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

[gnome]

I worked there as a mail boy for 2 summers while in high school. That was a few years before jjaba picketed the place for AAA' s hiring practices.

no doubt jjaba rode in on the Dexter bus

[kathy2trips]

This theater would be so worthwhile to restore. It's hard to believe now, but true, that it was worthy of the DSO for its fine acoustics. This photo of the orchestra in rehearsal is from historicdetroit.org, originally from the Detroit Free Press. It was taken in 1979 when it was still relatively intact. This was two years after the seats and other furnishings were sold off, and one year before I was shanghai-ed to Texas by my parents.

[stasu1213]

Does Illitch still own the UA? If so, why has it taken so long to do something with the building

[Detroit]

Does Illitch still own the UA? If so, why has it taken so long to do something with the building

Yes, they still own it. It does look like they are making the shitty surface "parking lots" behind the Fox and Palms building in to actual parking lots... not that surface parking lots are anything to get excited about. The Detroit Life building is a part of the District Detroit. I don't remember the UA building being covered on the tour of the District Detroit plan unfortunately.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

I think the Illitch people held onto the UA for years when it made no financial sense to renovate it. The millions required couldn't have been recouped with rents they could have charged 5 or 10 years ago. Now, though, it is feasible. The building will require a great deal of work to restore/retain it's architectural detail and historical character, while installing modern systems & details. Plus, the theater will be a real renovation challenge. I know substantial clean up and remediation was done a couple of years ago, which seemed like it was getting it ready for renovation. Hopefully, they are just finalizing plans right now, with an announcement coming soon. Waiting in the past made sense. Waiting further doesn't really.

[Detroit]

That is nothing more than a poor excuse. You have to start somewhere. They could have started what Gilbert did by doing something rather than waiting around for someone else to do it. They have had the money. I don't buy it. They have announced things in the past and never followed through unfortunately. Now is their chance to make good on it. Hopefully it will happen soon.

I think the Illitch people held onto the UA for years when it made no financial sense to renovate it. The millions required couldn't have been recouped with rents they could have charged 5 or 10 years ago. Now, though, it is feasible. The building will require a great deal of work to restore/retain it's architectural detail and historical character, while installing modern systems & details. Plus, the theater will be a real renovation challenge. I know substantial clean up and remediation was done a couple of years ago, which seemed like it was getting it ready for renovation. Hopefully, they are just finalizing plans right now, with an announcement coming soon. Waiting in the past made sense. Waiting further doesn't really.

[southen]

They could have very cheaply prevented vandals from getting in it and I dont know, made sure the roof didn't leak and ruin all of the plaster work in the theater. There is waiting for market conditions to redevelop and there is letting a building rot without putting a dime into it. The Ilitch's did the latter and should NOT be let off the hook for it.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

If they have no intention to develop it [[and I suspect they do have the intention to develop), I am sure they would entertain offers on the building. I don't think Mike, Marian or any of the kids get the giggles looking at in and saying to themselves, "Ha! Look at how we're preventing that building from developed while everything else gets done!"

And Southen, what are you saying they would be "let off the hook" for? Are you alleging a crime? The place seems secure & clean now, even if it wasn't always.

[emu steve]

While the board continues to debate what has long been debated [[which I guess can be fun), but did folks read down that Crain's article cited [[01/31/2016)

It seems that the Ilitch group has RFPs out for 19 properties [[see map with those red pins) including buildings such as the Americana which I have long maintained is necessary for the health of that neighborhood and the Masonic.

"Even though there are 19 sites identified in the RFP, responses to which were due Friday, Olympia remains cautious about how many projects would actually materialize. Doug Kuiper, vice president of corporate communications for Ilitch Holdings Inc., parent company of Olympia Development, said at least 10 residential projects are expected."

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ena-teems-with

[mikeg19]

Although the RFP's are due tomorrow, it will most likely take months to sort through, analyze, and award any type of projects for these developments. I would think that by year's end you could have announcements on properties being developed.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Although the RFP's are due tomorrow, it will most likely take months to sort through, analyze, and award any type of projects for these developments. I would think that by year's end you could have announcements on properties being developed.

No, the RFP's were due a year ago. The Crains article is from 2016. So the "year's end" you anticipated announcements by has passed.

[lpg]

Although the RFP's are due tomorrow, it will most likely take months to sort through, analyze, and award any type of projects for these developments. I would think that by year's end you could have announcements on properties being developed.

Maybe they are waiting to see if taxpayer monies can be used....

[mikeg19]

My bad. Didn't realize that.

[southen]

If they have no intention to develop it [[and I suspect they do have the intention to develop), I am sure they would entertain offers on the building. I don't think Mike, Marian or any of the kids get the giggles looking at in and saying to themselves, "Ha! Look at how we're preventing that building from developed while everything else gets done!"

And Southen, what are you saying they would be "let off the hook" for? Are you alleging a crime? The place seems secure & clean now, even if it wasn't always.

Why do they have to be giggling about neglect? They just don't care. They care about their branding and taxpayer dollars, not actually taking care of their properties. It is cheaper to let it rot then putting in the effort to maintain and redevelop, no?

When I say letting off the hook I mean when it comes to public opinion. You are ok with them because "The place seems secure & clean now, even if it wasn't always." That is garbage. This family has been horrible stewards of Detroit's history and its' architecture. I can understand the developer who is only worth a couple of million taking his time with a renovation because he is having a difficult time coming up with capital. These people are worth billions and work on timetables that you can measure in decades, not years. Maybe I'm wrong though and they couldn't really afford to board it up and put a padlock on the place for years...

[Lowell]

Today's view of downtown Detroit from DetroitYES 'World Headquarters' in the Michigan Building with the UA on the left. Official Report:

"All Quiet on the United Artists Front".



