the new $2.2 billion, 20-story Henry Ford Health Patient Tower.
When it opens in 2029, the hospital will add 432 all‑private, high‑tech rooms, five floors of specialized ICU care, and a vastly expanded 75,000‑square‑foot ER with 100 private treatment spaces, roughly doubling the current emergency department.
The tower is a centerpiece of Henry Ford’s ‘Destination: Grand” expansion, which also includes a new 1,500‑space parking garage, a shared services building, and a central energy hub that will help make it one of the largest all‑electric hospitals in the country.
In pure scale, it’s in the same conversation as the Hudson’s tower and the Gordie Howe International Bridge. And although the University of Michigan Center for Innovation gets a lot of press because it's visible downtown, the investment on this project is multiple times larger.
If you want to see it for yourself, look for it just off the Lodge at West Grand Boulevard.
Spring 2026 is here and it's time to hunt for a deal, with neighborhood and citywide yard sales in and around Detroit.
Here are four I know about, and I'm sure I'll be at a couple of them:
- Historic Indian Village Yard Sale (Detroit) – The historic east side neighborhood hosts its spring yard sale Saturday–Sunday, May 16–17, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., with homes across Indian Village setting up on porches, lawns, and garages. [Facebook]
- University District “Hidden Treasures” Yard Sale (Detroit) – Just west of Woodward and between 6 and 7 Mile, the University District Community Association’s “Hidden Treasures” sale runs Saturday, May 16, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., with more than 60 homes. [UDCA]
- Huntington Woods City‑Wide Garage Sale – Just north of 696, the suburb is holding its annual city‑wide sale Friday–Sunday, May 15–17, 9 a.m.–7 p.m., with permitted sales throughout the city. [City]
- Wyandotte Spring City‑Wide Garage Sale – Downriver, Wyandotte is running its Spring City‑Wide Garage Sale May 15–17, with residents all over the city participating. Some proceeds go to support their local museums. You can pick up a map behind the Ford-MacNichol Home at 2610 Biddle. [Event]
The Detroit Bird Alliance is kicking off the first-ever Great Detroit Bird Off this May, a friendly contest to see which of Detroit’s four big parks — Belle Isle, Rouge, Palmer, or Eliza Howell — racks up the most bird species on the eBird app during peak migration.
Anyone can jump in, from hardcore birders to curious beginners, with reps from the Alliance on-site select Saturdays to help you log sightings and learn the ropes.
It’s fun, it’s community science, and it highlights just how wild Detroit’s parks really are.
Here's the schedule:
- Saturday, May 2 Belle Isle from 8-10a
- Saturday, May 9: Belle Isle from 8-10a
- Saturday, May 16: Eliza Howell Park from 8-10a
- Saturday, May 23: Palmer Park from 8-10a
- Saturday, May 30: Rouge Park from 6-8p
Private contractors will begin clearing 1,884 miles of residential streets in the city of Detroit at midnight, giving them 24 hours to plow a 16-foot-wide path through each of the city's seven council districts.
City crews are already working 12-hour shifts to salt and plow 673 miles of major roads.
In a release, DPW Director Ron Brundidge is asking residents to move their cars off the streets before midnight to give plows room to work and prevent vehicles from getting blocked in by snow.
Detroit's snow removal policy kicks in automatically when more than six inches of snow falls, triggering the deployment of contractors across all districts.
Seven different companies will handle the residential plowing: Jordan Landscaping covers Districts 1 and 2, Payne Landscaping takes Districts 3 and 4, while Fontenot Services, Gibraltar Construction, and A-Team Snow & Ice Control handle Districts 5, 6, and 7 respectively.
In case you didn't know, the city's snow removal setup is a bit complicated.
DPW handles local streets, but the Wayne County Road Commission maintains the freeways, the state manages major roads like Woodward and Gratiot, and the county takes care of roads like Outer Drive.
Bike lanes on major roads will be cleared after the regular travel lanes, with snow pushed to intersections and hauled away.
Residents can report snow removal problems through the Improve Detroit app or by calling 313-224-0033.
The Roxbury Group is converting the 79 residential apartments at the Hotel David Whitney into condos. This is a rare chance to own in one of Detroit's most iconic buildings.
