New life for the Book

**BigD** · October-28-09, 07:45 PM

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091...ing-in-Detroit

**ASR89** · October-28-09, 07:55 PM

Good news!! =D

**d.mcc** · October-28-09, 07:56 PM

well that is certainly exciting news...

**buildingsofdetroit** · October-28-09, 07:59 PM

Oh, hell yes. I thought it'd be several years before anything was done with the Book Tower. Just hope they don't gut it like they did the Book-Caddy.

**d.mcc** · October-28-09, 08:02 PM

Its great to see that Detroit is finally entering the 21st century... 9 years later.

I wonder what Architecture firm they choose to do the designing. I assume they will be going for some level of LEED Certification.

**esp1986** · October-28-09, 08:02 PM

I don't think they will have to gut it, it has at least been used for the last 20 years. I was hoping Ferchill would pour a hundred million into it though...

**mwilbert** · October-28-09, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by esp1986

I don't think they will have to gut it, it has at least been used for the last 20 years. I was hoping Ferchill would pour a hundred million into it though...

I don't know the last time you were in the Book Tower, but to convert it to residential they will have to come close to gutting it.

I really hope this can be done, but even with the copious tax credits that would be available, I find it hard to see how the numbers can work--how much can you charge for a condo downtown these days?

**Fnemecek** · October-28-09, 08:13 PM

This is awesome news. Kudos to everyone who was a part of this deal.

**d.mcc** · October-28-09, 08:14 PM

I think in order to do what they want to do, a complete gutting of the tower is necessary

**Hans57** · October-28-09, 08:29 PM

I'm cautiously optimistic about this one, just about the worst possible market for condos right now. Maybe they'll be for rent? Great to hear though.

Heard about the storage container housing project in Woodbridge? They'll be for sale. Might not be the best area or time for this development.

http://modeldmedia.com/developmentne...een102709.aspx

Lorax · October-28-09, 08:40 PM

I still wonder what happened to the bronze lanterns outside the main entrance of the tower. They disappeared only recently.

And I'm concerned about the giant cherub clock in the lobby of the Book Building side.

I think people will be amazed at the buff color the stone will become when cleaned.

I certainly hope they illuminate the tower- those giant stone urns at the roofline on the four corners of the tower originally lit up at night.

**Mackinaw** · October-28-09, 08:43 PM

Fingers crossed on this. I'd like some more details about what will make these residences particularly green.

I would be happy to move in to the Book if it happens.

**davewindsor** · October-28-09, 09:00 PM

The article says that Key Investment Group is buying the Book Building and Tower from AKNO Group of Vancouver. Am I missing something here? What happened to John Ferchill?

**3WC** · October-28-09, 09:06 PM

Last I heard Ferchill was going to do the deal. LOL

There have been countless grand announcements of major construction/renovation projects over the years which turned out to be smoke and mirrors. This is the dumbest one I've ever heard. Zero chance of getting done.

**buildingsofdetroit** · October-28-09, 09:08 PM

Just heard from someone at the announcement that the DEGC didn't appear to be there. That strikes me as odd. Seems Geo Jax would want to have his face and name attached to this deal after all the bad press he got on the Lafayette and Tiger Stadium debacles. Hope it was an issue of him not being able to clear his schedule and not an issue of this not being a firm deal. Seems odd that a small Clinton Township company could do this without city help.

**izzyindetroit** · October-28-09, 09:24 PM

I wonder what will get done first?? Broderick Tower, Whitney, or Book

Wages anyone??

**Gsgeorge** · October-29-09, 12:45 AM

Spectacular news! The Book is too precious to let waste away. I am eagerly anticipating the announcement of the other six projects -- wow, pretty optimistic considering the climate. But if they are done right, with rentals & less expensive condos than the Book Cadillac, then it might work! I am wondering -- will they be smaller buildings, or other high-profile structures like the David Whitney?

**artds** · October-29-09, 08:24 AM

While I'm confident that this project will not happen, it would be cool if they got around to cleaning up the outside of the building before they eventually run out of funding.

