Penobscot Building bought by Detroit Fan from Toronto

**southofbloor** · June-21-12, 12:12 PM

From the Toronto Star

http://www.thestar.com/business/arti...-richmond-hill

**313WX** · June-21-12, 12:26 PM

I wonder if it was a member on Dyes from Toronto that brought it.

**canuck** · June-21-12, 12:30 PM

Good stuff! Here is another player in the "Bring Back Detroit to its Glory Days" investor. I think there has to be more out there with the ability and deep pockets to bring retail to downtown. Canadians see the potential, I hope more of them can contribute.

**southofbloor** · June-21-12, 01:17 PM

Yeah, eh?

**mikeg19** · June-21-12, 04:30 PM

At $5 million, how could someone pass on that? Although I highly doubt the occupancy will match what they want that soon, but it certainly has the potential to get there.

**canuck** · June-23-12, 04:37 PM

If youse check out the building's website by the former or current owner/manager, they say the Art Deco Penobscot was built in 1905, not 1928.

Isn't it strange that nobody could spot that mistake on down the line?

**douglasm** · June-23-12, 05:10 PM

Take your pick. The [[older) 13 story Penobscot Building on Fort St. was completed in 1905. The tower, or what we now consider The Penobscot Building was completed in 1928. In a way, both dates are correct.

**jtf1972** · June-23-12, 06:32 PM

Did he buy all three buildings?

**canuck** · June-24-12, 04:57 AM

Originally Posted by douglasm

Take your pick. The [[older) 13 story Penobscot Building on Fort St. was completed in 1905. The tower, or what we now consider The Penobscot Building was completed in 1928. In a way, both dates are correct.

Okeydokey.

**mikeg19** · June-24-12, 12:27 PM

It looks like from the articles comments [[albeit vague), he purchased all three.

**canuck** · June-24-12, 02:21 PM

Does anybody know what the occupancy was in those buildings? From the info page on the website, the communications package was top-of-the-line. The tower was fully updated so the revenue must be pretty good in spite of the relatively lower dollar per sq ft rate in Detroit. Hopefully the deal is one where the new owner with deep pockets can update more. [[?)

Anyways, if I were a renter, I would rather walk into a lobby of that era than the massive sameness you find in the postwar buildings.

**KarmicCurse** · June-28-12, 03:43 AM

Are there any pictures of the Penobscot's lobby as it looked originally before it was filled in with floors? There's a hint of an incredible arcade in a picture from the "Cathedral of Finance" book about the Guardian Building.

**Wheels** · June-28-12, 08:57 AM

There is a black and white shot here.

http://historicdetroit.org/galleries...ng-old-photos/

**downtownguy** · June-28-12, 12:26 PM

^^Great photo. I wonder if it's even possible to take it back to that, if you had a willing owner.

Did anybody notice the photo of the Penobscot and Old City Hall on that website is backwards? The photo is from the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State. It makes me wonder if the original was printed backwards, or did historicdetroit.org scan it in backwards.