Grand River Growth Plan -All Gibbs for City Jan 2 2026 - Flipbook - Page 87
Background
The City of Farmington Hills has retained Gibbs Planning and Indigo Retail Group to conduct an
independent residential market potential analysis to estimate the new market rate housing
demand within the east Grand River Avenue district. The 2-mile long corridor is in southeast
Farmington Hills between Orchard Lake and Eight Mile Roads.
Figure 3: The Grand River study area is located in southeast Farmington Hills along the City of Detroit’s Eight Mile Road border.
The projections of this study are based on Grand River9s market characteristics utilizing the
residential real estate industry9s best practices. Additionally, this study9s residential projections
reflects statistical market demand, but not necessarily the availability of existing real estate
properties or landuse policies to accommodate new housing development. Considerable
additional housing demand is supportable if built within a walkable, mixed-use town center.
Real Estate Developer Insights
Feedback from local real estate investors is that the East Grand River corridor has a sizable
existing pent-up market demand for new commercial and residential development. However,
some real estate developers in Metro Detroit, including Farmington Hills, remain hesitant to
invest in speculative residential projects due to lingering uncertainty about the market, shifting
housing trends and other factors.
Rising construction costs, limited property availability, high interest rates, trades shortages, and
governmental approval uncertainties are most cited for the Grand River corridor9s supply and
demand imbalance. Grand River Avenue9s central location and the Corewell Health center may
be an exception and attract new residential investment.
Grand River Corridor Residential Market Analysis
Gibbs Planning Group, Inc. | Indigo Retail July 2, 2026
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