**kryptonite** · October-29-09, 08:42 AM

At least if the Key group craps out Ferchill is interested in the Book Building so hopefully it will be saved. 'Cautious optimism' is called for here, how many times has Detroit heard about some fab development/renovation that never happened? hundreds of them I believe. Still, I personally love hearing about some redevelopment interest in the Book.

**cman710** · October-29-09, 09:04 AM

I agree that cautious optimism remains appropriate. While it would be great for this to happen, we will have to wait and see if the deal can actually be done. Given that Ferchill has apparently had some difficulties getting financing, it is interesting that this group managed to do it. I hope that it works out for them, but we will have to wait and see. At the least, this interest should ensure that the building remains secured for the foreseeable future.

**artds** · October-29-09, 09:16 AM

Originally Posted by kryptonite

At least if the Key group craps out Ferchill is interested in the Book Building so hopefully it will be saved.

Yeah right.

They probably snatched up this building BECAUSE Ferchill was interested, and they're now hoping to either flip it to him at a profit or get a free ride off of Ferchill's efforts as a partial equity owner or debt holder in a future renovation of the building. Ferchill's interest and recent comments certainly added value to the property, and I'd have to speculate that this deal never would have happened without his outspoken interest in the property.

**ghettopalmetto** · October-29-09, 09:21 AM

This is most certainly good news.

Now, which "eyesore" is George Jackson going to demolish to create a surface parking lot for the renovated Book? After all, no one who would live in the Book building is going to want to look out their window and see all sorts of crummy old buildings. Let's get cracking on a new publicly-funded multi-million dollar gravel lot, um, park!

**esp1986** · October-29-09, 09:29 AM

With the recent announcement, coinciding with the one year anniversary of the Book Cadillac, that only 15-20 condo units remained available, they probably looked at it and saw demand for more. Remember that only 6 of them had been sold back in April, so when the economy improves they may sell pretty fast so [[if they are to go through with the project) they may look to three years from now when there may be even more demand [[when the project would likely be finished).

I wouldn't be surprised if Ferchill's interest in the building back in April or May has led to this announcement. But the bottom line, since they A) dropped the prices on the Book-Cadillac Residences and B) started advertising them a little bit, they have been selling pretty fast, so there seems to be an interest in luxury condos downtown and hopefully they will follow through with this.

**ghettopalmetto** · October-29-09, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by esp1986

With the recent announcement, coinciding with the one year anniversary of the Book Cadillac, that only 15-20 condo units remained available, they probably looked at it and saw demand for more. Remember that only 6 of them had been sold back in April, so when the economy improves they may sell pretty fast so [[if they are to go through with the project) they may look to three years from now when there may be even more demand [[when the project would likely be finished).

I wouldn't be surprised if Ferchill's interest in the building back in April or May has led to this announcement. But the bottom line, since they A) dropped the prices on the Book-Cadillac Residences and B) started advertising them a little bit, they have been selling pretty fast, so there seems to be an interest in luxury condos downtown and hopefully they will follow through with this.

But I thought the DEGC spent $1.5 million in public money to demolish the Lafayette Building because there was not enough demand downtown.

**esp1986** · October-29-09, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by ghettopalmetto

But I thought the DEGC spent $1.5 million in public money to demolish the Lafayette Building because there was not enough demand downtown.

The Lafayette had other problems, mostly structural. The cost of fixing the structure outweighed any potential benefit that the building could have provided. The Book Building on the other hand, has been in use up until this year, so it is in far better shape and far cheaper to renovate as a result. Rumor has it that one of the upper floors in the Lafayette was also sagging, and as it could have been fixed, it would have cost a fortune, more than anyone wanted to spend. In the end, it came down to the cost, the Lafayette had been let go too long and no one wanted to spend the additional money to restore it.

In fact John Ferchill had looked at the Lafayette, and he said he had an $11 Million funding gap, after which he looked at the Book, and said it was feasible.

See the article below, towards the bottom mentions the Lafayette, the Lafayette has nothing to do with demand.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...308179989/1123