Historic Fisher Building sees resurgence in retail

**Airforceguy** · October-06-23, 02:43 PM

It's a good time to be a retailer at the historic Fisher Building in Detroit, according to some new and longtime tenants.Darryl Humes, who operates Black-owned upscale men's retailer Mature with his brother DeKoven, has called the ground floor of the building his shop's home for nearly four years. Humes said the investments being made into the building, and the surrounding New Center area, make the Fisher Building a prime spot for retailers.

Michigan State University earlier this year bought a majority stake in the Fisher Building. Henry Ford Health and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores are planning a hospital campus nearby and the Detroit Pistons practice facility is located close by, too. "We're very optimistic and very excited about the future, and I think that's what was important for us and our investment was not just the 'now,' but the landscape in the future," Humes said. "So as Detroit evolves, and specifically the New Center area and the investment at Henry Ford, and obviously the Pistons practice facility — that evolution is very critical to the growth of the area. There's a lot of other retailers and developers who are really putting their money where their mouth is in this area."

That includes private real estate company The Platform LLC.

The Detroit-based firm last year took over majority ownership interest in the Fisher Building, prior to the MSU investment. More than $30 million has been invested into "Detroit's Largest Art Object" since 2016, according to The Platform, including heating and cooling, restoring hand-painted ceilings in the three-story arcade, modernizing elevators and more. The Fisher Building was commissioned by the Fisher Body Co. brothers, designed by Albert Kahn, completed in 1928 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989. In addition to its legendary theater, it has about 505,000 square feet of office space and 68,000 square feet for retail, according to The Platform website. About 19,500 square feet of retail space remains available, according to CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service.

The Platform President Clarke Lewis believes the Fisher Building is a prime spot for tradtional retailers. "The Fisher Building provides retailers with one of the most prominent addresses in the city of Detroit," Lewis said in a statement to Crain's. "The scale of the building combined with Fisher Theatre attendance, and being one of the city's top tourist destinations brings great visibility and opportunity."The Humes brothers are set to bolster the visibility of their business with a $100,000 investment into a new location.

Mature this month will move from an inward-facing storefront to a spot facing West Grand Boulevard. The store's current space was supposed to be temporary when it opened in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the retailers to stay in the space for nearly four years.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/retail...urgence-retail

**401don** · October-06-23, 02:53 PM

Do they mean that this one business is the resurgence?

**stasu1213** · October-06-23, 07:02 PM

The Fisher Building is still underutilized. The same retail that had been there for years. No difference

**Hypestyles** · October-07-23, 10:03 PM

bring back a video arcade.

**Zacha341** · October-13-23, 07:38 AM

The constant construction scaffolding finally removed can only help.

Many of the business signage was obscured for many years lately.

**stasu1213** · October-13-23, 07:55 PM

I am surprised that Starbucks haven’t opened inside the Fisher Building or James Oliver hasn't opened in the Fisher Building. The Starbucks that was on Woodward and Mack could had moved into the Fisher Building and done better

**One Shot** · October-20-23, 09:22 PM

That building is soo cool to just stroll around

**TheDapperMaleDetroit** · October-26-23, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

I am surprised that Starbucks haven’t opened inside the Fisher Building or James Oliver hasn't opened in the Fisher Building. The Starbucks that was on Woodward and Mack could had moved into the Fisher Building and done better

Stella Good Coffee is already in the building across from the Fisher Theater.