kresge building

**stasu1213** · July-24-11, 09:09 PM

I had noticed work being done on the second floor of the Kresge building. Does anyone has any insight of what is going on. Does the owner of Nikki's still owns the building?

Steve bennet · July-24-11, 10:00 PM

I have always liked that building.

**DetroitPlanner** · July-25-11, 08:25 AM

If you go to the building's website you will see that there are plans on opening up the second floor and basement to retail. This is the way that it was for what I remember [[1970's and 1980's). I don't ever recall being on the Mezanine or even remember it.

**Hypestyles** · July-25-11, 08:49 AM

what is the history of the kresge building.. anyone have experiences..

**DetroitZack** · July-25-11, 08:56 AM

Great news! I always stop by the coffee shop there, it's good and they are always so friendly.

**Danny** · July-25-11, 09:07 AM

The Kresge Building used to house the its employees who does day to day overseeing operations to their 5 and dime stores. Then they move its headquarters to Cass Park Area and later to Troy at the Big Beaver Ave. and Crooks next to Somerset Mall. Now they are long gone, gobbled up by Sears/Roebuck and Company.

**DetroitPlanner** · July-25-11, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by Danny

The Kresge Building used to house the its employees who does day to day overseeing operations to their 5 and dime stores. Then they move its headquarters to Cass Park Area and later to Troy at the Big Beaver Ave. and Crooks next to Somerset Mall. Now they are long gone, gobbled up by Sears/Roebuck and Company.

A couple of corrections. The Kresge HQ was once in the Kales building prior to moving to Cass Park. The once bankrupt Kmart made oodles of money during its reorginzation by selling properties and built up a large enough war chest to buy Sears and named the merged company Sears Holding.

**Gistok** · July-25-11, 11:21 AM

Detroitplanner is correct.... the Kresge Building of this discussion is the Dennis Keffellanos owned former store on lower Woodward near State St.

It was being remodeled [[the word restoration doesn't quite fit the criteria) to something almost akin a mini-mall.

I too remember as a youngster... being on the main floor and basement [[which I vaguely remember being open to the main floor near the escalators). I also don't recall the 2nd floor at all.

I had worked at the Baker's Shoe store for a brief while in the early 1980s, and remember that many of the stores along lower Woodward had basically only the main floor open as retail. The basements and 2nd floors were often used as merchandise storage. What was strange about Baker's was that the 2nd floor was former retail space... with all the display stands and counters/shelves still in their original space, with other shelving in the middle of the floor for current merchandise.

It was almost a frozen time capsule going into the mid-to-upper floors of these buildings back then, somewhat akin to the Dentists offices/equipment found in the Broderick/Whitney Buildings... left there as though the dentist left to go on vacation and never returned to his occupied offices.

And the higher up you went in these lower Woodward buildings... the more open to the outside the floors were... sometimes you would reach a certain empty floor and find pigeon droppings, etc.

I was happy that Merchants Row and other apartments went into these cleaned up buildings, since I was worried back in the early 80s about what would become of these beautiful, but dirty/dingy buildings whose upper floors may have been open to the elements.

Having so much vertical retail is something that we in the 21st Century are not accustomed to. One can hardly imagine that the beautiful neo-Gothic Fyfe Building on Woodward & W. Adams once housed 14 stories of shoes sales. And these buildings had too small of a footprint for escalators... so all shopping was done by elevators.... many of which appeared little more than freight elevators.

**rencense** · July-25-11, 11:51 AM

I'm still a little confused on the history, maybe someone can clear this up for me.

I thought the kresge [[kales) building in GCP was the first real hq for kresque followed by the monstrosity at cass park then finally troy.

where does this building on lower woodward come in? was it the hq before the kales or just a regular store with offices above?

**downtownguy** · July-25-11, 12:21 PM

I'd be surprised if they are putting retail into the second floor. From what I heard, they were never successful in even getting enough retail on the first floor and they've been open for what, maybe two years or more already? Didn't they just adapt the 5&10 Bar into the Red Grape Lounge? Maybe the upstairs will become an extension of that club.

