Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans adds Dime Building to downtown Detroit collection

The Dime Building lobby

If this were a game of Monopoly, Dan Gilbert just added another color to his set of property cards when he reportedly snatched up the Dime Building earlier this week.

Just to be clear, this is no 'Baltic Avenue' purchase. The Dime has got to be considered one of those orange properties. Maybe even a red.

The Dime Building now joins the Chase Tower, the Madison Theater Building and it appears eventually the First National Building (not to mention a couple of neighboring parking garages) in Gilbert's set of downtown properties.

We at The Times have never claimed to be real estate-savvy. Our color-coded evaluation above should prove that. But Gilbert seems like a sharp guy, and we tend to view his buying spree as a sign that more vibrant days for downtown Detroit are ahead.

What Gilbert's got in mind is anybody's guess, but he's already hinted at an incentive plan to entice Quicken employees to live in the downtown area. And more of those little green houses dotting the Detroit board wouldn't be a bad thing.

Urban garden slated to fill space where Lafayette Building once stood

You might recognize the aging red-brick wall in this photo as the side of the old Arcade Bar. Then again, you might not, since for years this wall was hidden by the once-hulking Lafayette Building.

In any event, when the Lafayette was brought down last summer, word on the street was that a park was in the plans. And, if spreading grass seed constitutes building a park, the word on the street was right.

Now, however, dozers are busy grading the lot between Michigan Avenue and Fort Street, and according to a very official-looking guy on the scene, the land will be the future home of a Compuware-sponsored Urban Garden.

I wasn't able to get a lot of detail – such as a projected completion date, what they'll grow, and which charity will benefit from the food to be grown – but I'll keep my eyes peeled. According to the official-looking guy, raised boxes are being installed, along with displays of artwork from children in the area.

It's going to nearly as fun watching this project spring up as it was watching the old Lafayette come down. (And speaking of that, click on this link to see blow-by-blow photos of the Lafayette's demolition.)

Graffiti alive and well at Detroit's Metropolitan Building

Painting of this extent doesn't happen overnight.

But over three-plus decades, the possibilities are endless.

The Metropolitan Building in downtown Detroit, the one-time hub of the city's jewelry retailers, has stood empty on John R just south of Grand Circus Park since the late 1970s. Since then, nearly every window in the 15-story building has served as the canvas for an especially peace-minded graffiti artist.

Red hearts, the word "LOVE", and a cryptic splash of green letters have adorned the building's facade for years and can be seen for blocks up Farmer Street. It's pretty impressive work, were it not a reminder of another empty building downtown.

Also of interest (at least to us) is a fun fact we learned from our friends at BuildingsOfDetroit.com. When the Metropolitan was built, a handful of buildings were razed to clear space, including the former home of the Detroit Times. That was in 1924, years before the Internet made it possible for a guy with a cell phone camera and a computer to create a blog with the same name. 

Sign of the Times: Another building billboard pops up in Detroit

From the mural that adorns the Cadillac Tower and stands over Campus Martius Park, to the Broderick Tower billboard that hawks cellphones to folks at Comerica Park, building-side billboards seem to be a growing trend in downtown Detroit.

Before you go popping off with a real clever "At least they're using that building for something!" comment, our latest sighting graces the side of 1001 Woodward, not one of the unused towers downtown.

Visible from the north side of the 1001 building is a huge ad for the 'Droid, a fact that tells us much about people in today's world. One, we must like smart phones. And two, we must really like smart phones. In fact, if the cellphone marketing competition track record holds true, I expect we'll soon see an ad for the iPhone plastered all  over the RenCen.

Before you get too stirred up thinking that these billboards indicate the over-commercialization of downtown Detroit, sit tight. We hear the city is selling naming rights to The People Mover stations. Up first? The MetroPCS Greektown station.

More cell phones. We should've known. 

Reflections of Detroit: Feature Photo

Down on Woodward between Campus Martius and Hart Plaza, there's a big, brown-glass building. Not sure what's in there, and didn't have time to research it.

But it gives off a cool reflection of the buildings across the street.

Class Dismissed! Old Cass Tech High School meets the wrecking ball

Following in the footsteps of so many iconic Detroit buildings, demolition of the Old Cass Tech High School is in full swing. Walls of the graffiti-covered, broken-windowed hulk of a building on the north side of I-75 at Cass Avenue remain, but if you want to get one last look, you best get downtown by mid-summer.

No one's ever accused us at The Times of snubbing Detroit's great, historic buildings. We took no joy in watching Tiger Stadium nor the Lafayette Building tumble to the ground.

But the most unfortunate truth regarding Old Cass Tech is that its greatest feat in recent years has been to stand there and block the view of the beautiful building that is the New Cass Tech from drivers on I-75. That ain't real productive.

