Lack of Pizza Helped Put Kales Building in Financial Disarray

Since its 2003 restoration into an apartment building, the Kales Building has kept its 119 units about 90% rented. Somehow, that hasn't been enough. The ownership just defaulted on their mortgage, so the Kahn-designed building is suddenly in the hands of SSJ Properties, a Ferndale-based lender. We don't know what went wrong, but the Kales' inability to get its ground-level retail online hasn't helped. It was once slated to house a branch of Shield's Pizza, but the restaurant spent years customizing the space before eventually abandoning the project. It's currently for rent. One more fun fact: The ownership paid only $135K to acquire the Kales Building back in 2000. They'd go on to spend $17M on the restoration, but still! That's getting an 18-story Albert Kahn building for the price of a a boring ranch in Southfield.
· Owners of restored Kresge headquarters default on loans [Det News]
· Kales Building [Official]