The Hamilton renovation eyes fall completion

Another Detroit building in need of upgrades is on track to finish this fall. The Hamilton, formerly the Milner Arms Apartments, is in the final phase of a $12 million renovation.

This wasn’t a renovation of an abandoned building like we normally see in Detroit. This building was deemed affordable housing, and the developers, Broder & Sachse Real Estate, intend to keep the residents in place. This meant relocating them over this past year (residents couldn’t be in the building while under construction due to elevators and other renovations like HVAC and electrical). A representative for Broder & Sachse Real Estate says that most qualified residents (those making $40,000 or less) plan to move back in, although they can’t release numbers until the renovation is complete.

Broder & Sachse also completed the Scott at Brush Park in recent years, along with the rehab of the Albert in Capitol Park in 2014. In that development, units were rehabbed into upscale apartments, displacing its senior residents. The developers worked with the United Community Housing Coalition for housing needs and offered monetary assistance to the residents in that redevelopment, but seniors still had to move from their homes.

Sachse Construction is the construction manager on the project and Hamilton Anderson Associates is the architect.

In this rehab, qualified past residents will return with a 5 percent increase to their past rates, which averaged $600. New residents will pay market-rate, which, looking at the leasing site, range from $722 for a studio to $1,908 for a two-bedroom. Apartments are outfitted with A/C, stainless steel appliances, and quartz counter tops.

Renderings by Zoyes Creative

Residents will also have access to a fitness center, community lounge, a laundry room, and additional storage.

The 1913 building, which sits at 40 Davenport in Midtown, opened as the Hotel Stevenson and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.