Fort-Shelby to be Renovated?

[Allan]

RSC & Associates LLC of Chicago intends to redevelop the Fort-Shelby Hotel into a 204 room hotel, convention space, and 63 apartments. They hope to have the deal finalized by the end of the year so that construction can start in January.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/business/0511/02/C01-369434.htm

[Zissou]

Great news. It is really beginning to feel like things are snowballing downtown. Sizable developments continue to pop up.

[statedude3]

This has just made my day. Now, if they can somehow manage to avoid the red tape that were so accustomed to, this could mean great things for the future of the city! The FS always appears so bleak on the lodge as you enter downtown.

[ZachariahDaMan]

This is awesome news. I'm really glad it's being renovated. I love how the place looks. Here is a link to some pictures from it from an urban exploration website: http://www.forgottenmichigan.com/gallery/U...db4340ef3142dfa

[statedude3]

Based on the pictures from ForgottenDetroit, it appears that the building is still in great shape. I dont see any sagging floors or load bearing walls in jeaopardy. It looks like this is more of a gut and remodel as opposed to rebuild.

[tapezord]

it appears that the building is still in great shape. I dont see any sagging floors or load bearing walls in jeaopardy. It looks like this is more of a gut and remodel as opposed to rebuild.

I think this is an interesting development just because its on the west end of downtown. The east side of downtown, thanks to the stadia and greektown has fared pretty well in comparison with the west. I am pretty excited about the prospects of west downtown, especially washington boulevard.

[Allan]

The Fort-Shelby is a prime candidate for a project like this. It is only a few blocks to Cobo, and has some of the best views of downtown from the upper floors.

The building's overall condition is better than that of the Book Cadillac and the Statler. It is also smaller, making the project more manageable. Of the three big downtown hotels, the Fort-Shelby is the most original. It still retains much of the original decorative work, although some modernizations were done in the 1960s and 1970s. It is structurally sound, although every single wall has a hole in it that was created by scrappers, and the plaster ceiling on the top floor has collapsed, leaving the corridor nearly unpassable. Then there is that avalanche of bricks that occured in the stairwell....

It appears that this is farther along in the planning, so I am relatively optimistic about this one.

[rbdetsport]

I am also very optimistic about this project. Three years of planning is alot. I think that they will start this project as scheduled. I do love the view i saw from forgotten detroit. Thank god they are putting in some apartments in and condos in 5 years. Can anyone confirm if this will have ground floor retail? I would love to see retail on this part of town. I hope to see some more news about this in the coming months.

[Michi]

Action, camera, lights (back on)!

...coming soon to a Pick Fort Shelby near you.

[Zissou]

Nice photo. I hope this is the beginning of the transformation of the west side of downtown.

[Allan]

The view is the best part of the Fort-Shelby. Above about the 15th floor every room has a good view.

[RustTown]

I guess this is one of the few good things about this building's location. I'm waiting to see how the new transit center will look from this view, as well.

BTW, does anyone know if the Comerica Building (the building whose roof is visible in the middle foreground of this pan) is in use? This whole side of downtown seems like a dead zone.

[Allan]

LMich, the Comerica Building is still in use.

[baldy]

didn't the comerica building recently have a "flood"? I thought the water pipes broke on one of floors and caused some issues.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear something might happen with the fort shelby. Classic building with lots of possibilities in an area that could use this.

[tombarnes]

This is terrific news. Let's just hope that nothing gets in the way of its renaissance. It's certainly time this was rescued from the dustbin of history.

[rbdetsport]

This is terrific news. Let's just hope that nothing gets in the way of its renaissance. It's certainly time this was rescued from the dustbin of history.

I do agree that this is terrific news. Has anyone been by there lately? If so, has there been any prep work or anything being done there?

[Allan]

If so, has there been any prep work or anything being done there?

No.

[wolverine]

I'm getting sick of waiting for something to happen there.

I just realized something..

Is the FS the last of the "red brick hotels" in Detroit? We had the Statler, and a few on Woodward which were lost to demolitions.

[RustTown]

Do you mean in downtown specifically, and do you also mean still standing? Because, there are countless smaller brick hotels in the city still operating as hotels or apartments (Milner...)

[wolverine]

Yeah, I should have been a bit more specific. I kind of mean the boxy, red brick highrise style. Similar to the scale of the Wolverine Hotel.

[detroitfan]

It's not the last the American Hotel next door the Masonic Temple is still standing.

[Allan]

What's the deal with the American Hotel anyway? I heard about plans for a renovation a few years ago. The electricity was turned back on, and a fence was put up. Nothing has been done since then, though the lights in some rooms are still burning bright years later.