The Niki's/Boydell empire are notoriously fast and loose with facts. The website implies that this was the first Kresge store, but actually the first Kresge's 5&10 was located one block up on the northwest corner of Grand River and Woodward and is known as the Elliott Building. As they grew, they moved down the street to be directly across from the Hudson's Building. I haven't looked at the back of the Elliott building for a long time, but you used to be able to see the faded, painted Kresge's sign at the top of the back wall.

There's a good picture of the Elliott Bulding here and some more history compliments of detroit1701.org

http://www.detroit1701.org/Elliott%20Building.html

**stasu1213** · July-25-11, 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by downtownguy

I'd be surprised if they are putting retail into the second floor. From what I heard, they were never successful in even getting enough retail on the first floor and they've been open for what, maybe two years or more already? Didn't they just adapt the 5&10 Bar into the Red Grape Lounge? Maybe the upstairs will become an extension of that club.

The Niki's/Boydell empire are notoriously fast and loose with facts. The website implies that this was the first Kresge store, but actually the first Kresge's 5&10 was located one block up on the northwest corner of Grand River and Woodward and is known as the Elliott Building. As they grew, they moved down the street to be directly across from the Hudson's Building. I haven't looked at the back of the Elliott building for a long time, but you used to be able to see the faded, painted Kresge's sign at the top of the back wall.

There's a good picture of the Elliott Bulding here and some more history compliments of detroit1701.org

http://www.detroit1701.org/Elliott%20Building.html

When the building opened a couple of years back it was labled "The Shops at Kreges". It was a failure from the beginning. Unlike Dan Gilber, the owner of this building has a flea market mentallity. That is one of the reasons why the Shops at Kresges was a failure.

**EastsideAl** · July-26-11, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by rencense

I'm still a little confused on the history, maybe someone can clear this up for me.

I thought the kresge [[kales) building in GCP was the first real hq for kresque followed by the monstrosity at cass park then finally troy.

where does this building on lower woodward come in? was it the hq before the kales or just a regular store with offices above?

The building at Woodward and State was Kresge's main store for many years.

Does anybody know when they moved from the Elliott Building at Woodward & Grand River a block south to this building?

**Genesyxx** · July-26-11, 07:41 PM

Working with BSE, I can tell you that the building is nowhere near ready to occupy. 2nd floor work is being done because of crumbling facade among other structural concerns.

**Burnsie** · July-27-11, 01:08 PM

My understanding, with the Woodward/State and Woodward/Grand River stores was that at one time, one was a 5 & 10 and the other a 50 cents-1 dollar store.

**GPCharles** · July-27-11, 02:01 PM

The Woodward/State store was the #1 store in the chain in terms of sales and profitability, at least in the 80s.

The site actually consisted of 5 separate parcels of real estate, some owned by Kresge/Kmart and some leased. That was SOP for Kresge. Buy or lease the necessary adjacent real estate and build a store. Worry about the end of the leases later...

**DetroitZack** · November-28-11, 05:23 PM

I stopped in the Krege Bulding today to get a coffee from Chez Zara. It looks a lot different now. I'm guessing they just weren't getting many people that wanted to open up one of the shops and changed the layout. Last time I was in there they had the bar as far north as you can go on the 1st floor, now it is right in the center where you use to be able to walk in a big circle [[rectangle actually) around all the shops.

**p69rrh51** · November-28-11, 07:41 PM

1201-1209 Woodward Avenue built in 1917. Designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls. Originally built as store #1 for Kresge. It is the 2nd location but the 3rd building for store #1. The original building on the site was razed to make way for the current building. S. L. Bird & Sons took 3 floors when the building opened. It was eventually sold to McCrory's in 1987.

**Detroitdave** · November-29-11, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

When the building opened a couple of years back it was labled "The Shops at Kreges". It was a failure from the beginning. Unlike Dan Gilber, the owner of this building has a flea market mentallity. That is one of the reasons why the Shops at Kresges was a failure.

