United Artist Building [[and Theater?) to be renovated

[M. Brown]

They have a short video up on this project.

https://youtu.be/qI2pkrk3vO8

[NSortzi]

They have a short video up on this project.

https://youtu.be/qI2pkrk3vO8

Lmao comments are conveniently turned off. Can’t imagine why!

[EGrant]

The new Olympia PR team is hard at work!

[southen]

So relevant that they included footage of people shopping at Will Leather Goods.

[casscorridor]

The Illitches are a parasitic force in Detroit that take more than they give. It's always been true, and no amount of flowery PR is going to change it.

[Vitalis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the block is being repurposed but the theater is not going to happen. Never, never, never! Stop the madness! As I reported earlier, and on very good authority, there will be some kind of retail octagon created in the inner lobby area. No theater. No stage. No screen. It's gone, all gone as far as the UA theater is concerned. Stop the madness!

[Gistok]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the block is being repurposed but the theater is not going to happen. Never, never, never! Stop the madness! As I reported earlier, and on very good authority, there will be some kind of retail octagon created in the inner lobby area. No theater. No stage. No screen. It's gone, all gone as far as the UA theater is concerned. Stop the madness!

You remind me of the former poster named Brian who used to post here many years ago and swore that the Book Cadillac wound never never never get restored.... and then when it did happen he stopped posting here.

The Terrible Ilitches finally need to have their feet held to the fire and stop getting away with their "demolition by neglect" policy...

Otherwise those extra 12 parking spaces of the theatre footprint will certainly not make downtown great again!

[JonWylie]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the block is being repurposed but the theater is not going to happen. Never, never, never! Stop the madness! As I reported earlier, and on very good authority, there will be some kind of retail octagon created in the inner lobby area. No theater. No stage. No screen. It's gone, all gone as far as the UA theater is concerned. Stop the madness!

I'm down for all of that, just leave the theater standing for now and hope to repair it in the future, that's all they have to do to make pretty much everyone happy.

[JonWylie]

According to Crain's, construction should begin this summer

[Seven&wyo]

According to Crain's, construction should begin this summer

I can't see the article, but I'm sure it will look cheap, tacky and without a theater.

[mikeg19]

So the demolition of the theater portion is going forward I assume? Any details in the article or can you share it?

[CrashDummy]

So the demolition of the theater portion is going forward I assume? Any details in the article or can you share it?

The only real new information in this article is that this project and what looks the be the former Mondrian project received loan approval from the state and that construction costs have increased by about 35%:

The $73.4 million redevelopment of the United Artists Building into 148 apartments and the $59 million construction of a new 204-unit apartment building at Woodward Avenue and Stimson Street have received Michigan Strategic Fund approvals for Michigan Community Revitalization Program performance-based loans for $5 million and $5.3 million, respectively.

The redevelopment of the United Artists Building by Bagley Development Group LLC, which is headed by longtime developer Emmett Moten Jr., was as recently as six months ago anticipated to cost just $56 million. Moten said construction should begin in July.

The Woodward at Midtown project has been proposed in varying iterations for years, including at one point being envisioned as medical office space.

But for several years, it's been planned as multifamily space. Most recently, it was expected to cost $40.8 million and include a second Kuzzo's Chicken & Waffles restaurant along with 134 apartments. It now is envisioned as 204 apartments across five stories. Jackson said construction should begin in the late summer or early fall.

[Rock N Rye]

I can't see the article, but I'm sure it will look cheap, tacky and without a theater.

Even more likely that the project gets cancelled after the theater is demolished and the parking lot expands.

[Gistok]

Even more likely that the project gets cancelled after the theater is demolished and the parking lot expands.

Has the Detroit Historic Commission finally decided on the fate of the UA Theatre?

[casscorridor]

Even more likely that the project gets cancelled after the theater is demolished and the parking lot expands.

yep 99.999% chance the theatre gets demolished for parking and the tower is left empty

[Elevator Fan]

Has the Detroit Historic Commission finally decided on the fate of the UA Theatre?

In the May 27, 2020 Free Press, there was an ad from the city acknowledging the historic value of the theater and requesting input on alternative plans for it before demolition is approved.

[Gistok]

In the May 27, 2020 Free Press, there was an ad from the city acknowledging the historic value of the theater and requesting input on alternative plans for it before demolition is approved.

Thanks for the heads up! Unfortunately with the social distancing of the current times, large and midsize venues cannot be used for their intended purposes, and a RFP for the Detroit U/A couldn't have come at a worse time.

[Honky Tonk]

Thanks for the heads up! Unfortunately with the social distancing of the current times, large and midsize venues cannot be used for their intended purposes, and a RFP for the Detroit U/A couldn't have come at a worse time.

Or it came up at the most opportune time if you wanted a parking lot instead.

[Gistok]

Or it came up at the most opportune time if you wanted a parking lot instead.

Or they could turn it into an ornate restaurant... seating 40... with 30 ft. social distancing between tables...

Actually that may be the plan for the outer lobby, which is still in good condition [[since it is wholly within the office building, whose upper floors protected it. It could end up like the restaurant in the former lobby of the 1953 demolished Oriental Theatre up on W. Adams just west of Park Ave... with suriviving colorful plasterwork restored to give the place a unique look [[if it survives reopening)....

https://www.dbusiness.com/daily-news...d-circus-park/