The "El Moore" - 624 Alexandrine

**duaner711** · February-14-10, 07:47 PM

Can anyone give me more info about this building. I drove past it today and the architecture is excellent. Has anyone been inside? How long has it been abandoned? There was a sign on the property about it being developed into condo lofts to be completed in 2008. What happened to the project?

**Django** · February-14-10, 08:00 PM

Do you have a pic, or a cross street?

**Jimaz** · February-14-10, 08:13 PM

I found a small pic and

624 Alexandrine Cross Streets: Located on Alexandrine between Second & Third

at UCCA Comercial Real Estate about halfway down the page.

Interesting architecture.

**MDoyle** · February-14-10, 08:15 PM

Image link... It's on Alexandrine

http://detroityes.com/webisodes/2006...tRuins/213.htm

From what I can gather a company bought the building during the condo/loft boom [[right around the time of the Super Bowl). They had a big auction of the contents... Amazing woodwork, sideboards, cabinetry and claw foot tubs. Then... nothing. It was left open and completely gutted. It seemed shady from the start. I don't know who owns it now. It's likely that whoever bought it couldn't actually support the loan they were given [[like many). They auctioned the contents to stay afloat and eventually went belly up. Just speculation on the end part.

**duaner711** · February-14-10, 08:17 PM

Cross streets are 2nd and Alexandrine:

Image here: http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...oore_lofts.jpg

**detroitbob** · February-14-10, 08:20 PM

This is a sad story...the El Moore was a viable building with long time tenants, well maintained and for all pratical purposes intact...build in wardrobes, china cabinets, etc. excellent wood work and details. They had several 'sell off' events to clear out the building of the fixturres, woodwork, etc. and its been sitting ever since. I just hope it doesn't get torched before something can happen. I don't think the developers were scammers, they just got caught in the market problems but this building is a sad sad situation.

**MDoyle** · February-14-10, 08:21 PM

More info...
The person who was renovating it was Gail Geer her company was Renevatio.

http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/bpark61.aspx
http://www.goaffirmations.org/site/C...tail&id=106281
http://girl-in-the-d.blogspot.com/20...-and-tubs.html

**duaner711** · February-14-10, 08:26 PM

When approximately did the last tenants live there?

**Dan** · February-14-10, 11:31 PM

My god!They stripped those items from the building?

Why would they not incorporate them into the renovations? That's what makes the old spaces so charming. Seems awfully foolish, maybe that's an indication why the renovation never happened.

The building is awesome.

**jt1** · February-14-10, 11:38 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

I found a small pic and at UCCA Comercial Real Estate about halfway down the page.

Interesting architecture.

Looking at the prices on that site i can only assume that crackheads became realtors or the realtors became crackheads.

When are landlords, developers and property owners going to set prices in line with reality.

**Jimaz** · February-14-10, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by jt1

Looking at the prices on that site i can only assume that crackheads became realtors or the realtors became crackheads.

When are landlords, developers and property owners going to set prices in line with reality.

Yeah. Pretty shocking, eh?

**EastsideAl** · February-15-10, 01:26 AM

Looking like you're trying to sell a property, even if it's priced ridiculously, means that you can't be successfully cited by the city for creating blight.

**JStone** · February-15-10, 09:46 AM

I had forgotten about that building. Thanks for reminding me. What another waste.

Now I feel disgusted.

**davewindsor** · February-15-10, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by Dan

My god!They stripped those items from the building?

Why would they not incorporate them into the renovations? That's what makes the old spaces so charming. Seems awfully foolish, maybe that's an indication why the renovation never happened.

The building is awesome.

How do you incorporate them into the new renovations? How do you save it? Who uses 20L hanging wall toilets anymore? Everyone replaces them with 6L toilets now. Clean water and sewage charges are a lot these days. I'm willing to bet the wood panelling from the 1890s most likely has no plaster behind it. Fire marshall is not going to pass that, so it has to go. Solid wood doors don't have a fire rating tag. Fire marshall says, out it goes. The solid ones inside the apartment will have to go because it'll probably not pass the fire alarm bell auditory test, so you have to replace the doors with paper thin ones unless you want to spend extra paying an electrician to stick fire alarm bells inside each apartment. I wouldn't be surprised if that furniture has a lot of mildew and wood rot from it and that's why the previous tenants left it there. Claw tubs? They need to be refinished to be useful and they are highly impractical. People either want a full bathtub or a separate standup shower.

And to top it off, Doyle's third link says the proceeds goes to charity so they're not even doing it to make money off of it: "Besides being a cool event for local antiques-lovers, proceeds from Renevatio's auction will benefit Affirmations and Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, two local non-profit organizations."

**Ocean2026** · February-15-10, 04:38 PM

Are you saying the ceiling beams and wood framing had to go as well? What is left to work with ? Was there a plan and funds to replace what got sold?

**Ocean2026** · February-15-10, 04:45 PM

Its listed by mark talley at Grubb Ellis at $135,000 or $16k per unit. There are other nice apts buildings in Detroit where functional units sell for less than $10k. There isn't even a picture up on the site. Wonder what it would cost to fix.

jflick3535 · February-15-10, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by jt1

Looking at the prices on that site i can only assume that crackheads became realtors or the realtors became crackheads.

When are landlords, developers and property owners going to set prices in line with reality.

My favorite has to be 5510 Woodward--3.9 million!!!!!

what a joke

**buildingsofdetroit** · February-15-10, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by jflick3535

My favorite has to be 5510 Woodward--3.9 million!!!!!

what a joke

5510 Woodward Ave. is the Hecker House, FYI. It's not some rundown apartment building, it's an 1888 Whitney-esque mansion.

**MDoyle** · February-15-10, 06:50 PM

Hecker house would be wonderful if not for the stupid gas station next door.

jflick3535 · February-15-10, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by buildingsofdetroit

5510 Woodward Ave. is the Hecker House, FYI. It's not some rundown apartment building, it's an 1888 Whitney-esque mansion.

if you honestly believe that its worth even half of 3.9 then god bless ya

**buildingsofdetroit** · February-15-10, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by jflick3535

if you honestly believe that its worth even half of 3.9 then god bless ya

Didn't say it was worth nearly $4M. Just making sure you knew what it was. It's not as outrageous as the state spending more than $3 million of your tax dollars on the destroyed Farwell Building, for example.

**davewindsor** · February-16-10, 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by Ocean2026

Are you saying the ceiling beams and wood framing had to go as well? What is left to work with ? Was there a plan and funds to replace what got sold?

Yes, if there wasn't plaster behind the ceiling beams and wood framing, which I've seen before, the fire marshall could require it to be taken off and replaced with drywall. I don't know what the story was with the developers as I was never inside that building. I'm just saying that this stuff happens all the time, codes change, and you've just got to accept it.