New Studio Live development to bring 145 apartments to New Center

One more development to keep an eye on in New Center aims to bring about 145 new apartments, 10,000 square feet of retail, and 87 parking spaces to the neighborhood. The development—named Studio Live—is still in the early phases, and the developers hope to break ground in late 2018.

The redevelopment will take the historic WJBK-TV building—which was built in 1956—and convert it into apartments and retail. The red brick building itself is 30,000 square feet with two stories, and two more will be added on. About 19 apartments will go in the existing building, and the rest in the new construction. In addition, a new eight-story, 105-foot-tall building will be built behind it. The development is at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Bethune Avenue. Since Bethune is a dead-end, construction shouldn’t impede on the surrounding streets.

About 87 parking spots will be added underneath the existing and new buildings.

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Halcor Group is leading the development, and Kraemer Design Group is the architecture firm. The developers are currently hosting public outreach meetings to inform the neighborhood on the project. Most of the apartments are expected to be market-rate, with 20% affordable.

The building housed the WJBK studio and later WTVS public TV. Most recently, it was home to the Mosaic Youth Theater in Detroit. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and located just a block away from the Fisher Building and next to the Fisher Kahn Apartments.

Once construction starts, the project is expected to take about 18 months to complete.