Redevelopment starts at Milwaukee Junction’s ‘Illuminated Mural’ building

A standout building and mural in Milwaukee Junction will see new life, as the Platform announced the start of redevelopment of the former cold storage building on East Grand Boulevard. The building is home to the Illuminated Mural, and soon, will house a coworking space and food hall.

The redevelopment called Chroma is expected to cost $16 million and should be completed by the end of the year.

Courtesy of the Platform

The building dates back to 1913 and was designed by architect Rudolph C. Gernt. Artist Katie Craig painted the Illuminated Mural on the side of the building in 2009. The mural was threatened with removal a few years ago, before the Platform bought the building.

The building sits along East Grand Boulevard, just east of Woodward Avenue. Many development projects are underway in nearby areas, including more shops activating storefronts on Woodward.

inFORM Studio is the architect on the project.

The food hall, Grandview, will cover 14,000 square feet of the building and feature 14 different concepts. Beauty Shoppe, a Pittsburgh-based firm, will run the coworking space. According to a press release, Beauty Shoppe will offer many different work spaces for a variety of different businesses or freelancers.

Chroma will also be house space for events; Design Core Detroit plans on hosting classes and events in the building.

“Chroma honors Detroit as a UNESCO City of Design, the only U.S. city with this designation,” said Abir Ali, director of design and culture for The Platform. “It is a project that creates quality space for creatives—from emerging to established practitioners—in a neighborhood with a rich history of industry and creativity. It is also an incredible opportunity to reimagine the architecture of a cold-storage building to allow for new programming and activity.”

This is one of many developments underway by the Platform. The development group will soon open residential apartments in Baltimore Station and the Boulevard. They’re also involved with many developments in New Center, and they have plans in Islandview, Old Redford, and near Eastern Market.