David Whitney Building Renovation [Now Open for Business]

[FormerDetroiter]

I got my first pair of eyeglasses at an eye doctor's office in the David Whitney Bldg. in 1956. This was before there were places like DOC and Lenscrafters.

[motz]

Good for them if they can get that much.

A little frustrating for me right now. Looking for a studio or one-bedroom in Midtown or Downtown in the spring hoping to pay $700-750. I understand downtown is too expensive for me [[David Whitney is certainly higher-end than I deserve), but it just seems really tough to find a decent place these days. I may wind up staying out in Royal Oak or moving to Ferndale if I can't find a spot.

I'll be 28 and one of my issues with Midtown as well is a lot of the residences are more geared towards undergrads which I'd prefer to avoid. Would love a studio apartment in Midtown that is geared more towards working professionals.

Blah...rant over.

You and me both! The few places I looked at studios in when I was looking for a place to live were... well... less than desirable. One was extremely loud for 5pm on a Tuesday, and the other had the most ass-backwards layout I had ever seen and just felt gross. Ended up moving in with a friend in Woodbridge and am super happy, but my promotions and raises aren't keeping pace with what I'd consider "good" rentals in Midtown.

[downtownguy]

Thanks for the link Tuere.... I looked at those apartment floors.... I bet those inside apartments facing the lightwell are going to be a tough sell.... no views whatsoever....

Agreed. I rented two offices in that building years ago. First one is what would be Apartment 1202 facing the lightwell. No matter how sunny outside, the view from that office was dreary. Then I moved down the hall into Suite 1225 [[now Apt. 1207) where I had a beautiful corner view over Grand Circus Park and Woodward. The rent is posted at $1,875/month. Sure would be fun to move back in.

[DetroitPlanner]

Thanks for the link Tuere.... I looked at those apartment floors.... I bet those inside apartments facing the lightwell are going to be a tough sell.... no views whatsoever....

Perverts and peeping Toms would love em!

[animatedmartian]

Detroit's lost cornices are making a return. Lions heads for David Whitey are on the way.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...ing-sign-times

[corktownyuppie]

Good for them if they can get that much.

A little frustrating for me right now. Looking for a studio or one-bedroom in Midtown or Downtown in the spring hoping to pay $700-750. I understand downtown is too expensive for me [[David Whitney is certainly higher-end than I deserve), but it just seems really tough to find a decent place these days. I may wind up staying out in Royal Oak or moving to Ferndale if I can't find a spot.

I'll be 28 and one of my issues with Midtown as well is a lot of the residences are more geared towards undergrads which I'd prefer to avoid. Would love a studio apartment in Midtown that is geared more towards working professionals.

Blah...rant over.

I agree that this segment of the market is an opportunity for developers. I think you will find decent options in Lafayette Park or Corktown. For now, at least.

[Lowell]

Detroit's lost cornices are making a return. Lions heads for David Whitey are on the way.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...ing-sign-times

Recreated by artist and longtime friend Sergio DiGiusti. He did the bronze bas relief pieces at the base of the big circle Labor Memorial sculpture in Hart Plaza. It is interesting that he is using fiberglass-reinforced plastic and thinks highly of it. An interest factoid is in that article...

The David Whitney’s original lion heads from the 1915 design were terra-cotta, a material that not only degrades over time, but weighs a ton. When a 20-foot piece of cornice dropped on 80-year-old Myrtle Taggart in 1958, killing her, owners started stripping decorative cornices off buildings all over Detroit.

Kenny guesstimates that the original terra-cotta lion heads on the David Whitney probably weighed in the neighborhood of 400-500 pounds, and likely came in six pieces. Each of the replacements weighs just 120 pounds, and the plastic is more durable than terra-cotta.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz3DaE6zomL

[Lowell]

Here are some restored atrium pictures I spotted from the Historical Detroit Area Architecture on Facebook today...

[animatedmartian]

What a lobby, man.

