It sure is 200,000+ sq. ft. going to rot and hurting its adjacent neighborhood badly.
An historically accurate restoration of the masterpiece it once was would no doubt be cost prohibitive, but it would seem that realistic re-purposing is being ignored. The location is far from great but it doesn't seem completely unworkable. It is just a mile down a major thoroughfare from one of the largest hospital complexes in the state, [[huge employer) an easy bike ride to New Center and the Q Line and even downtown for that matter.
Residential apartments that are roomier, less expensive than midtown or downtown, of course, could work, taking into account the large windows and unobstructed views that would come into play even a few floors up. Restore the necessary for human habitation with less expensive fixtures in the apartments and take a pass on restoring the large spaces within to past glory this time around, clean them up and close them off for a later date unless the developer thinks otherwise. It has directly adjacent property for onsite parking without using a deck. Many people still need to have easily accessible daily use vehicles.
Marketing a project of this size is well beyond the abilities of the Detroit Housing Commission. Why they still have title makes little sense now. There should be some kind of agreement at the state, county and city level on what could be done with it going forward. NEZ is a no-brainer, some low income housing from the state monies is necessary for a percentage of sq. ft. Throw in a $1 sale price and deed transfer AFTER the building meets codes and is ready for occupancy etc...
Any thoughts?
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