After meeting for minutes with the Detroit Downtown Development Authority, it was a done deal.
They voted unanimously for Bedrock Detroit to purchase property which sits next to Campus Martius Park.
The land is surrounded by Cadillac Square, Bates Street, Randolph, and Monroe Avenue and developers are proposing a major overhaul.
“It will be completely different,” said Steve Rosenthal of Bedrock, “As different and amazing as you see it, the transformation from when before Campus Martius was built, before the separate pods were complete. It will be just as transformational.”
In an early proposal, developers will be giving the National Theater’s façade a facelift. They will also be building a 22 story high rise with retail space and a 16 story residential tower.
“I think the idea of this transformational project is really to have something that draws people downtown, right, we are already drawing people downtown now, but even more the better,” said Rosenthal.
Wednesday afternoon, those behind the project showed off images to the authority of how they imagine the area looking in a matter of a few years.
“It is really exciting,” said Rosenthal. “Not only for me but for our development and architecture teams. We’re bringing some more talent, like we said, from Copenhagen. The master planner, Schmidt Hammerlassen, has done a tremendous job and worked with Newman Smith locally and we are excited about the product that they have brought forth.”
Bedrock Detroit will be buying the property for $2.7 million. They say this section is an important piece in the downtown revival.
“I think, what it does, it connects the downtown CBD to Greektown, right down Monroe to Campus Martius all the way to St Antoine, you will get a beautiful entertainment block.”
The construction of the project is expected to cost millions of dollars.
Groundbreaking will take place in 2018.