The 1915 Beaux-Arts landmark, designed by D.H. Burnham and Company, anchors Grand Circus Park and the theater district.
Prices range from $277K one-bedrooms to $1M+ premium units, with three design packages available including one by Patrick Thompson Design.
The project has 68 one-bedroom, nine two-bedrooms, and two three-bedrooms apartments, ranging from 569 to more than 2,000 square feet.
Owners get hotel-style perks: concierge, valet parking, room service, housekeeping, and more. Priority registration is open now, with previews starting soon. [ResidencesatHotelDW.com]
Yet another international retailer has opened up in the city of Detroit, and here’s a first look inside.
FYI, they’re running an opening weekend discount of 30% off of most of their merchandise, from Friday 11/16 through Sunday 11/18.
Most of the merchandise is unisex, and there is a women's section in the back.
The store is open from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 12 - 6 p.m. on Sundays.
I recently visited the renovated museum in the Solanus Casey Center. It is the first complete overhaul since the center opened back in 2002. While this is a Catholic space, the Capuchins priests and brothers welcome people of all backgrounds.
The museum has more photos and information than the previous layout. I appreciate how more open the space feels without having too much going on from all of the informative displays.
Born in 1870, Blessed Solanus is on the path to being canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church, but his life was not a story of celebrity. He was not a military leader, martyr, famous author, or a public intellectual.
Solanus' life was seemingly ordinary. He grew up on a farm, had a chronic illness as a child, faced heartbreak from the woman he wanted to marry, was rejected from a seminary, and was made a "simplex priest" without full responsibilities.
Solanus' road to religious life was riddled with obstacles. His example of humility and turning to God in gratitude for everything in life is a radical model for how to maintain trust and confidence in one's calling or vocation. He passed in 1957.
You can find the Solanus Casey Center at 1780 Mt. Elliott in Detroit.
I had a chance to check out Spritz Bar at San Morello. It's open in the evenings Thursdays through Sundays through Negroni Week (think end of September) on the ground floor of the Shinola Hotel.
The patio is on Woodward and the cityscape views are great. On a nice day, the vibes, as some might say, are immaculate.
If you’ve never had an Aperol Spritz, I suggest you try it.
As I know it, it’s Aperol, Prosecco, and a splash of club soda over ice. Light and refreshing, good warm weather drink. Not too boozy.
As you can guess by the colors, orange flavor is the vibe. But not overly sweet (which I like).
An eagle-eyed listener sent word that on the first floor of the south side of Somerset Collection a Cartier location is set to open in Winter of 2026.
Cartier is a highly sought-after brand in the region, and the "Buffs" sunglasses are part of Detroit's culture (and lately, the University of Michigan football team).
Cartier at Somerset 📸 Shianne Nocerini
The closest official store location until now has been Chicago, though various boutiques and stores have them available locally like Optica (also in Somerset).
There are 30 boutique locations nationally listed on the Cartier website, not including Metro Detroit.
My two cents? It might just be me, but in my mind Black Detroiters made Cartier the big deal it is here. They even recently did a serious of partnerships with Detroit influencers. This should store should have been in the new Hudson's Detroit across from Gucci, or hear me out — on the Avenue of Fashion on Livernois. But I'm sure it'll do well at Somerset.
The historic Scott Memorial Fountain will undergo $6 million in renovations starting this summer, paid for by federal relief money.
The 18-month project will close the fountain until May 2027, but promises to preserve this 100-year-old treasure for future generations.
"Two years ago, results of the concrete core samples taken from the lower bowl showed the basin structure needed to be addressed," said Thomas Bissett, urban district supervisor for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division. "Although the project will have an impact on visitors, we're grateful that ARPA dollars were available for this project to strengthen and protect fountain structure and operation for future generations."
Per press materials:
To ensure the basin's structural integrity and protect the underlying mechanical room, the renovation project will involve installing new concrete beams and replacing the underlying fountain plumbing. Additionally, a watertight seal and marble elements around the lower bowl will help prevent water infiltration to subgrade operational space.
A bummer for this and next summer, but the work is way overdue and there just hasn’t been the money to do more than spot repairs for decades.