Newly Available Loft Offers Blankest Blank Slate

Downtown living in the central business district isn't cheap, and this 2-bedroom, 1400-square foot condo in the old Security Trust Building is no exception. For $2350 a month, tenants get all the expected amenities (granite, dishwasher, in-unit laundry). This unit comes with two parking spaces in the garage at the nearby Westin Book Cadillac, and free membership to the Anytime Fitness on the building's first floor. There's also state-of-the art video security in the building, formerly owned by the Detroit Public Schools and transformed into loft living in 2013.

The 1925 building, designed by Albert Kahn, is a beaux-arts temple, complete with massive columns bracketing the three four-story arches comprising the facade. Carved motifs featuring griffins (among other creatures) top the arches. While many of the units in this 19-apartment building have walls of windows and read as modern and airy, the unit offered via Craigslist comes across as a little utilitarian. For a huge apartment in a character building, this place lacks…well, character. The floors are poured, sealed concrete, the windows utilitarian rectangles. The kitchen has all the warmth and charm of the Wayne County Morgue. Pix of other units show what the right decor can add, so a tenant with the right furniture and tchotchkes could make this empty box a home, especially if your collection includes a few huge area rugs. - Rebecca Golden

·735 Griswold [Security Trust Lofts]
·Loft for Rent [Craigslist]
·Historic Bank Becomes Loft Living [Curbed Detroit]