Quicken and DTE aren't the only corporations playing Monopoly downtown: Blue Cross recently snatched Greektown's Cornice and Slate Building. And what does one do after scoring some great real estate in the heart of GilbertVille? Kick everyone out! That includes poor Metro Times, the weekly publication that, until a few days ago, had a far nicer office than Curbed. Anyway, the Cornice and Slate Building has one solid party trick: it's not made of stone. Despite its appearance, the facade is actually pressed steel. When it was built in 1897, stone was a pricy commodity in cities far from quarries. Steel was the cheaper alternative. Detroit Cornice and Slate went searching for better parking in the 1970s, and the building was converted into office space. (Note: Floods, a restaurant on the ground floor, is not getting kicked out.)
CORRECTION: Metro Times informed Curbed that they are not actually being "kicked out." Although it was not apparent in Crain's or Detroit News articles, Metro Times tells us they're the owners of the Cornice and Slate Building, and are currently in the process of selling it to Blue Cross. Their move is a voluntary one.
UPDATE (4:38PM): Morin Yousif from Paxahau (producers of the Movement Electronic Music Festival) sent us an email: "We, too work in the Cornice and Slate building and have been asked to leave well before our lease expires. The move from our Ferndale office to Detroit was a serious step for our organization and we spent a great deal in time and energy renovating the space. The announcement definitely caught us off-guard and now we're stuck with finding another space before October 1st."
· Blue Cross to buy building that houses Metro Times [Det News]
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