Fascinatingly, buildings are always a product of their time.
Detroit's Book Tower, for example, started construction in 1916. This is right around the time that Detroit became the 4th largest city in the US (after New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia). From 1910 to 1920, the city's population grew by about 113% to nearly a million people (more people than the city has today).
Because this was the time, the tower was obviously grand. It totalled almost half a million square feet of office space (483,973 sf to be exact, according to Wikipedia). It had a large 3-story atrium with an ornate glass dome. And up until the 1970s, it seems that it remained a desirable office address on Washington Boulevard.
But as we all know, things changed for Detroit. Grand and ornate no longe made economic sense. And so the owners at the time, whoever they were, covered up the ornate dome, filled in the floors of the atrium, and presumably did whatever they could to eek out as much leasable square footage as possible. Necessity trumped grandeur.
Then in 2007, the then-landlord filed for Chapter 11 protection. And in 2009, the last tenant left the building, leaving it 100% vacant -- or "unencumbered by tenants" as we like to say in the business.
Thankfully in 2015, Dan Gilbert of Bedrock came along to do what he does, and acquired the building for a reported $30 million. This works out to about $61 psf for what was once the tallest building in Detroit and one of its most prestigious office addresses. Things change.
But what Bedrock has done since is work to return the building to what architect Louis Kamper had originally created nearly a century ago. The atrium is back. The ornate glass dome is back. And there are now 229 apartments, 117 extended-stay hotel rooms, 3 food and beverage concepts, and about 40,000 sf of office space. Official website, here.
What an awesome way to say, "Detroit is back!"
Photos: Rebekah Witt via Fast Company
Art and culture are powerful tools for city building. Pictured here is a laneway in downtown Detroit that is known as "The Belt." It is called this because of its location in the city's former garment district, but today, it has been redefined as a cultural alley. In it, and deep within unmarked basements, you'll find venues like Deluxx Fluxx, which call themselves a nightclub art house. (You're going to want to click through to their website and get a feel for the place.)
This alley isn't brand new. It was conceptualized by the art gallery Library Street Collective a few years after it was founded in 2012. But I think it remains an excellent example of at least two things. One, Detroit is cool. It really has been going through a cultural renaissance. (You should also know that Detroit is the birthplace of techno.) And two, The Belt remains a perfect example of what is possible with our underutilized urban spaces.
Virtually every city has alleys exactly like this one. But too few are doing something as cool with them.
Image: The Belt & Deluxx Fluxx
Three years ago I wrote about the design and development firm, ASH NYC. What attracted me to them was how they were vertically integrating design, development, property management, and even hospitality management.
Well they have continued to grow and this spring they opened up a new 106 room hotel in downtown Detroit called The Siren. It is located in the Wurlitzer Building, which the firm purchased back in 2015.
With The Siren, ASH NYC also introduced their first-ever furniture line. It goes to show you just how focused they are on design and on the details. Surface Magazine did a good feature on the hotel, and the firm, here.
The other thing, which I think is very cool, is how they paid tribute to the late and great Detroit street photographer, Bill Rauhauser. Check out the culture section of The Siren website to see what I mean.
So if you’re planning to be in Detroit or are looking for an excuse to be in Detroit, maybe check out The Siren.
Image: Christian Harder via Surface Magazine