I agree with satsu1213, I frequent Chez Zara often and I enjoy their coffee . I've spoken to several people that work there and they say pretty much the same thing . the owner of this building does have a flea market mentality . He is doing it on the cheap, and it shows :-[[
Lower woodward deserves better . It looks cheap and comes off that way.
The owners of Chez Zara ,thankfully will be opening a new space very soon , with a much better landlord ;-).
The owners of the building are trying to make as much money off of the space as possible i.e , put another big bar in , give them cheap booze and charge them up the wazo for it !.
I think it will make Chez Zara look bad /Chez Zara will be closed with a gate up in front of the coffee bar? While the "bar area" will be open ,how tacky is that ? I think this place is just trouble waiting to happen :-[[, much like that so called beer/wine store down the street , but I wont' even get into that !

**stasu1213** · November-29-11, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitdave

I agree with satsu1213, I frequent Chez Zara often and I enjoy their coffee . I've spoken to several people that work there and they say pretty much the same thing . the owner of this building does have a flea market mentality . He is doing it on the cheap, and it shows :-[[
Lower woodward deserves better . It looks cheap and comes off that way.
The owners of Chez Zara ,thankfully will be opening a new space very soon , with a much better landlord ;-).
The owners of the building are trying to make as much money off of the space as possible i.e , put another big bar in , give them cheap booze and charge them up the wazo for it !.
I think it will make Chez Zara look bad /Chez Zara will be closed with a gate up in front of the coffee bar? While the "bar area" will be open ,how tacky is that ? I think this place is just trouble waiting to happen :-[[, much like that so called beer/wine store down the street , but I wont' even get into that !

I am surprise that the business community doesn't force this guy to sell the building. He had blindside everyone by saying that he was going to put retail in that spot then turn around and kicked the little retail that he had in the building out. He should not had been allowed to buy that building only to use it in a manner in which he is using it for. That would had been a perfect spot for retail

**DetroitZack** · November-29-11, 08:22 PM

Who owns the building anyways?

**Gistok** · November-29-11, 10:22 PM

.... isn't it Dennis Kefallanos [[he owns Nikki's) and also the Russell Industrial Center, IIRC.

**downtownguy** · November-30-11, 02:03 PM

Gistok is correct. Dennis Kefallinos owns both the Kresge Building and the Russell Industrial Center. After he turned Building 3 at the Russell into the Russell Bazaar [[a flea market), he decided to turn the Kresge Building, which had owned for several years, into an "upscale" version of the Bazaar. He charged considerably more for rent at Kresge than he did at the Russell and didn't attract too many tenants. To my recollection, the Kresge Building was vacant when he bought it, stasu. The retailers that you say he kicked out actually came and went under he ownership and constantly changing plans for the building. Incidentally, Kefallinos also owns the vacant Harvard Square Building on Broadway, and lately he and his maintenance people have been spending a lot of time there. Something's up.

**stasu1213** · November-30-11, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by downtownguy

Gistok is correct. Dennis Kefallinos owns both the Kresge Building and the Russell Industrial Center. After he turned Building 3 at the Russell into the Russell Bazaar [[a flea market), he decided to turn the Kresge Building, which had owned for several years, into an "upscale" version of the Bazaar. He charged considerably more for rent at Kresge than he did at the Russell and didn't attract too many tenants. To my recollection, the Kresge Building was vacant when he bought it, stasu. The retailers that you say he kicked out actually came and went under he ownership and constantly changing plans for the building. Incidentally, Kefallinos also owns the vacant Harvard Square Building on Broadway, and lately he and his maintenance people have been spending a lot of time there. Something's up.

I wonder if the Harvard Square building was on the city's books and the city just had sold it to him just to get it off of their hands. It is people such has Kefallnos who make downtown detroit's progress a roadblock. I would rather if that guy who was responsible for the developement of Soho and South Beach be given a building or two by the city. He would put the buildings to good. I don't think that the economy was totally responsibe for the stalemate of downtown's developement; it is people such as him Ilitch and other local developer who just sit on these buildings or make the storefront a bar. They probably had paid off some politician to allow them to buy up a couple of buildings. It is a shame that within a mile of the riverfront, riverwalk, and port authority terminal where cruise ships will dock, that there are mostly no life on the main strip