It's a shame that the building's condition was allowed to deteriorate as it did, and even more a shame that people didn't clamor to find a viable use for it until it was too late. But if removing the building opens up new possibilities to make the New Cass Tech an even better campus, maybe it can still be a change for the better.

Quicken Loans considers purchasing Chase Tower in downtown Detroit

Quicken Loans already made a big splash downtown Detroit when it moved a majority of its workers from the suburbs and into the Compuware Building last year.

Then, Dan Gilbert and company made more news earlier this year when they announced they'd be refurbishing the old Madison Theater Building near Grand Circus Park and moving workers in there.

Now, Quicken is reportedly considering buying the Chase Tower just across Campus Martius Park from Compuware. The 14-story Chase building, which hardly feels like a tower next to the nearby Guardian and Penobscot buildings, enjoys a sweet location downtown. It sits on Woodward just south of the park, and if filled with Quicken workers would inject a boost into the downtown scene. Stay tuned, Gilbert is also reportedly looking at other buildings in the area, most notably the First National Building just across Woodward. (More on the First National in the coming days.)

David Stott Building: a Detroit skyscraper you may not know by name

It may not have the postcard recognition of the Ren Cen, nor the historic reputation of the nearby Book Tower, but the David Stott Building in downtown Detroit remains one the city's high-potential high rises.

Located at Griswold and State streets, adjacent to the recently refurbished Capitol Park, the 38-story Stott seems almost like the nearby Guardian Building's twin, if only fraternal. Its reddish-orange brick exterior is still in relatively decent shape compared to some of the demolition-bound towers in Detroit, evidence that the building had at least some occupants as recently as last year.


I believe the building is now completely vacant, but a redevelopment plan tossed around in the fall called for first-floor retail, five floors of office space, and apartments the rest of the way up. We'll keep a watch for any news about the Stott, but it certainly doesn't hurt that its stands in the center of Detroit's busiest redevelopment areas.

Mane Attraction: MGM Grand Casino lion takes over Cadillac Tower

We always knew a bottle of Jack didn't last long.

Sure enough, the enormous Jack Daniels advertisement that recently adorned the Campus Martius-facing side of the Cadillac Tower is gone, replaced recently by a mammoth ad featuring the MGM Grand Casino lion.

No word on whether this was in response to community objections, similar to those voiced when Billy Dee Williams and his Colt 45 billboards dotted the city. But it wouldn't be surprising, considering the Campus Martius area is about host hundreds of families and children for another Motown Winter Blast.

In any event, the MGM ad is a cool-looking billboard, probably my favorite piece of signage to hang from the Cadillac Tower since Barry Sanders occupied the space years ago. Is it too early to start hoping a picture of Ndamukong Suh ends up there?

2011 Detroit auto show, Mercedes advertising goes big time

It's seems everything's bigger at the North American International Auto Show. Especially the advertising on a nearby building.

Taking a cue from the Broderick Tower advertising across town, Mercedes-Benz has plastered an enormous billboard on the east-facing side of the old 25-story Pontchartrain Hotel, and it covers nearly the entire side of the building. That's about 245 feet in height (or about 75 meters for our faithful Canadian readers).

It's nice to see somebody getting at least some use out of the old Pontch, which has been vacant since the summer of 2009, when it officially known as the Detroit Riverside Hotel. Visitors to the Detroit auto show can look for the ad (as if they could miss it!) across Washington Boulevard from the main entrance into Cobo Hall.

Is the Holiday Inn out in downtown Detroit?

Back in the '60s, this building on Washington Boulevard in downtown Detroit was home to a Howard Johnson's Hotel. In the decades since, it's been a Mariner's Inn, a Day's Inn, and a Best Western. For a brief stint, it was even called the Heaven on Earth Inn.

In recent years, the Book-Cadillac's neighbor to the south has been a Holiday Inn Express, and now it appears another name change is on deck.

What's left, Red Roof Inn?

The Holiday Inn Express signage on the front and sides of the building have been not-so-discretely covered with what looks like duct tape. (I think it actually a big, silver garbage bad.) Some reports have said the hotel is negotiating with Best Western to once again join that family. For now, hotel desk workers are reportedly answering the  phones by introducing "Downtown Detroit Inn & Suites". When I tried calling, the phones weren't working, although I did stop by and the hotel is definitely still open.

Hopefully, time will tell that this amounts to nothing more than a name change for one of downtown Detroit's hotels, rather than one step toward seeing another hotel close. Either way, the timing couldn't be worse. Auto show crowds are already making their way to town, and I doubt anyone will think to book a room at The Duct Tape Inn.

The latest redevelopment plans for the old Free Press Building

Add this to the list of "cool doorways in Detroit that nobody ever walks through."

