Eastern Market is raising funds to remake one of its historic sheds so it can be used year-round.

Why it matters: Eastern Market Partnership, the nonprofit that manages the market, has been working on evolving the popular, historic food district for years.

• Two of the organization's biggest near-term priorities are redeveloping Shed 4 to expand its public market and opening Shed 7 for wholesale business.

Zoom in: The partnership has raised $4 million out of an estimated $15 million-$16 million for Shed 4, Katy Trudeau, president of Eastern Market Partnership, told Axios during the Mackinac Policy Conference last week.

• The outdoor-only shed would get torn down and rebuilt for indoor, year-round access. It would become the only shed with two floors.
• Plans include more space for vendors, second-floor kitchen space for food businesses and nutrition classes, plus meeting and event space. Construction could start in 2027.
• See where Shed 4 sits on an Eastern Market map.

Behind the scenes: Eastern Market looked at ways to preserve the shed structure built around 1940, but it wasn't possible to design around it to meet the market's needs, Trudeau said.

• "The adjacent sheds are historic sheds, so you want it to fit with the neighborhood, but you don't necessarily want to create a fake historic building," she said of the new shed's design. "So it does a nice job of looking modern, but fitting in with the scale of the other sheds."

Between the lines: While more than 2 million people visit Eastern Market's public-facing markets a year, the extent of its wholesale food industry remains less visible to visitors. But the neighborhood sees $360 million in wholesale food business annually, Trudeau told city council this year.

• In a $16 million project to boost that industry, Eastern Market is renovating a building it bought last year to create a regional wholesale distribution center. Renovation work on Shed 7 is expected to start in August, with completion expected in spring 2026.
• The area has wholesale offerings, but this will be a scaled-up version.

What we're watching: The Eastern Market neighborhood was rezoned by the city in the last several years — a move to encourage more food production business while helping guide increased residential and retail development.

• As Eastern Market Partnership's plans unfold, we'll be looking at what developers do next.

Read the full story, including a nearby business owner's thoughts

A fully renovated house off Woodward Avenue just went on the market in the North End neighborhood.

The big picture: We're highlighting this home on Melbourne Street as part of our "House Hunting" series on the city's real estate market.

• The eye-catching house is in the heart of an up-and-coming neighborhood with a rich cultural history and near amenities like the new Detroit People's Food Co-op, the QLine and The Schvitz bathhouse.

65 Melbourne St., $375,000

Zoom in: The 2,650-square-foot house has four bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms and has been renovated with new electrical and plumbing systems, a new roof and more.

What they're saying: "My client is an investor," listing agent Darryl Mack tells Axios.

• "They've renovated that house from the studs. Everything is brand new," he says.

Context: Nearby listings include a four-bedroom house in need of major repairs for $225,000 and a seven-bedroom Boston-Edison estate for $685,000.

The bottom line: Compared to other local listings, this could be a Goldilocks house for the right buyer.

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🍔 The Bobcat Bonnie's restaurant chain's most recent closure in Ferndale leaves it with one restaurant left, in Lansing. (Detroit News)

🚧 Crews are working on fixing a giant sink hole on Detroit's east side, including replacing a more than century-old sewer line. (WXYZ)

⚖️ The U.S. Supreme Court says it won't take on the case of a gym in Alma that sued the state, saying it needed to be compensated for the time it was forced to close during the pandemic. (Free Press)

The price of child care rose 29% from 2020-24, outpacing overall inflation, according to data from the advocacy group Child Care Aware.

Why it matters: The costs are a huge financial strain for families, forcing some parents — typically women — to either scale back their working hours or leave the workforce, Axios' Emily Peck reports.

By the numbers: In Michigan, the annual cost of tuition for one toddler and one infant in a center averaged about $25,700 last year.

• That's more than 35% of the state's median household income, per census data, about in line with the national average.

What's next: President Trump's budget proposals look to keep federal funding levels for child care flat next year — that's effectively a cut given inflation, says Anne Hedgepeth, senior vice president of policy and research at Child Care Aware.

• "Level funding in the current environment is essentially a cut, and that is really concerning," she says.

Detroit lost a cornerstone of its offense yesterday with center Frank Ragnow's retirement due to health reasons.

Why it matters: Ragnow was one of the most important players on Detroit's offensive line, which was considered one of the NFL's best, Free Press Lions reporter Dave Birkett writes.

What's next: Rookie Tate Ratledge, a second-round pick out of Georgia, is a top candidate to replace Ragnow, per Birkett.

Ragnow's retirement message