New Monroe Block renderings and plans revealed

Dan Gilbert’s Monroe Block development is going higher.

Bedrock has released new renderings for the proposed Monroe Blocks downtown. The office tower will now have 35 stories (before it was 20), with 818,000 square feet of office space. Also included in the overall plans are 482 residential units, 48,000 square feet of public space, and 170,000 square feet of retail space.

Bedrock hopes to break ground on the massive development in early 2018, and complete it in early 2022.

Check out what the aerial and street views would look like:

Courtesy of Bedrock

Courtesy of Bedrock

Courtesy of Bedrock

Courtesy of Bedrock

According to the Detroit Free Press, the development could cost more than $800 million.

The architects include Neumann-Smith of Detroit and Schmidt Hammer Lassen of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Still no word on what might happen to the National Theater facade. Bedrock has said they’d like to save it, but details remain fuzzy on how that might be incorporated into the overall design.

Two community benefits meetings are planned this week that will cover both the Monroe Blocks and the Book Tower. The meetings are planned for Monday, August 21 and Thursday, August 24 at 5:30 p.m. at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 13th Floor Auditorium (right off elevators).

This is just one of many huge projects in development downtown by Dan Gilbert and Bedrock. They plan to break ground later this year on the transformational Hudson’s site. Across the street, the Shinola Hotel is under construction. Work is underway to restore the historic Book Tower. The David Stott Building and the Detroit Free Press Building are undergoing restorations. And in neighboring Brush Park, City Modern is rising. Perhaps soon, we’ll know if and when his proposed soccer stadium will be built.