The Book Tower Restoration Project

**gumby** · February-04-21, 11:29 PM

Soooo. They aren't planning on building a parking garage above this now? Maybe I missed something.

**Satiricalivory** · February-05-21, 01:03 AM

Originally Posted by gumby

Soooo. They aren't planning on building a parking garage above this now? Maybe I missed something.

No, there will be no new parking garage, this was discussed last fall.

**Atticus** · August-24-21, 09:20 AM

For the hotel portion of the redevelopment, Philadelphia based “Roost” to be the extended stay hotel brand in the Book Tower.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...thotel-concept

https://www.travelandleisure.com/hot...veland-detroit

**Satiricalivory** · August-24-21, 12:05 PM

God I cannot wait to see this building finished and take in it's glorious lobby.

Washington Boulevard is truly going to feel world class when this is done.

**NSortzi** · August-24-21, 06:10 PM

Bedrock also announced today that the former May Company department store building in downtown Cleveland is getting a Roost hotel too. Both of these are the first Roost locations outside Philadelphia.

**Lowell** · August-25-21, 09:01 AM

It's exciting to the see the Book Tower come online. Here's some details from the Crain's article mentioned above.

The fourth through eighth floors of the Book Tower on Washington Boulevard downtown are in the process of being turned into 118 Roost Apartment Hotel studio, one- and two-bedroom units that will be managed by Philadelphia-based Method Co., Dan Gilbert's Detroit-based Bedrock LLC real estate development, management and leasing company said Tuesday morning.

It's part of a large redevelopment of the roughly century-old Book Tower and Book Building, which take up nearly an entire block of Washington Boulevard south of Grand Circus Park. Restoration work on the Italian Renaissance-style building, which opened in 1926, is entering its fifth year.

Other planned uses for two attached buildings include 229 apartments, 85,000 square feet of office and retail space, plus restaurant space [[which will also be operated by Method) in an effort that's slated to be complete late next year.

Bedrock says one-night rates start at $195 for Roost furnished rooms and the average unit is 715 square feet. There are 38 studios, 64 one-bedrooms and 16 two-bedrooms.

**Lowell** · August-25-21, 09:25 AM

Atrium as pictured in today's Free Press..

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**Zacha341** · August-25-21, 09:45 AM

^ Simply awesome! I worked in this building in 80-81 when it was declining fast!

**Jerry Van** · September-08-21, 01:28 PM

I believe the blah green is copper roofing.

**Jimaz** · September-18-21, 04:35 PM

Total duration 15 minutes:

Detroit's ABANDONED Tower {The Story of Book Tower}
IT'S HISTORY

Detroit is effectively the dictionary’s definition of Urban Decay and poverty. Yet images of the fading city somehow evoke emotions of nostalgia and curiosity. This is the magic of great cities beyond their prime, and the expression of times passage – as offered by neglect. Inside that faded skyline is Book Tower, an abandoned skyscraper that was intended to be Detroit’s greats landmark – only to be ridiculed as an abomination by many. Although stunted by The great depression of America, and in tatters as a result of the decline of Detroit this Rust belt monument avoided the wrecking ball and represents a time when Detroit Michigan was an icon of the world.

Fingers crossed - Book Tower is currently under renovation and it seems that the people of Detroit will save their masterpiece!

**Satiricalivory** · September-18-21, 10:22 PM

That was an utterly crappy video. Doesn't even mention the current renovation. A total click-bait joke. Not even relevant to this thread either.

**JTburner** · November-01-22, 12:16 AM

Is this still on track to open late 2022?

**K-slice** · November-01-22, 10:36 AM

Didn't look like it when I was by there last week.

**Satiricalivory** · November-01-22, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by K-slice

Didn't look like it when I was by there last week.

You went inside?

**K-slice** · November-02-22, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by Satiricalivory

You went inside?

No, but the number of hard hats I observed lead me to believe they've got more than a couple months before they're ready.

