"City Slicker" Parking Garage Sold

**spiritofdetroit** · July-29-09, 09:38 AM

The disgusting and dilapidated parking garage that holds City Slicker, Bunchy's, Happy Cream Ice Cream, etc. has apparently been sold to a developer who will "spend the next 6 to 12 months on renovations."

Anyone know what this may entail?

Hopefully a complete demolition and rebuild, as that building is crumbling, and makes the tenants look very bad - hopefully they can stick around during whatever remodeling is going on.

**Pcm** · July-29-09, 10:45 AM

Link to the source of info?

**DetroitPlanner** · July-29-09, 11:12 AM

I hear a cheesecake factory and house of blues are in the works. I hope City Slicker stays as this is where I buy my purple and pink gator deck shoes. The chicks love them and say I remind them of Donny Osmand.

**Fury13** · July-29-09, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

I hear a cheesecake factory and house of blues are in the works. I hope City Slicker stays as this is where I buy my purple and pink gator deck shoes. The chicks love them and say I remind them of Donny Osmand.

Ha! Post of the week!

**spiritofdetroit** · July-29-09, 12:33 PM

No link - a coworker who parks there was told that Friday would be the last day it was opened because someone bought and was renovating it for the next 6 to 12 months

**buildingsofdetroit** · July-29-09, 01:07 PM

Huh. Didn't the city buy that garage a little while back?

**spiritofdetroit** · July-29-09, 01:10 PM

It is run by "Handy Parking" - not sure if they owned it or just operated it...

**French777** · July-29-09, 02:55 PM

here is a picture of it to those that don't know what it looks like.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/24/58...5bab444c22.jpg

**Enduro** · July-29-09, 06:19 PM

I've walked by that building a million times and it's never really bothered me. It looks to be late 60s or mid 70s and at least there are retail tenants. They might have trouble sitting around for 6 months during a complete rebuild.

Of course I'm probably one of the few who actually like that 70's "modern" style [[although that building is hardly a good example).

**Doma** · July-29-09, 06:48 PM

Post of the year!

I was starting to think that phrase was getting old....but the way you freshened it up made it better than ever.

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

I hear a cheesecake factory and house of blues are in the works. I hope City Slicker stays as this is where I buy my purple and pink gator deck shoes. The chicks love them and say I remind them of Donny Osmand.

**Fury13** · July-29-09, 11:42 PM

Originally Posted by Enduro

I've walked by that building a million times and it's never really bothered me. It looks to be late 60s or mid 70s and at least there are retail tenants. They might have trouble sitting around for 6 months during a complete rebuild.

Of course I'm probably one of the few who actually like that 70's "modern" style [[although that building is hardly a good example).

The building is older than that, I'm pretty sure. I think it's '50s or early '60s.

**Fury13** · July-29-09, 11:43 PM

By the way, it's commonly known as the Bates Garage.

**EastsideAl** · July-30-09, 09:02 AM

That garage is partially on the site of the C. Howard Crane designed Palace Theater, in the days when that area was Detroit's vaudeville and movie district. The garage has been there all of my life, going back through the '60s. My grandmother used to park there when she worked downtown, and my father parked there for many many years.

**leland_palmer** · July-30-09, 09:33 AM

Originally Posted by buildingsofdetroit

Huh. Didn't the city buy that garage a little while back?

Correct!

Detroit Downtown Development Authority agreed Thursday to buy the Bates Garage, a 600-space, privately owned parking garage fronting on Monroe Street near Campus Martius, for $2.5 million.. Thu Mar 2009 09:03 [[4 months ago)

The article is in the freep if anyone has access to their archive.

**Brich** · February-02-13, 10:53 AM

2013 update:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...text|FRONTPAGE

**kenp** · February-02-13, 11:30 AM

Thanks for the update.
I have thought for a few years that Gilbert was a supporter of our old theaters.
The article got me to thinking if he may have some plans for the National Theater.