[jw101]

The hotel officially opens December 11th. Booking will be available soon, but for now if you'd like some basic info on the hotel or if you would like to apply, visit www.aloftdetroit.com . SPOILER: The official name is Aloft Detroit at The David Whitney, and the hotel will not have a Splash [[pool).

[DetroitPlanner]

The hotel officially opens December 11th. Booking will be available soon, but for now if you'd like some basic info on the hotel or if you would like to apply, visit www.aloftdetroit.com . SPOILER: The official name is Aloft Detroit at The David Whitney, and the hotel will not have a Splash [[pool).

Just walked by today, they are going to need to get moving to get it opened by then. There are still windows and doors missing on the first floor. On the plus side there are temporary walls up just inside the windows so I assume most of the drywall is up and finished.

[Detroitdave]

No Pool :-[[ wahhhhhhh !

[jw101]

So, a new update on the website states "The hotel will open it's doors on December 11, 2014. We will begin taking reservations on or after January 22, 2015." That's gonna suck for the auto show! Will they still rent out rooms before the 22nd? Will it be on a first come first serve basis?

[mikeg19]

Maybe I'm not quite understanding this, but they are opening in early December but you can't make any reservations to stay there? So the only wat you can get a room is if you physically walk in???? Someone help me out on this.

[SpartanDawg]

almost done.. media preview was today

"David Whitney building announces restaurant will be Grand Cirque Brasserie, an upscale French American dining place."

[jw101]

almost done.. media preview was today

"David Whitney building announces restaurant will be Grand Cirque Brasserie, an upscale French American dining place."

What is the source?

[SpartanDawg]

What is the source?

https://twitter.com/xoxocox/status/524985937080897536

[mikeg19]

almost done.. media preview was today

"David Whitney building announces restaurant will be Grand Cirque Brasserie, an upscale French American dining place."

How funny is it that the Whitney building will have it's restaurant open before the Broderick Tower has anything open in it? Does this not seem strange?

[SpartanDawg]

How funny is it that the Whitney building will have it's restaurant open before the Broderick Tower has anything open in it? Does this not seem strange?

i agree... it is so damn frustrating that they haven't opened their restaurant yet.. what the hell is going on?? that is one of the premium sites for retail in the city and they've just had ugly paper plastered up on the windows for 2 years

[dmike76]

I walked by the Broderick about three weeks ago and there was definitely work going on in one of the spaces. I peeked in the windows and it looks like they have quite a bit of work to do. It looked they started building a bar.

[SpartanDawg]

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...open/17740475/

this video by the detroit news is amazing. i am THROUGHLY impressed by how amazing this restoration was. definitely did even a better job than the broderick across the street.. the attention to detail restoring this building to its former glory is INCREDIBLE

also this is a great quote

"We're going to up-light the façade at night," he said, as well as a reproduction of the original rooftop sign with the building's name.

[Detroitdave]

That's really impressive , I'm looking forward to checking it out

[stinkytofu]

Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. So excited to have the David Whitney back up.

[Detroitdave]

The Whitney will be a game changer like the Book was when it opened.
Now there are several high end hotels in the city, counting MGM , The Whitney , the Book , ect . Also with the Ren cen redo , and Greektown/ Motorcity.
I'm sure they will all be booked during the auto show .

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...open/17740475/

this video by the detroit news is amazing. i am THROUGHLY impressed by how amazing this restoration was. definitely did even a better job than the broderick across the street.. the attention to detail restoring this building to its former glory is INCREDIBLE

also this is a great quote

"We're going to up-light the façade at night," he said, as well as a reproduction of the original rooftop sign with the building's name.

[downtownguy]

Crain's covered it today as well.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...wntown-detroit

I had the good fortune to occupy a couple of offices in the building from about 1985 - 1988. There's a photo in that article from an apartment that looks like it could be a few floors above my former office. The view has changed considerably from when I was there. The CoPa dominates it now, but I recall many hours admiring the beauty of Grand Circus Park back then.