Detroit's Packard Plant finally has a realistic reuse plan — and downtown's historic Leland is abruptly shutting its doors. On today's Daily Detroit, Jer Staes is joined by producer Shianne Nocerini and reporter Luciano Marcon to unpack two very different development stories that say a lot about where the city is headed.

Packard Plant reboot

Jer and Shianne break down the newly announced 28‑acre redevelopment of the southern half of the Packard Plant site along East Grand Boulevard, after going to the announcement on the city's east side.

The plan, led by Packard Development Partners in a public‑private‑philanthropic partnership with the city and groups including the Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation, calls for a new 393,000‑square‑foot Class A industrial building and an estimated 300 permanent manufacturing jobs

They outline what's envisioned for the historic Albert Kahn building: 42 affordable live‑make units, a skate park, the Museum of Detroit Electronic Music (MODEM) and more than two acres of indoor‑outdoor public and recreation space, with completion targeted for 2029.

The team talks about why keeping the 1903‑era frontage on East Grand matters to the neighborhood and the city's psyche, and why this feels like a grounded, "doable" project instead of yet another Packard pipe dream.

They also speculate, based on the more than 50 loading docks and rail/freeway access, that the site is more likely headed toward logistics or shipping than a data center.

Leland House shutdown

In the second half, Luciano joins Jer and Shianne after a very cold visit to the Leland House, the nearly century‑old former Leland Hotel downtown that's now telling remaining residents they must leave with less than a week's notice.

Management letters delivered over the holiday weekend say the building will close by Wednesday, December 3, amid bankruptcy complications and stalled redevelopment efforts following the death of owner Michael Higgins.

Luciano describes what he saw inside:

• Residents relying on space heaters
• Visible water damage
• Tarps tacked to ceilings and years of deferred maintenance

The crew talks about the scramble by the city to help people relocate, the potential loss of jobs tied to longtime nightlife fixture City Club and the scale of money it would take to save the property.

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