Beyond the blight what I find most annoying is that they get to block the sidewalks for years making passage difficult particularly in winter. How many years do they get to get away with this? The owner of the AAA Building was forced to demolish his building, why does this one get a pass?



Maybe it is because its most blighted side is hidden on the Clifford side where the facing brick has been stripped for decades?



No shortage of funds for the building owner's new hockey arena [turquoise blotch in the center background to the right of the still untouched Eddystone Hotel].

[ABetterDetroit]

If there was an accurate history book on Mike Ilitch and his business in the City of Detroit coming out next week, I would be first in line to plunk my 30 bucks down to read it.

There would be many chapters about the decades spent neglecting and demolishing as many buildings as he could possibly get away with to assemble the land for his stadiums with as much surface parking as possible near them. The historical record for that fact is already written so there would be no revelations and that part would be depressing.

Where the story would get really fascinating fast would be in this decade when another billionaire showed up in Detroit and in just a couple short years had bought buildings in the city and renovated them quickly and found it prosperous enough that in a shorter amount of time he bought as many as he possibly could to do more of the same. The reaction to Gilbert's actions in the Ilitch family would be interesting, someone else doing what Mike had always said he would for years and then quickly making him look inept. Dan has turned the tables radically on Mike Ilitch and exposed him for his extremely narrow vision with the properties he owns in the city.

If Gilbert had never come to Detroit, there is little doubt that there would be no debate over the future of the UA building today because it would already be demolished. Mike was steadily slashing and burning in its direction.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Well, I have a slight convergence of this thread with news today. Aretha Franklin has announced that with the coming of her new album this fall, and a brief concert tour related to it, she will be going into semi-retirement. Thereafter, she says, she will only do the odd special event. [[Strangely, Aretha's retirement has made headlines in many papers and websites, but neither the News nor Free Press, nor DY, have posted about it yet).

Well, seeing how Aretha has hinted in the past about wanting to open a performance space in Detroit, and possibly partnering with someone to do just that, I wonder if she is indeed doing so, in the form of a renovated UA Theater. Just speculation, of course. And I have written here before that I would like to see that exact thing happen. But if she's going to be home full time starting later this year, now seems like a time she would get to work on a legacy project. Of course, though, her decades of amazing music is quite a legacy project in its own right.

[southen]

I will bet you an ungodly amount of money that that never happens.

[Gistok]

Here's an interesting question.... is there any known occasion where the Ilitch's have ever even sold 1 parcel of land [[with or without a building on it).... in the downtown area?

Yes they buy property [[and usually flatten it)... but I cannot recall them ever selling ANY building or parcel downtown, to anyone to develop/redevelop.

[Lowell]

Here's an interesting question.... is there any known occasion where the Ilitch's have ever even sold 1 parcel of land [[with or without a building on it).... in the downtown area?

Yes they buy property [[and usually flatten it)... but I cannot recall them ever selling ANY building or parcel downtown, to anyone to develop/redevelop.

Good question. What they haven't demolished they have been good at doing winks-and-nods and head fakes. In the case of the Fine Arts and UA one could easily see a suppression of competition to their theater/entertainment businesses.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Good question. What they haven't demolished they have been good at doing winks-and-nods and head fakes. In the case of the Fine Arts and UA one could easily see a suppression of competition to their theater/entertainment businesses.

I wonder if growing a theater district would be more beneficial to them in the long run. But that would take a bit of vision I think.

[Whitehouse]

Well, I have a slight convergence of this thread with news today. Aretha Franklin has announced that with the coming of her new album this fall, and a brief concert tour related to it, she will be going into semi-retirement. Thereafter, she says, she will only do the odd special event. [[Strangely, Aretha's retirement has made headlines in many papers and websites, but neither the News nor Free Press, nor DY, have posted about it yet).

Well, seeing how Aretha has hinted in the past about wanting to open a performance space in Detroit, and possibly partnering with someone to do just that, I wonder if she is indeed doing so, in the form of a renovated UA Theater. Just speculation, of course. And I have written here before that I would like to see that exact thing happen. But if she's going to be home full time starting later this year, now seems like a time she would get to work on a legacy project. Of course, though, her decades of amazing music is quite a legacy project in its own right.

Calling it the Aretha Franklin theatre would be great. I would be sad if we have to wait for Stevie Wonder's retirement.

[Vitalis]

With pepperoni slices covering his closed eyes, we lay Mike Ilitch to his rest. The villain of Bagley Ave., but the Titan of the North end. He paid Rosa Park's rent, but kept Gistok and me from buying tickets for events at the fabulously renovated UA. But what kind of events would work at the UA of the early 21st century? How about the ongoing TCM movie theater series; occasional local film premieres to benefit this group or that; a corporate meeting or two or three, A "State of the City" address site; the DSO reconvening for another recording session; perhaps a big, fat wedding - Greek or other wise. Hmm, that adds up to maybe,
not even 100 dates in a calendar year. And there's the problem of staffing, when you can't book weekly events to keep a door crew, catering people, bar tenders, V.I.P. concierges, and security on board. But, such problems are not insurmountable I would guess?

As many of you realize, and what Gistok was quick and right to point out - the lazy, slipshod, editing blunder of the UA opening date, in the Crain's piece, only confirms my sad take on the state of journalism - legit or fake - no one gives a damn in this age of instant news. Somewhere there is an old warehouse filled with grease pencils and AP Style books, moldering. Shoddy, is our state of news facts and opinions.

[Hypestyles]

I hope the renovation is actually executed and happens in a reasonable amount of time. Commercial, residential use, might as well.

[ABetterDetroit]

Another year and...nothing.

Waiting it it out so they can use the recession excuse again?