Hey friends, Jer here.

Today’s Daily Detroit digs into a rare bit of good news at the long‑troubled Packard Plant — and a deteriorating situation at downtown’s Leland House, where time is running out for tenants.

And if you want even more conversation, context (and some speculation) around this, you can listen to our Daily Detroit podcast episode that aired today. [Apple Podcasts] [Spotify] [Download MP3]

New life at the Packard Plant

This morning on the east side, the city and Packard Development Partners rolled out a 28‑acre plan for the southern half of the Packard site along East Grand Boulevard, a stretch that’s been visual shorthand for Detroit’s industrial decay for years.

The plan centers on a 393,000‑square‑foot Class A industrial building that could support about 300 permanent manufacturing jobs, plus construction jobs during the build‑out.

An existing Albert Kahn‑designed structure on the site would be rehabbed into 42 affordable live‑make units, Detroit’s first indoor skate park and MODEM — the Museum of Detroit Electronic Music — along with more than two acres of indoor‑outdoor public and recreation space.

The deal is structured as a public‑private‑philanthropic partnership with the city, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporations (DEGC), the Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation and the Detroit Regional Partnership, with a total price tag north of $50 million and a target completion date around 2029.

A key point: the 1903‑era Grand Boulevard frontage, which some past suitors wanted to demolish, is being preserved as part of the plan. That's something Mayor Mike Duggan, who grew up nearby, pushed as non‑negotiable.

There have been a number of false starts with the Packard site, but this one feels different because it reads as extremely grounded to me.

From the renderings I saw at the event this morning, to the program mix, to the fact that much of the financing I’m told is in a pretty good place.. this feels more like a grounded logistics‑oriented industrial project (after all, the site has rail and freeway access and more than 50 planned loading docks) than a flashy flight of fancy by a foreigner who was likely in over his head from the start.

After years of pipe dreams at Packard? I’m in for a realistic, job‑creating reuse that keeps the historic face on Grand would be a big symbolic and practical win for the east side. I drive by on my way to the studio most days.

To see daily life flow back into this space after a lifetime of disinvestment would be amazing.

Crisis at the Leland House

Downtown, the story is darker… and possibly, on Wednesday if the lights are shut off, completely dark.

At the Leland House, the nearly century‑old former Leland Hotel, remaining tenants were told over the holiday weekend that the building will close by Wednesday, December 3, giving them less than a week to move.

The property has been stuck in a tangle of bankruptcy, stalled redevelopment plans and layered financing issues following the death of owner Michael Higgins, as even basic conditions in the building have deteriorated.

Residents and staff have described cold apartments where people rely on space heaters, leaks that reach the lobby, and tarps tacked to ceilings to catch falling material — issues echoed in past coverage and in what we’ve seen on site.

On top of that, the building faces a looming DTE shutoff over unpaid utilities and significant tax and water‑related debts, raising real questions about safety and habitability in a structure that’s been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005.

It has a long and somewhat sordid past, according to HistoricDetroit.org.

Its bar was said to be a hangout for Detroit's notorious Purple Gang, and Jimmy Hoffa spent a lot of time there. The story goes that as soon as Hoffa wound up missing, the Leland was the first place police looked. Mobsters often wined and dined in the Leland's ballroom.

City housing officials are now scrambling to help tenants relocate in the middle of winter and a tight housing market, while any future rehab of the massive complex would likely require deep‑pocketed investment. There are now fewer than 40 occupied units.

Also wrapped in this is the fate of City Club, who’s started a GoFundMe to raise the dollars to pay off DTE to the tune of $43,000.

From the post (you can find it here):

For decades, Leland City Club has been more than just a building or a nightlife spot - it has been a home, a haven, and a heartbeat in the city of Detroit. It's where generations of people first discovered their tribe, their identity, their music, and their voice. It's where misfits became family, where artists and musicians found a stage, where countless friendships were born, where marriages were formed, and where Detroit's alternative culture has thrived for nearly half a century. Today that legacy is in danger.

As of this writing, more than $7,000 has already been pledged already by patrons and fans.

Taken together, Packard and the Leland show the split screen of Detroit development right now: one long‑suffering landmark finally getting a plausible path forward, and another hitting a breaking point after decades of disinvestment and delay.

Housekeeping things

• If you want even more context and thoughts on these two developing development stories, hit up our Daily Detroit podcast [Apple Podcasts] [Spotify]
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Tonight’s track

With the news that’s there looks to be an electronic music museum in the Packard (how cool!) I can’t get a certain track out of my head, “Think Twice” from the 2003 “The Detroit Experiment.”

When this came out, it was almost a musical counterbalance to the movie “8 Mile.” Eminem’s mainstream fame rightly put a fresh spotlight on the city at the time. But musically, we've always had so much to offer.

In The Detroit Experiment, multiple generations of Detroit musicians including Marcus Belgrave and Bennie Maupin on one end… while there were Carl Craig and younger beat-focused players… sharing the same space.

“Think Twice” itself is in part an electronic rework of a track of the same name by Detroit-born Donald Byrd (a smooth, mid-1970s drop-top door-slapping cruising companion in its own right) but add in afro-futurist space funk.

Covering both those stories took me back sonically, so I figured I’d bring you with me.

Thanks for reading and remember that you are somebody,

-Jer