What’s happening: Work is underway to transform the former Wyndham Garden site in Sterling Heights from a vacant hotel into a mixed-use apartment building. With the recent announcement of construction crews onsite and financing secured, the property developer Repvblik AR hopes to welcome the first residents of the $19 million redevelopment in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Plato’s Cave: Repvblik AR is known for its adaptive reuse projects in various communities throughout the country, including the redevelopment of a former Days Inn in Branson, Missouri, and a vacant Ramada Inn in Sheffield, Alabama. Both became apartment building’s under the developer’s Plato’s Cave brand. Formed in 2018, Repvblik AR is principally owned by PK Companies, based in Okemos, Michigan, and Richard Rubin.

What it was: The closed Wyndham Garden on Van Dyke Avenue features two buildings onsite, the main hotel with 189 rooms and 76,000 sq. ft. of amenity and commercial space and a smaller 26,000 sq. ft. building on the north side of the property.

What it will be: The main hotel building is being redeveloped as 157 residential units with additional coworking space, a fitness center, tenant lounge, restaurant, and potential retail space. The smaller building will be exclusively residential with 56 units on tap. Site improvements and improvements to the exterior of the buildings are planned. There will also be more than 60,000 sq. ft. of retail and/or office space.

What they’re saying: “There’s tremendous demand for affordable, quality housing in Sterling Heights and Plato’s Sterling Heights will deliver just that,” says Richard Rubin, founder and CEO of Repvblik. “It’s a pleasure to work with Sterling Heights city leaders who understand that real estate adaptive re-use brings many benefits to the community in the form of affordable housing, economic energy, and an environmentally friendly build that does not use government funds or tax incentives.”

Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.