Hopefully, that will change in the coming years. The old Free Press Building on Lafayette has been empty since the Detroit Free Press moved down the street in the late 1980s. Peak through the street-level windows and you can still see evidence of its previous tenants.

Reports now are saying that a company called Free Press Holdings, LLC out of Florida is hoping to redevelop the building, with multi-million-dollar plans that call for creating retail space at the street level, commercial space on the second floor, and apartments in floors 3 through 13. The top 14th floor would feature a health club and conference space, and the below-ground floors, where the newspaper's printing equipment once lived, would be converted into a parking garage.

While we take this as good news, we contain our excitement, especially given other recent development plans concerning the old Free Press Building. Last year around this time, the rumor mill was churning out news that it was being targeted as the future home of Motor City Film Works. But then months passed and nothing changed at 321 W. Lafayette Boulevard (even though the Motor City Film Works website still lists that as its home address). Don't get us wrong, the old Free Press Building is one of our favorite unused buildings downtown, and we're pulling for a plan that will bring it back to life. It's not likely that work will begin any time real soon, but we'll keep our eyes peeled for the firsts signs of (re)development.

Hotel Charlevoix: Detroit's 100-year-old pile of bricks

A few weeks back in this space, we stopped in at the Park Bar behind the Fox Theater, and I made mention of the lovely view that patrons are afforded of the Hotel Charlevoix just across the street.

It occurred to me that most of you have likely never vacationed at the Charlevoix, so I thought I'd revisit the block and offer a little more detail.

The Charlevoix was built in 1905 and originally served as a 12-story hotel before later becoming an apartment building, and then later yet an office building. Like much of downtown Detroit, it's been empty since the 1980s. Since then, it's been standing there collecting rain, to the point that (although I'm no architect) it now appears the Charlevoix is way beyond repair.

The interior staircases have reportedly been removed to dissuade urban explorers from venturing to its upper levels, and a fence has been erected at the street level to discourage squatters. It'll be interesting to keep an eye on the Charlevoix in the coming months (years?) to see if the wrecking ball is in its future. Honestly, though, to the uneducated eye, it looks like the Charlevoix is a good-stiff-breeze-ripping-across-Grand-Circus-Park away from tumbling without the help of demolition crews.

New Cadillac Square Apartment Building was once one of Detroit's grand hotels

A stone's throw from Campus Martius Park and a short walk from Greektown and the RiverWalk, the New Cadillac Square Apartments enjoy a prime location in downtown Detroit.

It's unfortunate they couldn't get a little more clever with the name, but I won't nitpick.

The New Cadillac Square Apartment Building – which stands 21 stories tall, next to the 40-story Cadillac Tower (the building that once boasted the Barry Sanders mural and now features a Quicken Loans welcome billboard) – was originally a hotel with a way cooler name. Built in 1927, it was called The Barlum, after co-builder John J. Barlum.

As a hotel, it featured 800 well-appointed rooms that each included (you ready for this?) a bathroom with a tub and shower. The building also included a cigar and news stand, a beauty salon and barber shop, and telephones. Illustrating how people's needs and wants have changed over the years, these days the building features 224 units in various studio and one-bedroom layouts. Call it urban sprawl.

And by the way, for anybody curious about such things, rooms at the New Cadillac Square Apartment Building range from $525 for a studio to $650-$850 for a one-bedroom. If you ask me, they should offer the first month free to anybody who can offer up a better name for the building. I nominate the Henrose, which is what it was called back in the '50s when then-owner Henry Keywell squished his first name with that of his wife, Rose.

The Lafayette Building in downtown Detroit: Before and After

By now it's old news that the Lafayette Building in downtown Detroit is gone, but digging through our archives of photos, I came across this one that I had intended to post back when the demolition was first completed.

This is the view from the three-way intersection of Griswold, Lafayette and Michigan Avenue.

To see our incredibly in-depth chronicling of the Lafayette demolition, click on the "Lafayette Building" link below this post. It begins with the days when those little saplings were growing on the roof, and ends with the straw-covered, grass-seeded ground that's there today.

Quicken reportedly looking to buy Madison Building near Grand Circus Park

As its employees still settle into rented digs in the Compuware Building, Quicken Loans is reportedly considering purchasing additional office space in downtown Detroit to accommodate more workers who are still out in the 'burbs.

The Madison Building, which neighbors the Broderick Tower across from Grand Circus Park, is apparently  Quicken's target, despite other apparently false reports that indicate a different Madison Building a few blocks away on Washington Boulevard.

At any rate, the Madison Building that Quicken is apparently considering is recently renovated but small – at least compared to many other available offices in downtown Detroit. If it's true that Quicken winds up occupying the Madison, it's fair to wonder what the company's long-term plans are, since the rented space at Compuware has long been considered temporary.

