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Cool Offices, Reno Projects, & Studios Open For A Day of Tours

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OpenCo, a mash-up of an open studio tour and a business conference, is hitting Detroit on September 12 for a full day of public access to some of Detroit's best real estate. Offices and galleries will hold sessions all day long to show off Detroit's tech sector, various start-ups, the arts, and even some production facilities (see how a cuke becomes pickle-ifed at McClure's). General admission to OpenCo is free, but registration is required. If you managed to snag a VIP ticket (not free), we'll see you on the M@dison building rooftop for a party on September 11. Or if there's just never enough Curbed in your life, come see us camped out at the offices of Patrick Thompson Design in the Auburn building.

It will be impossible to see all the cool spaces, since several of the best ones share the same time slots. But the 45-minute tours start at 9 AM and each participant can schedule 5 different stops for the day. Here are our humble suggestions for seeing 10 of the best of the 57 locations. Full schedule here.

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Green Garage

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A collection of start-ups and freelancers call this gorgeously renovated former Model T showroom home base. The co-working space is on an eco-friendly mission, and used mostly reclaimed materials for the reno, which is easily one Detroit's best design highlights. Session time: 1:00 p.m. To see this space, please sign up for the 3:00 pm Urban Innovation Exchange tour (sold out).

David Whitney Building

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Building developers The Roxbury Group selected this in-progress hotel/condo project at the historic David Whitney building for a presentation. The atrium is a real highlight of the Daniel H. Burnham-designed skyscraper where an Aloft hotel will open in July 2014. Session time: 1:00 p.m.

Department Of Alternatives

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If you follow the foreclosure auction, you might know this as the place where the "Why Don't We Own This?" map gets made (by LOVELANDTechnologies). This start-up office share is also home to Dandelion, The Detroit Bus Company, and EBLI. Session time: 9:00 a.m.

La Feria

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La Feria is an upcoming tapas restaurant promising to open this fall. In the meantime, there's some interesting facade work happening on the midtown storefront, so a peek inside at the progress seems worthwhile to us. Session time: 9:00 a.m.

Anthology Coffee (Ponyride Building)

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This local coffee roaster has been slowly renovating a ground-floor spot in the Ponyride building for a while now. It's worth the trip to Corktown Shores to see the progress and get all hyped up on their fantastic caffeine offerings. Session time: 11:00 a.m.

McClure's Pickles

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Come hear Joe McClure, who founded the company with his brother Bob, describe the pickle-makers amazing success story. As part of last year's expansion, they moved production from Troy, MI to this location in Detroit near Hamtramck. Session time: 1:00 p.m.

Detroit Soup

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The Jam Handy building, a former film studio, has been under renovation for the last few years, and welcomed the crowd-funding dinner Detroit Soup to call the it home earlier this year. Come here about creative projects that got funding in this awesome gym-like space which was bought for a mere $13,000 in 2010. Session time: 11:00 a.m.

The Work

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Located in the Elevator Building, the Work is a video production crew which recently gave us that rather awesome piece for the XGames Detroit bid. Session time: 3:00 p.m.

Red Bull House Of Art

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If you have not been to a gallery opening party here yet, then you're missing out. It is quite possibly the best basement space in Detroit. Session time: 4:30 p.m.

Curbed Detroit (PTD Office)

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If you are reading this map, you probably know what Curbed Detroit is. If you are still unclear, stopping by in person might not help. In any case, we'll be chatting about blogs and design in the office of Patrick Thompson Design in the Auburn building. Come say hello. Session time: 1:00 p.m.

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Green Garage

A collection of start-ups and freelancers call this gorgeously renovated former Model T showroom home base. The co-working space is on an eco-friendly mission, and used mostly reclaimed materials for the reno, which is easily one Detroit's best design highlights. Session time: 1:00 p.m. To see this space, please sign up for the 3:00 pm Urban Innovation Exchange tour (sold out).

David Whitney Building

Building developers The Roxbury Group selected this in-progress hotel/condo project at the historic David Whitney building for a presentation. The atrium is a real highlight of the Daniel H. Burnham-designed skyscraper where an Aloft hotel will open in July 2014. Session time: 1:00 p.m.

Department Of Alternatives

If you follow the foreclosure auction, you might know this as the place where the "Why Don't We Own This?" map gets made (by LOVELANDTechnologies). This start-up office share is also home to Dandelion, The Detroit Bus Company, and EBLI. Session time: 9:00 a.m.

La Feria

La Feria is an upcoming tapas restaurant promising to open this fall. In the meantime, there's some interesting facade work happening on the midtown storefront, so a peek inside at the progress seems worthwhile to us. Session time: 9:00 a.m.

Anthology Coffee (Ponyride Building)

This local coffee roaster has been slowly renovating a ground-floor spot in the Ponyride building for a while now. It's worth the trip to Corktown Shores to see the progress and get all hyped up on their fantastic caffeine offerings. Session time: 11:00 a.m.

McClure's Pickles

Come hear Joe McClure, who founded the company with his brother Bob, describe the pickle-makers amazing success story. As part of last year's expansion, they moved production from Troy, MI to this location in Detroit near Hamtramck. Session time: 1:00 p.m.

Detroit Soup

The Jam Handy building, a former film studio, has been under renovation for the last few years, and welcomed the crowd-funding dinner Detroit Soup to call the it home earlier this year. Come here about creative projects that got funding in this awesome gym-like space which was bought for a mere $13,000 in 2010. Session time: 11:00 a.m.

The Work

Located in the Elevator Building, the Work is a video production crew which recently gave us that rather awesome piece for the XGames Detroit bid. Session time: 3:00 p.m.

Red Bull House Of Art

If you have not been to a gallery opening party here yet, then you're missing out. It is quite possibly the best basement space in Detroit. Session time: 4:30 p.m.

Curbed Detroit (PTD Office)

If you are reading this map, you probably know what Curbed Detroit is. If you are still unclear, stopping by in person might not help. In any case, we'll be chatting about blogs and design in the office of Patrick Thompson Design in the Auburn building. Come say hello. Session time: 1:00 p.m.