**EastsideAl** · February-02-13, 02:40 PM

One quibble about that story, the "empty building" acquired by Gilbert is not abandoned. It has been occupied since the early '70s by the Sachs Waldman law firm.

http://www.sachswaldman.com/index.html

Anyone know who currently owns the National Theater? Is it still held by the city? The full renovation of that building would really be a wonderful addition to downtown.

**kenp** · February-04-13, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

Anyone know who currently owns the National Theater? Is it still held by the city? .

Last I knew the City owned it

**esp1986** · February-04-13, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by kenp

Last I knew the City owned it

Same here. I believe the city owns it. I believe it is the same deal as the Metropolitan Building. DEGC is trying to find a buyer. Would be a shame if they let it be torn down after all this time, but I don't see it staying in it's current shape if that whole block is up for redevelopment. Either way, we should learn it's fate soon.

It has been speculated for a couple years that Gilbert could want a theatre venue for his presentations. He has a small one in the M@dison. Speculation in the past rode largely on the United Artists Theatre, but with his plans around Campus Martius Park, the National is a perfect fit if he wants it. Since he is trying to buy out Greektown Casino, it would be perfect for him to have an affiliated entertainment venue through the casino.

**Gistok** · February-04-13, 11:36 AM

I wasn't aware that he has a theatre venue in the M@adison? It would have to be just a room of 100 seats or less... the M@dison is just too small for any theatre space. The Greektown "performance space", like MGMs is subpar as a venue... more a room with removable seats that can sub as convention space. Only MotorCity's 1,500 seat Sounding Board Theatre is a multi level horseshoe shaped seating space with stadium seating [[very similar to the "Dancing With The Stars" theatre).

As for the National Theatre, it only has 800 seats [[main floor and small balcony)... not real large for a theatre. The United Artists can hold 2,000 seats on a main floor, mezzanine and balcony.

There was a group that had an option on the National... they were the ones to request facade improvement funds for fixing up the white terra cotta Moorish facade and twin towers of the theatre space. It may be that their option on the space has expired, since it's been 7 years since the Detroit Superbowl.

**esp1986** · February-04-13, 02:19 PM

Per a new blog on Crains... the National is NOT owned by the city.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...arge-retailers

**Rocko** · February-05-13, 09:49 PM

It looks like the parking garage was there in 1955. It can be demolished at any time. Hopefully sooner.

From the well respected transit history page detroittransithistory.info:

This September 18, 1955 photo, looks west along Monroe at Library street. PCC car #153 is just a few blocks down the road from the same safety island seen in previous photo. Sadly, aside
from the three-level parking garage [[left), the adjacent National Theater and the tall skyscrapers in the distant background, every building in this photo is history. The Crowley's Dept. Store
Buildings [[right) and the Kern Block buildings are now occupied by the Compuware Hqts. Bldg., while the old City Hall [[center) and the 10-story Hammond Bldg. are now long ago memories.
[Jim Husing Collection photo, courtesy of James Husing]

**EastsideAl** · February-06-13, 04:37 AM

And now for a little local history. That property at the corner of Farmer and Bates once held this:

A C. Howard Crane theater, carved out of an old Presbyterian church, no less.

Later, that lot would hold the first headquarters of FTD, which was founded by the owner of the adjacent building on Bates, florist Albert Pochelon. That building, in very heavily modified form, is the one that stands there today. And Pochelon's building [[sans the greenhouse that once topped it) still stands next door on Bates.

I'm betting neither building outlasts Gilbert.

**cramerro** · February-06-13, 09:48 AM

Has anyone else noticed that all the press last week about Gilbert using "stealth mode" to "buy an entire block" is a bit misleading? To me the funniest part was the map with the article that showed one small corner of the block highlighted as his purchase. There are two other buildings on the block that take up most of the block, that he does not own. Hopefully they can be brought under his control, but if this was the first building on the block he bought, I don't quite understand the effectiveness of stealth mode. Now one of his stealth agents is exposed, and he didn't even get the other buildings on the block before his intentions were known. What am I missing here?