**Gistok** · November-03-22, 02:01 AM

That video about the Book Tower was big on who died in the building, and small on the history of the place. Saying it was built from 1917 to 1926 shows the lack of information about the fact that the Book Building was built in 1917 as a 13 story standalone building, with the 38 story Book Tower added to the earlier building in 1926.

As far as the fact that the Book Tower was decorated like a wedding cake... that is an interesting analogy... although in the modern "less is more" idiom of architecture... it makes for a nice confection on Washington Blvd.

**stasu1213** · November-03-22, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted by K-slice

No, but the number of hard hats I observed lead me to believe they've got more than a couple months before they're ready.

For a few years ot had been reported that the tower would be completed by the end of 2022. It look nice as it is near completion.

**Danny** · November-05-22, 02:13 PM

What to do with the vacant lot next door on the corner of Washington Blvd and Michigan Ave? It better not be another surface parking lot.

**gthomas** · November-06-22, 09:07 PM

I agree, I'm hoping of a new, ground up modern hotel about 30 stories or more. We need a Hyatt downtown.

Originally Posted by Danny

What to do with the vacant lot next door on the corner of Washington Blvd and Michigan Ave? It better not be another surface parking lot.

**Gistok** · November-07-22, 03:01 AM

Originally Posted by gthomas

I agree, I'm hoping of a new, ground up modern hotel about 30 stories or more. We need a Hyatt downtown.

That site is much too small. There's currently only room in that parking lot for about 30 cars. The site is walled in by the existing building to the south, and the People Mover Maintenance Facility on the west.

The building site is much smaller than the Huntington Bank tower on Woodward and Elizabeth...

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3324...7i16384!8i8192

**Burnsie** · November-07-22, 07:05 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

As far as the fact that the Book Tower was decorated like a wedding cake... that is an interesting analogy...

A 5/31/70 Free Press feature notes the Book Tower's "horizontal rows of wedding cake ornamentation." If memory serves, W. Hawkins Ferry's "Buildings of Detroit" also refers to the "wedding cake" look of Kamper's Book Cadillac. That hotel has looked a bit unbalanced ever since the 6th and 27th floor cornices were removed in early 1959.

It's a bit of a miracle that the Book Building and Tower's ornamentation all survived the cornice removal spree of 1958-1959 which followed Myrtle Taggart's death from Winkelman's crashing cornice. Some of those were inspected, found unstable and ordered removed by the city. But much was simply voluntarily scraped off by building owners in an overall push to "modernize" them.

**kuuma** · November-07-22, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

That site is much too small. There's currently only room in that parking lot for about 30 cars. The site is walled in by the existing building to the south, and the People Mover Maintenance Facility on the west.

The building site is much smaller than the Huntington Bank tower on Woodward and Elizabeth...

pretty sure they were talking about the vacant space left after they tore the corner building down this summer. there is now a fully wiped city block between State, Michigan, Washington, and the bus station. Google doesn't reflect that. but the space is ample for virtually any kind of development they might want to put there.

**Lapooty** · November-07-22, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by kuuma

pretty sure they were talking about the vacant space left after they tore the corner building down this summer. there is now a fully wiped city block between State, Michigan, Washington, and the bus station. Google doesn't reflect that. but the space is ample for virtually any kind of development they might want to put there.

Here is a is an updated view of the block
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3316...7i16384!8i8192

**Gistok** · November-07-22, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by Lapooty

Here is a is an updated view of the block
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3316...7i16384!8i8192

Oh that is funny... if you go to my Google maps image [3 posts up], it shows the building on that corner from the north view.... and then if you follow the view down Washington Blvd., then suddenly the building disappears.

OK... now I see, yup, an excellent development opportunity...

**Gistok** · November-07-22, 03:05 PM

As you move down Washington Blvd. on Google maps... just before it shows as razed... there is this final image of it....

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3321...7i16384!8i8192

Anybody know the history of this building or its' former age? It almost looks like it may have been a historic building that once had a facade-ectomy, and could once have had a cornice, or something like that. It is ugly upon closer inspection.