Construction Starting on Apartments Atop Downtown Garage

Last year, we reported that plans were approved for a stack of apartments atop a parking garage on Michigan Ave. Today, residents in the apartments inside the tony Westin Book Cadillac received notice that construction on those apartments begins next week. The garage, constructed by the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), sold rights to build atop the structure to the Roxbury Group.

While we reported that the new apartment stack, to be called "The Griswold," would have five stories, the notice sent by the Book Cadillac states that the project actually consists of "8 floors of apartments on top of the 150 Michigan Avenue parking garage." The Roxbury Group's original press release describes the planned development as "One, two and three-bedroom apartments [that] will average 916 square feet and feature nine-foot-high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows and balconies on several units."

Given the renderings of the project, it seems ambitious and fascinating. The current set of renderings on the the Kraemer Design Group website show a building that will blend very well with neighbors, the Book Cadillac included. We've seen other renderings that make the thing look more like a stack of old-school East German apartments fell on top of a garage in Detroit, so we're hoping the ones we're seeing now are truly the plan.

The construction advisory letter also tells Book Cadillac residents that parking above Level 7 will be off limits through December 31st, when construction that affects that area should be complete. The scope and ambition of the project can't be denied, and we look forward to seeing how this turns out. Whether it's a stunning success or…the opposite of that, the story should be epic.

·The Griswold [Kraemer Design Group]
·Approved: Eighty Apartments to Rise Above Downtown Garage [Curbed Detroit]