Rumors persist that Quicken will wind up in the old United Artists Building on Bagley, essentially across the park from the Madison. We recently noticed work being done at the UAB, but workers have been tight-lipped about the project. With Quicken having so many affiliate companies (i.e.-Fathead, ePrize,...) perhaps the Madison will become the long-term home for one of them while Quicken settles into larger accommodations elsewhere.

Phoenix Group presses for urban renewal from old Detroit police precinct building

Driving out Grand River one rainy day last spring, I happened past this gothic building on the corner of Grand River and Rosa Parks. I had no idea what it once was, nor if it was still being used today.

Turns out it is, which surprised me, given the rough condition of the neighborhood. But I was even more surprised by what it used to be.

These days, the building serves as headquarters for the Phoenix Group Companies, whose mission it is to redevelop urban communities through new residential construction and the redevelopment of existing homes. Look a block in any direction from Grand River and Rosa Park, and it's clear the Phoenix Group has its work cut out. (For all of you wise guys out there, no, MacGuyver doesn't work there.) 

The building was originally constructed in 1901, when it served briefly as a police station in Detroit's Second Precinct. It was eventually reassigned to Detroit's Eighth Precinct, and served as such for decades. It's got to be one of the most uniquely built police precincts I've ever seen, its architecture intended to mirror the Victorian style that was prominent throughout much of the Woodbridge neighborhood.

New angle, same result: the Ren Cen remains the focal point of Detroit's skyline

In case you haven't seen enough of the Ren Cen while watching the first few episodes of 'Detroit 1-8-7', here's a look at it from underneath the People Mover track outside of Cobo Arena. It's a cool looking place, and it always looks different to me depending on the angle from which I catch it. It turns out, though, that the Ren Cen isn't just the most prominent building complex in the Detroit skyline.

At 73 stories tall, the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center (the middle tower) is the tallest all-hotel skyscraper in the western hemisphere as well as the tallest building in Michigan. The entire seven-tower complex, with more than 5.5 million square feet of office space, is one of the largest office complexes in the world.

Somewhat ironically, despite currently being the home of General Motors' World Headquarters, the Ren Cen was originally conceived in part by Henry Ford II, and its construction was primarily financed by Ford Motor Co. When plans were announced in 1971 to build the Renaissance Center for $500 million, it became the largest private development in the world.

In case you haven't caught 'Detroit 1-8-7' yet, the Ren Cen has appeared often in the background, usually during chase scenes as the cops tear through the Rivertown district over near the Atwater Block Brewery. For more 'Ren Cen in the background' photos, tool around this website for awhile. It shows up quite a bit, even if only by accident.

'Transformers 3' to film at the Farwell Building in Detroit's Capitol Park

State Farm Insurance and Remax Realtor signs were added to the front of the abandoned Farwell Building for the filming of 'Transformers 3'.

As the renovation of Capitol Park in downtown Detroit continues (with a completion date later this fall), one of the park's neighboring buildings is also getting a bit of a facelift.

Crews in town to shoot the sci-fi thriller 'Transformers 3' have peeled back the boards that covered the street-level spaces in the Farwell Building, and are preparing the facade for shooting that will take place all next week, according to workers on the site. Tattered green awnings are being added, and by Friday afternoon signage for businesses such as Remax and State Farm Insurance were installed.

The movie project sheds new light on one of Detroit's long-vacant buildings. The Falwell, an eight-story brick unit built in 1915, has been empty since 1984, and when the boards were removed a row of businesses was revealed, including a burned out old bar and other office space.

With Capitol Park nearing completion of a major renovation outside, city planners hope the triangular block, once a pivotal business district in Detroit, will be rejuvenated, much like the area surrounding nearby Campus Martius Park was when that park was renovated. Perhaps the 'Transformers 3' project will help spur re-development, including that of the Farwell Building.

'Transformers 3' takes aim at blowing up a building near Grand Circus Park

These concrete chunks are actually made of foam and will be used during filming of 'Transformers 3'.

The latest word says this building will not be blown up.

(UPDATED SEPT. 14) – On the lot that once housed the famous Statler Hotel, only a lone four-story building remains. It stands empty, inside a curve in the People Mover track and neighboring a grass and gravel lot that in recent months has been often used by movie companies to store cars ('Street Kings'), tanks ('Red Dawn') and other large props.

These days, in this triangular parcel between Washington and Bagley just across the street from Grand Circus Park, crews from 'Transformers 3' have been working.

Enormous chunks of fake concrete (made of foam) are piled in one area, and banged up cars line the side of the little four-story building.

It's been rumored, though, that the little four-story building might soon take a lead role in the filming of 'Transformers 3' when it is blown up during filming of one of the movie's scenes. Not true, according to a source in the know. While that might change any day, the deal to blow the building up has not been finalized.